Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-06-07

of the wheelbarrow, went back for
another load, and repeated this pro-
cess indefinitely. Inquiry developed
the fact that there was no water in
this room at all, and the only method
the man adopted for cleaning his
hands was to rub them against his
dirty apron or on his still filthier
trousers.
Methods of Inspection.
Referring to methods of inspection,
the report says that the radical defect
in the present system is that 1t does
not go far enough. 1t is confined by
law to passing on the healthfulness of
animals at the time of killing. During
the process of preparing sausage and
other products there is no government
inspection, despite the fact that all the
products when sent out bear a label
stating that they have been passed
upon by government inspectors.
The phrase on the labels of canned
products, quality guaranteed" be-
meath the inspection mark, is pro-
nounced to be wholly unwarranted and
unjustifiable. The report says that
the inspectors do not know what else
may have been placed in the a in
addition to inspected meat"
"In one establishment" says the re-
port, "a pile of sausages and dry moldy
canned meats, admittedly several
years old, were found, which the supor-
intendent stated to us would be tanked
and converted into grease. The dis
position to be made of this was wholly
optional with the superintendent or
representatives of the packers, as the
government 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
product desired, and yet the packages
or receptacle in which it was to be
shipped out to the public would be
marked with a label that their con-
tents had been government inspect
ed"
Tuberculosis.
"The unsanitary condition in which
the laborers work and the feverish
pace which they are forced to main
tain inevitably affect their health. Ply
sicians state that tuberculosis is dis
proportionately prevalent in the stock
yards and the victims of this disease
e~xpectorate on the spongy wooden
floors of the dark work rooms, from
which falling scraps of meat are laler
shoveled up to the converted into food
products.
Girls and women were found in
rooms registering a temperature of SO
F. without any ventilation whatever,
depending entirely upon artificial light.
The floors were wet and soggy and In
some cases covered with water, so that
the girls had to stand in boxes of saw
dust as a protection of their feet. In
many cases girls of 1G, II and IS years
stand 10 hours a day at work, much Of
which could be carried on while sitting
down.
Lowers the Morals.
"The neglect on the part of their
employers to recognize or provide tor
the requirements of cleanliness and
decency of the employees must have an
effect which can not be exaggerated in
lowering an effect which can not be
in lowering the morals and discourag.
ing cleanliness on the part of work.
ers employed in the packing houses.
"The report closes with a number of
recommendations for remedial legis-
lation, which are covered in the presi-
dents messages and the provisions of
the Beveridge amendment.