Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-06-22
UPTON SINCLAIR TELLS
HOW He GOT HIS FACTS.
BY MARLEN K. PEW.

To Upton Sinclair, a mere boy in
years and appearance, is given credit
for the swift legislative action l al
Washington, which followed the Pres
exposure of the meat packing industry
of Chicago. 1t was after the President
: : bad read the now famous novel. The
Jungle" in which Sinclair told in
thrilling narrative the horrors of
Packingtown, that the young novelist
a I'D self confessed muck raker was
summoned to the White House to re-
peat personally the charges he made
in bis book.
Il am q years old, - he said to me
when L called at his office. Il was
born in Baltimore of poor parents, and
gained my education in the College of
the City of New Y YOrk and Columbia
University by writing for newspapers
and periodicals. | was fourteen when
| startef writing. My tirst work was
| anything but serious-in fact, | earn
ed money faster, L found, by writing
completed book containing $4,000
words. | have been told that it was
very bad, and guess that's right.
Il felt that | had ideas, and L won.
dered why the world would not give
NE credit for my bigh Ideals.
six years ago l left college and
started to write my book king Midas.
l had had a pretty tough fight for a
living in New Y ork, but it was no worse
than l endured in Canada while writ
ing this book. | lived in shanties and
tents, and often subsisted on game and
fish. There have been many weeks
that L have not had a cent in my
pockets, but somehow | always felt,
even though my books were rejected
with great regularity, that in the end
would win out in my chosen pro.
fessiOn.
II obtained my first information of I
the terrible conditions in Packingtown ,
rom socialists, of whom l am one. Il7
determined to write the story. A New
ork magazine publisher sent me to
chicago. and L wrote SIX articles Two 7
we're printed; the others destroyed, as +
he editor doubted my statements
This fired me with renewed ambition h
% tell that awful story to the Amer- f
'an people. | returned to Chicago
nd lived for seven weeks in Packing "
own. My socialist friends assisted T
ne. Many were employed by the v
ackels and l was enabled to get ali r,
he information l needed. | was en- v
aged one year in writing the book. v
II am glad if my work has been of u
ervice not only to the meat consum. r.
1g public, but to the wretched work. Al
rs in the Chicago stock yards. Not q
ct can get from my eyes the miser-
BILE scenes | Witnessed there My story r,
as been criticized and doubted on RI
very hand. l wrote it to tell the v
ruth relentlessly. u
II saw with my own eyes the render is
1g of condemned hogs into lard, saw T.
hem dOctoring spoiled hams by pump h
ng them full of chemicals py means of I
hollow needle, saw the rats, dead NJ
rom poi son, shoveIed up and dumped
ltO the hoppers for sausage meat.
My statement that men have ac-
lally fallen into the lard watts and lie
ave come out in the form of pure p'
,af lard is literally true. | have prov hi
i absolutely that fingers of workers oil
ut off in the machinery have been p'
round into prepared meats" et
"DO you eat meat 2" l ventured to Ii
SIX. L
"Never, except that which comes N
rom my own little farm. | would no Is
lore eat meat purchased in the regu- pl
II way in New York than | would eat 81
olson or filth" ta