New Britain herald., 1916-02-09
COMMUNICATED.
Some Pertinent Comment on New Britain's Proposed Slaughter House. Gay White Way
 Also Gets JOstled.
New Britain. Conn.,,

. ALSO Gets JOStlcd.
 !. New Britain, Conn.,,
 Feb. 7, 1916 To the Editor of the Herald:
 A casual observer of the doings of the various boards and commissions of the city government would quite naturally believe that their main oh- Ject was to discuss ways and means of spending the taxpayers money re- gardless of the absolute necessities of the community.
 Beginning with the Municipal Ice House. We are now being brought face to face with an added appro- priation for a municipal slaughter house and Great White Way. Are these things necessary for the com fort convenience and general vel fare of the citizens of New Britain?
 The idea of a municipal ice house had it's inception in the minds of few persons who wished to pose as reformers against the supposed eXac- tiOns of Corporate Greed. The mOvc- ment was not taken seriously by those best able to judge of the rcn- sonableneSs of the enterprise. What little vas said or thought of it ap- peared to be along the idea that If you give a calf rope enough, ne will hang himself This is about What the ice house promoters nave dohe and the taxpayers are paylng TOT the rope. While a municipal ice puSlne55' properly installed and efficiently man aged, might prove to be an econo1lli- cal means of supplying the cltlzens with cheap ice the methods adopted by those assuming the responSlplllty, were most ill-advised and have re- suited, as most Of the well 1nfOrncd persons predicted, in a complete tarce. In the first place, cutting ice on Shuttle Meadow Lake. the only source of our drinking water, never shouid have been allowed. The Water Com missioners have expended hundreds of thousands of dollars for the sole purpose of providing the city with an abundant supply of pure, uncontam- mated water. The old ice houses at the lake were torn down, and the cutting of ice on the lake by any one was strictly prohibited.
 To many sober minded people it is profound mystery how the BoarI of Health should allow a return 10 ice cutting on the lake with the ever present danger of contamination by
 
 ice blows ,and by the expectorations, etc., of the men employed on the ice. Again, the construction of the house was faulty from the beginning. Many persons of long experience in ice house construction and ice preserVa ton predicted that the house would not last two seasons, without eX pensive repairs, and so it has turned out.
 From the start. there never was any serious, hearty cooperation l among the city officials interested with the management of the ice business, and so long as the city attempts to manage the ice business, through commissions working only for the glory of it. or through existing boards already fully employed in the neces- Sary city functions, just so long will the municipal ice business prove to be a hollow mockery and a big eN" pense to the taxpayers. But this experience is not enough. We must now have Municipal Slaughter house. Pray tell what for? It is stated from 20 to 25 cattle. pigs. etc., are slaughtered daily for use in this city. Just what is meant by etc, etc, is not clear If this term includes calves, COWS, DullS SISeiS. llOSS, SodNS, chickens, ducks and geese. then the estimate may be correct. but if 1T includes only calves, COWS, steers bulls and hogs, the accuracy of the figures may be seriously questioned.
 Most of the butchering in the beef line for use in this city is done by Jew butchers, and information from reliable sources indicates that from ten to fifteen head per week is the average. Most, if not all the meat sold by these men. must be Jewish or Kosher meat The animal must be killed by the Rabbi, inspected and passed or condemned by the Rabbi The fee for this service is a dollar or more, and this fee would have to be paid whether the butchering was done in municipal slaughter house. or in the open lot Add to this fee, a fec: charged by the city, sufficient to cover the cost of maintaining a req sonably decent establishment and many of the Jew butchers would be driven out of business.
 It is quite evident that a public or municipal slaughter house, pro- perly constructed and properly man. agcd, would be a very fine conver- fence for any one having animals to bc disposed of in this way: but. the cost of constructing and maintaining such an establishment would be so great as to impose a fee on the few that would be making use of tho same, almost prohibitiVe. Five thoU- sand dollars would not build a sub Stantial and durable slaughter house, nc moro tNan ten thousand dollars would h:;iI7 2 substantial and durable ice house. Neither would $1,400.O0 meet the running expenses, includire interest, repairs, depreciation. and