Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-06-14
QUALITY GUARANTEED.

QUALITY GUARANTEED.
The phraseology of these labels Is
wholly unwarrantod. The govern
ment inspectors pass only upon the
healthfulness of the animal at the
time of killing. They know nothing
OF the processes through which the
meat has passed since this inspection.
| They do not know what else may have
been placed in the cans in addition to
| inspected meat" AS a matter of
fact, they know nothing about the
contents of the can upon which the
| packers place these labels-do not
even know that it contains what it
| purports to contain. The legend
| quality guaranteed" Immediately fol-
| lowing the statement as to govern
ment inspection is wholly unjustifi
able 1t deceives and is plainly de-
signed to deceive the average pur
| chaser, who naturally infers from the
label that the government guarantees
the contents of the can to be what it
purports to be.
In another establishment piles Of
sausages and dry moldy canned meats.
admittedly several years old, were
found, which the superintendent
stated to us would be tanked and con-
verted into grease. The disposition
to be made of this was wholly optional
with the superintendent or repre-
sentatives of the packers, as the gov
ernment does not concern itself with
the disposition of meats after they
have passed inspection on the killing
floor. 1t might all be treated with
chemicals, mixed with other meats.
turned out in any form of meat pro
duct desired and yet the packages or
receptacles in which it was to be
shipped out to the public would be
marked with a label that their con-
tents had been government insDect-
ed" 1t is not alleged here that such
use was to be made of this stuff. The
case is pointed out as one showing
the glaring opportunity for the mis-
use of a label bearing the name and
the implied guaranty of the United
States government.
Another instance of abuse in the
use of the 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 old labels. They were
then subjected to sufficient heat to
llven up the contentS-to use the
phrase of the room superintendent.
After this, fresh labels, with the gov
eminent name on them, were to be
placed upon the cans, and they were
TO be sent out bearing all the evidence
of being freshly put up product In
of
sion of the superintendent, the stock
thus being relabeled was over two
years old. In the other case the su-
peHintendent evaded a 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
direct consequence of the system of
administration that prevails. The
various departments are under the
direct control of superintendent who
claim to use full authority in dealing
with the employees and who seem to
Ignore all considerations except those
Of the account book. Under this sys-
tenn proper care of the products and
of the health and comfort of the en-
ployes is impossible. and the con-
sumer suffers in consequence. The
unsanitary conditions in which the
laborers work and the feverish pace
which they are forced to maintain in
evitably affect their health. Physi-
clans state that tuberculosis is dis
proportionately prevalent in the stock
Wiz Of
expectorate on the spongy wooden
floors of the dark workrooms, from
which falling scraps of meat are later
shoveled up to be converted into food
products.
Even the ordinary decencies of life |
are completely ignored. In practical |
ly all cases the doors of the toilet |
rooms open directly into the working |
rooms, the privies of men and women |
frequently adjoin and the entrances
are sometimes no more than a foot or |
two apart. In other cases there are |
no privies for women in the rooms in |
which they work, and to reach the |
nearest it is necessary to go up or
down a couple of flights of stairs In |
one noticeable instance the privy for !
the women working in several adjoin-
ing rooms was in a room in which |
men chiefly We're employed, and every
girl going to use this had to pass by
the working places of dozens of male
operatives and enter the privy the
door Of whach was not six feet from
the working place of one of the men
operatives. AS previously noted, in
the privies for men and women alike
there are no partitions, but simply a
long row of open seats. Rest rooms,
where tired women workers might go
for short rest, were found as rare
and in some establish
ments women are even placed in
charge of privies chiefly for the pur-
pose, it was stated, to see that the
girls did not absent themselves too
long from their work under the ex.