Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1906-03-10
How do the trust gentlemen kno,

I1OW UO tue truDt BeutIetneu kuOW
Here Is a stream Of the most terrible
infection passing daily within a few
inches Of the nations food supply.
How do we know that sufficient pre-.
cautions arc taken to prevent contami.
nation?
How do the trust gentlemen know?
They inform us that what goes on
behind the walls Of their plants is
their own affair; that Is, their busi.
ness; they will manage 1t as they see
flt. Whose affair Is 1t, then, II the
nation cats diseased meat, II we nre
poisoned by trichinae, II cancer In.
creases?
Other countries are not 30 dull as
we are about these things. Other
countries understand very well the
monstrous perils involved In the meth.
ods Of this monopoly, and. therefore.
try to exclude American meats,
To quiet their objections the United
States Is supposed to keep an insp:stor
upon meat intended for export and to
place upon It an official stamp certify.
Ing that 1t is 1T for food.
have here before me letters written
by former employees OF the trust assur.
Ing me that the Federal inspection Is
n farce. The inspectors inspect moth.
ing. say these letters. They sit read.
ing or smoking with their pockets full
Of tags. which nre handed out as they
are required. One man tells me that
he used to get fifty ut time. reach
ing his hand into the inspectors
pocket.
If, then. these are the methods In
regard to export beef. about which
there IL nominal inspection. what do
you suppose are the methods about
meat for domestic consumption. on
which there IL no inspection ut all?
why Is the Federal inspection allow
cd to he Indifferent? Well. why IL ev-
erything about this subject so rotten?
Why was the Beef Trust allowed to go
on year after year violating the law
and no attempt made to prevent It?
Why are the laws inert against this
criminal organization? Why IL n man
sent to prison for five years for forg.
ing n fivc.dollar check ana these men
go free for swindling n nation?
Why do we contribute our dollars
year after year to swell unnecessary
boards?
| Why are We content to have our
food prepared for us In secret under
conditions that to any sane mind cer-
tainly suggest fraud ana treachery?
We are not obliged to have these
things II we do not want them. The
remedies are simple enough.
Az to the "lumpy jaw" the tubcrcu.
losis ana the cancer, put stop to prl-
vate slaughtering. Let oil the slaugli.
tering Of food animals be done by the
State In the light OF day, without any
Of this dark lantern business, ON equal
terms for all. There are very few
private slaughter houses In England
The cities and towns run their slaugh.
ter houses under medical inspection
But In England the people do not care
to be poisoned In their meat.
And we need not worry about the OBJ
lection that publicly owned slaughter
houses are an invasion Of the private
rights of business. When 1t comes to
life and death there are no private
rights of business. No man has right
70 saved profits that he makes by
spreading disease. We have gone too
far on the road to public sanitation to
turn back bcause some gentleman .
profits are threatened. The State will
not allow you to go around with small.
poX or to conceal scarlet fever In your
house, although each may be strictly
your own affair. Compared with can.
Ger, smallpox and scarlet fever are
nothing. II the State can take radical
measures to stamp out cholera It can
take radical measures to stamp out
cancer, n million times worse than
cholera. II it can provide pest houses
for public safety It can provide slaugll.
ter houses for public safety. And Its
duty In the one case is ut least as clear
us In the other.
0eA
Thanks to the Beef Trust methods,
cancer numbered 1,10l victims In Chi
cago in 1905, or G7 more than In 1904
An increase Of the rate per 10000 OF
population Of 2.03 per cent.
The increase In deaths from cancer
in Chicago in 1905 over the average
for the decade ended In 1904 was 1Ol
per cent, and over the average rate OF
the decade ended In 1884 was 3i.l per
cent?