The Washington times., 1913-11-15
PUBLIC |MPER|LED
WITH BAD MEATS
So Say Experts, Who Are in
Favor of Municipal Abattoir
For Washington.

DR.. W. C. Woodward, health officer
of the District, and DR.. Hubert Young.
chief food inspector, today added their
Endorsement of a municipal abattoir for
Washington to that of Assistant Sec
retary of Agriculture Galloway and DR..
Melvin, chief of the Bureau of Animal
Industry.
Discussing the need for more stringent
regulation of slaughtering here, in or
der to safeguard the health of the city,
DR.. Woodward said today that he had
discussed the need for a public abattoir
with Commissioners and members Of
Congress, but had entertained little hope
of success until recently.
I'VE have been able to do a great
deal to prevent diseased live stock be-
ing slaughtered and sold in the Dis
trict, but as there are something more
than twenty little slaughter houses
scattered around the edges of the city.
1t gives us great deal to do.
Not An Experiment.
"A municipal abattoir here would not
be an experiment. In New orleans. in
Toronto, and in a great many other
cities in Europe and South America the
wisdom and profit of such an institution
has been demonstrated repeatedly. 1t
doubtless has a great economic advan-
tage, but this office is naturally con-
cerned more with its need from the
standpoint of public health. 1t would
enable the butcher to kill his meat un-
der much more sanitary conditions than
is possible in the little cheap slaughter
houses now in use, and wou d infinitely
help this department in making prop
er inspection of animals to be used for
meat
The great game OF hide and seek
played up to 1909 between certain butch
ers and the inspectors Of the District
was graphically described by Chief In
spector Young, who added that since
his department has succeeded in elimi-
mating tubercular cows from the Dis
trict conditions are much improved,
though deception Is still possible.
''In our annual reports We have ask
ed that a law be passed regulating the
hours during which stock may be
slaughtered. but so far with 10 sue
cess" said DR.. Young. 1T used to be
that when a man had one or more old
worn-out dairy cows that he knew were
too tubercular to pass Federal inspec-
ton, he would bring them into the
District and kill them for the local
market.
Slaughter At Midnight.
"These fellows got so they would do
their slaughtering after midnight, and
many of the abattoirs were equipped
with gasolene torches. We inspectors
got to calling on them about 2 a. m.
but it was just a game of hide-and-
seek. and the meat-eating public was
often it. Usually the still warm car
cases were brought downtown and put
in the big cold storage rooms with 500
others, so we had no chance Of in
specting them unless right on the spot
at the time of the killing.
I'm 1903 we instituted an inspection
of dairy cows that makes it all but i'm
possible for a tubercular COW to get
across the District line, but there Is
nothing on the statute books now to
prevent a man killing meat any hour
of the night he wants to and thus CIV
ing US the slip unless we are right on
the job twenty-four hours a day."
There are twenty-one. places in the
District where live stock is killed, but
at only two of these are any cattle
slaughtered, the others being devoted
largely to the slaughter of calves, sheep
and hogs When the city inspectors
find a diseased animal they see that its
carcass Is used only in the manufac-
ture of fertilizer, but the high price OF
meat puts Nemium on getting a
heavy hog or beef on the retail counter,
! without giving the inspector an oppor-
| tunity to condemn 1t.