The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1923-10-24
TELLS OF BAD
FOOD SERVED

TELLS OF BAD
FOOD SERVED
''Hc tried a spoonful OF Irish stew
and spat Il out aud promised US bet.
tor when We got 10 tho eannery. We
got worse instead.
and hero was tho first graf, we
found. You couldn't eat what they
dished out 10 you. but you could buy
decent stuff from the cook. A hun.
gry fellow has 10 cat when no II
working his way up and wo bought
stun TO eat. Tho .sday trip up cos,
mo SIS OF my wages. We paid six
bits as ccutsl for swo eggs. i5.ccn,
cans OF sardlncs. and gingcrsnnpa
cost the same. A sandwich was So
cents and five slices OF bread was IS
cents. A sack OF tobacco was so
cents and cans Of fruit were so and
IS cents both on tho boat and NJ the
Filipino boss store At the plant,
up az the plant we got worruy
beans and macaronl. fresh salmon
and ehicory coffee 80 strong Il burn.
cd like lye. Ono drink Of that stuff
and you'd fight Jack Dempsey him.
self Twice week they'd give you
frtit. You could eat that. The soup
they gave you and the nush in tho
morning. when Il wasn't full Of
weeyils or too salty. WAS passahie
The rest was too poisonous for even
a dos.
"on tho boat going up and down
we drank from an open fresh water
tank where we also washed. There
was soap bars and tobacco In the
slop. The Mount Baker carried is
llfeboats for tho $50 whites and
Mexicans. and seven OF them were
dashed down with wire cables and
were 80 full OF holes that they
wouldn't live IN smooth water. Two
boats on tic whole boat weTo service.
able. and they were AFT where the re-.
volvcr.totlng officers were. What
kind Of chance would bs have had7
Il never heard Of federal inspect.
or looking at any salmon for possible
condemnation. The only ones UP
there l heard OF were there to keep
them from fishing In tho river or In.
side the boundaries. The only sanl.
tary inspector we had was n com.
pany employee Moran continued.
HOW SALMON
WAS HANDLED
Il saw salmon sit out in the open
In cans for four days before II was
finally sealed up. And when you &c.
Il down here you see directions to
remove II Immediately to prevent
poisoning. When the cans full OF
fish had sat there four days n bunch
OF barchanded Cinnamon removed
them. rolled them into balls and put
them back into other cans for seal.
ing.
II saw fish lie on the dock for
90 and 4s hours before they were
finally cut UP. Some OF them were
so decaycd that the iron chInk.
the machine which cuts them up.
wouldn't handle them. They'd Just
smash up into n jelly. The 'chink
man would hook them out and
throw them in a pile and they'd lie
there all day in the worst sanitary
conditions you can think Of. When
tho regular run was finished n gang
would cut up these decayed fish the
machine wouldn't cut and they'd
cut them by hand and slam them
into cans, too" Moran declared.
These fish, later canned. Moran
asserted. lay where the workers con.
tamlnated them in the most loath.
some manner.
ION the Fourth OF July I saw the
OF the cannery
give an iron chink' operator
a quart or whisky 80 he could work.
lie had had but two hours'rest the day
before and he worked thru the
Fourth for 20 hours straight, thanks
TO the whisky the young man said
MEN STRIKE:
FIVE ARE ARRESTED
when hop head couldn't work
he was given 81 or $3.50 q day for
dope 30 he could continue his labors,
but when the season was over he
was a dirty dog and a hop head
and was thrown out with his wages
eaten up in food. clothing and dope
You see you don't get your pay
until you are brought back to tho
States.
FINALLY" Moran continued, the
fellows struck for better food. As
soon 40 they stopped work the book.
keeper began subtractinR S. n dny
from their prospective wages for
board and room. They we're off
work for two days and the super.
intendent promised better grub.
They worked couple OF days and
II didn't improve. so they went back
on strike for a week.
"Then United States marshal
and deputy came and Investigated.
They arrested five fellows--a French.
man, two negroes and two whites.
Two OF them pleaded guilty 10 strlk.
ing and were fined 5000 apiece out
of their wages by the Emitted Staten
commissioners and the other three,
who pleaded not guilty. beat their
case and were freed"
Sanitary conditions were OF the
worst. and the men all were infeBt.
ed with yermin and fought for their
alleged poisonous food like Wild
animals, Moran charged