Chicago eagle., 1906-07-21

Health Commissioner whalen finds
the greatest foe of the public health
In the Beef Trust.
For seven months DIR. whalen has
been trying to get an ordinance through
The city council forbidding the sale Of
any slaughtered poultry, fish, game. or
any animal used for food purposes. re-
trlgerated or otherwise, (which has not
been properly drawn and prepared by
removing the entrails at the time Of
slaughter" Storage men estimated
that 100000 pounds Of meats In Chi.
cago warehouses would come under the
ban of this law.
DIR. whalen's ordinance contains the
following provisions:
No fowls or other animals to be put
In storage without the entrails being
removed.
Warehouses to be In sanitary cOndi.
tion; regular inspections to guarantee
this.
An annual license tee Of $500. per.
mits to be issued to warehouses only
after they had complied with the sanl'
tary provisions.
Every article to be tagged permanent.
" to show the date 1t Is put In stor.
age.
Retail grocers to exhibit storage
meats in original packages from the
warehouses. to show the age of the
food, and Its history.
"Our inspectors have found meat.
two and three years old In the ware.
houses" DIR. Whalen said.
So important has this subject become
that the Secretary Of the State Board
Of Health, DR.. James A. Egan, has ad
dressed the following communication
to the mayor Of every city In Illinois
''rhe Illinois State Board Of Health
heath Of the people, urgently recon-
mends to the mayors and city council,
Of all cities an the presidents ant
boards OF trustc's Of all villages ant
to the health o..ielals In oil parts o
the State. the e. ,ctment and enforce
ment OF ordinances prohibiting the sal'
OF poultry, hsh. game, or any anima
used for food tli.,t has not been prop
eriy cleaned and drawn at the tlm'
Of the slaughtering.
"The necessity for such ordinances
and their enforcement Is plainly lndi
Gated by the rapidly growing custom
OF storing poultry, ish, and game con
talnlng the cntrails and other vlsccr;
and Offering them for sale long period
OF time after being killed. and tn
danger to public health caused by thl
custom.
ut Is known to all physicians ant
psychologists that there are generate'
In the body Of any animal polsons o
the highest degree Of toxiclty. The In
test!nes and other digestive organs con
tain ut all times materials which hav
undergone putrefactlve changes.
this material be permitted to remail
In the body after death the poison
generated may infiltrate the entlr
flesh. making 1t dangerous to the pei
son who eats II. The body, In whic
the vlscera are permitted to remall
undergocs decomposition much NOR
rapidly than when such vlscera hav
been removed. Decomposition Is ful
fher fastened by leaving the blood
the animal. .--
lit has become the custom OF who'll
sale pOulterers and packers to purcha'
poultry during the early summer, whe
the prices are lowest, and TO keep
In cold storage until winter or unit
the prices are highest. Such fowls a.
killed without bleeding, often pluck'
before death, and placed In cold sto
age without removing the entrails al
other y!scera. Frequently they are n
offered for sale until several mont
after killing.
"The process OF decomposition al
putrefactIon begins at once. Cold ste
age and freezing may limit the rotti
process. but do not stop 1t. VIII
poultry or animals are taken from ca
storage and thawed out for exhibit
and sale the decomposition contlnu
with renewed energy, impregnatlng t
flesh with pOlsons. Flesh In which I
blood has been permitted 10 remain
particularly susceptible TO such Deco
position, and this susceptibility is
creased By the long period OF freczi
and thaw!ng.
Even with poultry that Is fresh
killed there Is frequently period
several days between the time
slau2hterng and sale. Not only Is
dangerous, but II Is repugnant to o
sense of dcccucy that the flesh we O
20 eat shall lie for several days IN clC
contact with purifying animal matt
"Und0uJtcdly undrawn poultry, fe
and game has caused many cases
poisoning which have wrongfully be
attributed 10 other causes. The pols'
Ing rcsultln: often rescmblcd Il
caused by other polsons administer
by persons or taken with suicidal
tent"
~
Physicians seemed inclined TO &
agree with the cold storage people
a. al. f.rsaiIfIttu M atnrfno food nm