The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-11-28
MINNESOTA TOWNS
NEED ABATTO|RS
State Health Board Favors
Grand Forks Municipal
Plan.
GAINED BY CITY
Gopher Cities will Study Lo-
cal Plant For Ideas on
Construction.

mat the building Of the Grand
Forks municipal slaughter house is Il
matter of general interest. and that
many cities in the northwest will
adopt the same plan is indicated by
q statement made hy DR.. Fl. II. Brack-
en-, secretary of the Minnesota hoard
Of health, which appeared Thursday
in the Minneapolis Journal.
Dr. Bracken'S statement was made.
following the visit of James Childs.
engineer Of the Minnesota board of
health. to this city last eek to look
over the new plant.
The Journals article containing DIR.
Bracken's statement follows:
I'VE are working from the stand
point Of the public health" said DR..
H. NJ. Rracken. secretary Of the board.
today, land the establishment Of mu-
nicipal abbatoirs would prove an eco
nom and would give the public cheap
err as well as better meats. Minnesota
is overrun by small and u%nsanitary
slaughter houses. There are several
serving nearly every town of any size.
They are %nuisances in most cases; the
animals killed are not inspected and
neither is the meat inspected.
Urges City-Owncd Plant.
1.-THE proper plan is for the city to
oaAAA IA III oIiA StSAaSb
kill for local butchers or rent the
plant to them. A city meat inspector
should be IN charge"
DIR. Bracken said that Mr.. Childs
went to Grand Forks to study the mu-
nicipal plant and get ideas which will
be Of use to Minnesota cities. The
Grand Forks plant was built under au-
thortty granted at a special election,
with a bond issue Of 1000.
Albert Lea is agitating for a mu-
nicipal plant. and DR.. Bracken was
recently in that city to urge the prop
osition. Several cities have made
progress in centralizing the killing of
cattle and hogs for local use. hut nc
Minnesota city has a municipal plant.
In Owatonna butchers were brought
together to do their killing in one
modern plant. A similar arrangement
Is made in st. Cloud, and at Moor
head the common plant is owned by
a former butcher who acts as city
to DIR. Rracken, is the only city in the
state inspecting its meat supply at the
place of killing.
Uninspected Meat Scored.
"Neat inspection in the large cities
is good AS far as it goes" said DR..
Bracken today, but less than ten per
cent of the meat sold in the twin cit
les has had federal inspection or any
other kind at the abhatoir. The fed
eral meat laws do not help US. Ami
mails that are suspected are not taken
to be killed where there is federal in
spection. We should have state in
spection. or rather local inspection,
under state supervision. AS the fed
eral inspection is free. we would have
to make this inspection also free.
1.-THE little butchers .often complain
that we are trying to put them out of
business. That is not the ase We are
trying to put their business on a sani-
tary basis and one that will help them
In the end. What We want is alb.
batoirs where meat is killed under
clean conditions. The trouble is that
mo towns have four or five Slaughter
houses, Independent plants, dirty and
located as far as possible from resi-
dences because of their odors.
Complaints are Cited.
r getting many complaints
these plants. In place of them we al
ways urge municipal plants. such as
they have in Germany. A plant prop
eriy built n run is not a nuisance,
n can be maitaiSd right in the bus.
mess district of a town.
There may be legal difficulties in
the way of municipal plants" DR..
Bracken continued. "bu thew are
faund in city charters rather than in
h state laws. If they cannot be done
away with. the next best thing ia :;
central. cooperative abbatoir for
each town, built under plans approx
ed by the state board Of health and
20 be under state Or local inspection