The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1906-06-15

rtnnlS admission from the man in
charge that this was to be ground up
and used in making "potted ham"
All of these canned products bear
labels, of which the following is a
sample:
"ABBATOR NO. -. The contents of
this package have been inspected nc.
cording to the act of Congress OF
March 5, 1891. Quality guaranteed"
Deception i'm Governmen Label.
The phraseology of these labels is
wholly unwarranted. The government
inspectors pass only upon the health
fulness 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 ans in addition to Gin
spected meat" AS O matter of fact,
they know nothing about the con
tents" of the can upon which the pack
ers places these labels-do not even
know that it contains what 1t p,r-
ports to contain. The legend Quality
Guaranteed" Immediately following
the statement as to government in
spection is wholly unjustifiable. 1t de-
ceives and is plainly designed to de.
ceive the average purchaser, who nat.
urally inters from the label that the
government guarantees the contents
of the can to be what 1t purports to
be.
In another establishment piles Of
sausages and dry moldy canned meats,
admittedly several years old, were
found, which the superintendent stat
ed to us would be tanked and convert.
ed into grease. The disposition to be
made of this was wholly optional with
the superintendent or representatives
of the packers,a as the government does
not concern itself with the disposition
of meats after they have passed Is.
spection on the killing floor. 1t might
be all treated with chemicals mixed
with other meats, turned out in any
form Of meat product 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 contents had been government
inspected" 1t is not alleged hore that
such use was to be made of this stuff.
The cas- is pointed out as one show.
ing the glaring opportunity FOR the
misuse Of a label bearing the name
and the implied guaranty of The Unit
ed 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 being
put through a washing process to re-
move the old labels. They were then
subjected to sufficient heat to Given
up" the contents-to use the phrase of
the superintendent. After this,
fresh labels, with the government
name on them, were to be placed upon
the cans, and they were to be sent out
bearing all the evidence of being a
freshly put up product. In one of these
instances, by the admission Of the III.
perintendent, the stock thus being re-
labeled was over two years old. In the
ether case the superintendent evaded
a statement of how old the goods
we're.
How the Employees Are Treated.
"The lack of consideration for the
health and comfort of tho laborers in
the Chicago stockyards seems to be a
direct consequence of the system of
administration that prevails. The va.
rious departments are under the direct
control of superintendent who claim
TN moo flt1l otIthnrfty In IaaI;nn with
the employees and who seem to ignore
all considerations except those of the
account book. Under this system
proper care Of the products and of the
health and comfort Of the employees is
impossible, and the suffers
in consequence. The u~nsanitary con.
ditions In which the labofers work and
the feverish pace which they are
forced to maintain inevitably affect
their health. Physicians state that tn.
~berculosis IS disproportionately prevail
ent in the stockyards, and the victims
OF this disease 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 practically
all cases the doors of the toilet rooms
open directly into the working rooms
Rest rooms, where tired women work
ers might go for a short rest, were
found as rare exceptions, and in some
establishments women are ever placed
In charge of toilet rooms chiefly for
the purpose, 1t was stated, to see that
the girls did not absent themselves too
long from their work under the ex
cuse of visiting them. In some in
stances what vas called n rest room
was simply M end of the toilet rooms
p%artitioned off by a siX-foot partition
from the remaining Enclosure. A few
girls were found using this, not only
as a rest room, but as the only avail
able place in which to eat their lunch