Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1906-03-24

the tram. In1S Is uescrlpeu rs IW-
| lows:
".Downers.' the men called them.
aud the packing-l,ouse had special
elevator upon which they were raised
to the killing beds. where the gang
proceeded to handle them with an air
Of business.like nonclialancc which
said palmer than words that 1t was a
matter of everyday routine. 1t took a
, couple Of hours to get them out of the
way. and in the end Jurgis saw them
go into the chillingrooms with the rest
If the meat. being carefully scattered
here and there 50 that they could not
be identified"
Mr.. Sinclair's description Of the meat
that Is put into cans Is sufficiently un-
appetizing. but his account Of how
sausages are made Is still more so.
There was never the least attention
paid to what was cut M for sausage"
he says: "there would come oil the way
back from Europe old sausage that had
been rejected and that was moldy and
white-it would be dosed with borax
and glycerin. and dumped into the hop.
pers. and made over again for home
consumption. There would I've meat
thnt had tumbled out on the floor. In
the dirt and sawdust. where the work.
ers had tramped and spit uncountcti
billions OF consumption germs.
There would Ike meat stored In
great piles In rooms. and the water
from leaky roofs would drip over It.
aud thousands Of rats would race about
1t. 1t was too dark In these storage
places to see well. but man could run
his hand over these piles Of meat and
sweep of handouts Of the dried excre-
ment OF rats. These rats were q nui.
sance. and the packe,, would put pol.
soned bread out for them; they would
die. and then rats, bread and meat
would go into the hoppers together.
This Is no fairy story and no Joke; the
I. meat would be shoveled into carts, and
} the man who did the slovcling would
, not trouble to lift out rat even when
he saw one-there were things that
! went into the sausage IN comparison
Q with which a poisoned rat was a It'd.
= bit"
= The authors descriptions Of these nl'
3 legged denominations are merely Incl
;. dental to his portrayal Of equally ter
{ rible social conditions In the stock
Q yards. Jurgis finds himself In a jungle
n Of wild beasts. all seeking to rend and
}. rob him, and the emotional interest OF
the story has to do with the terrible
J, losing fight OF this honest Lithuanian
{ family. The packing industry kills one
n member after another, ruins and kill
|. Jurgis young wife under heart.rendini
}. conditions. kills his little hoy, ant
}, sends Jurgis himself forth into tn,
d world a tramp and then n criminal
d The whole story Is a chamber Of hor
e rors.
e The latter part describes social nj
Q GERS not usually mentioned In novel
The most sensational chapter Is thu
t describing the unspeakable state o
@ affairs said 10 have been permitted an
4 promoted by the packers during tn
8 big strike.
r. They lodged men and women o.
a the same floor" says the author. IAN
y with the night there began saturnali
"a OF Neutrality-suspicious. such as neve
d before had been witnessed In Americi
h And as the women We're the dregs frol
d the brOthels Of Chicago ana the me
a were for the most part ignorant cOuI
q try negroes, the nameless disease @
vice were soon rife, and this wher
n food was being handled, which was ser
!. out 10 every corner Of the civilize
Va world"
!, The novel closes with the cOnversiO
|, Of the hero to socialism, In which
n Is supposed TO see a cure for the evil
;, Of the beef trust."-Chicago RecOrt
:. Herald, February 20, 1906.
q Extracts from Upton Sinclair's no,
u el, 'The Jungle" Chicago Recor
10 Herald, Feb. 20, 1906:
2, Then there was the condemned mea
II industry, with its endless horrors. Tn
e people Of Chicago saw the government
inspectors in PackingtOwn, and the
Is all took that to mean that they wer
= protected from diseased meat; the
e did not understand that these l63 IL
= spectors had been appointed at the r.
q quest Of the packers, and that the
o were paid by the United States gov
Il ernment 10 certify that all the dii
q eased meat was kept in the State.
4 There were some cattle with broke
d legs, and some with gOred sides. an
;, some that had died, from what caus
?. no one could say; and they were all I
be disposed Of here In darkness an
70 silence. "Downers' the men Gale
i them, and the packing-house had
d special elevator upon which they wer
o raised to the killing beds where tn
!, gang proceeded to handle them, wit
I an air Of buslnesslike nOnchalanc
D which said palmer than words that
Z was a matter OF everyday routine.
Q There was never the least attention
! paid 10 what was cut up for sausage
. Thousands OF rats would race over tn,
, meat. These rats We're nuisance
/ and the packers would put pOisOnet
bread out for them; they would die