Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1906-06-06
PACKING HOUSES
INVESTIGATED
Continued from Page ,.

X representatives Of the packers, as
! the Government does not concern
. itself with the disposition Of meats
! after they have passed inspection ON
= TIE killing floor, It might all be
3 treated with chemicals, mixed with
z other meats, turned out in any form
Z of meat product desired, and yet the
packages or receptacles in which
i was to be shipped out to the public
would be marked with a label that
their contents had been Govern
ment inspected" " II is not alleged
] here ,hat such use was to be made Of
tins stun. The ease is pointed out
: as one showing the elaring oportun-
lty for the misuse of label bearing
The name and the implied guaranty
Of the United States Government
Another instance Of abuse in the
I use ot labels came to our notice In
! two different establishments great
! stocks of old canned goods were be-
! ing put through a washing process to
remove the cid labels. They we're
then subjected to sufficient heat to
"Wel u9 the cont lt, TO use the
lias' " The room superintendent.
After this, fresh labels, with the
Government name On them, were to
be placed upon the cans and they were
he sent out bearing all the evidence
of being freshly put up product.
Ia one Of these instances, by the ad-
mission Of the superintendent, the
stock thus being relabeled was over
two years old. In the other ease the
superintendent evaded statement
Of how old the goods were.
Treatment of Employees.
The lack Of consideration for the
health and comfort Of the laborers in
the Chicago stock yards seems to be
" '''''t consequence VI tHc system ol
administration that prevails The
various departments are under the
direct control of superintendents who
claim to use full authority in deal
ins with the employees and who
seem to ignore all considerations ex-
cept those Of the account book. Under
lhlS system proper care of the pro-
ducts and of the health and comfort
! Of the employees is impossible. and
the consumer suffers in consequence.
The insanitary conditions in which
the laborels work and the feverish
4 tam uetnauiy dnvcc uuerr nvarvn.
Physicians state that tuberculosis
is disproportionately prevalent in the
stock yards, and the victims of this
disease expectorate on the spongy
} wooden floors of the dark workrooms,
5 from which falling scraps of meat
: are later shoveled up to be converted
: into food products.
5 Even the ordinary decencies Of
5 life are completely ignored. In prae-
( tically all cases the doors of the
3 toilet rooms open directly into the
5 working rooms, the privies of men
5 and women frequently adjoin, and
x the entrances are sometimes no more
9 than a foot or two apart. In other
8 cases there are no privies for women
B in the rooms in which they work,
4 and to reach the nearest it is neces-
Q sary to go up or down a couple Of
3 fights of stairs. In one noticeable
3 instance the privy for the women
z working in several adjoining rooms
9 was in room in which men chiefly
3 were employed, and every girl going
Z to use this had to pass by the work.
g ing places Of dozens Of male opera
2 tiyes and enter the privy, the door
D of which was not six feet from the
3 working place of one of the men
z operatives As previously noted, in
2 the privies for men and women alike
Z there are no partitions, but simply
3 row Of open seats. Rest rooms,
= where tired women workers might go
9 for short rest, were found as rare
3 exceptions, and in some establish
q ments women are even placed in
< charge Of privies chiefly for the pur-
9 pose, it is stated, to see that the
3 girls did not absent themselves too
z long from their work under the ex-
9 cuse of visiting them. In some in
G stances what was called rest room
3 was simply one end of the privy par
x titioned off by a six-foot partition
= from the remaining inclosure. A
. few girls were found using this, not
> only as a rest room, but as the only
q available place in which to sit and
z eat their luncheon.
. Much Of the work in connection
: with the handling of meat has to be