Evening star., 1936-11-23
NORTHEAST seen
ISOLATED SECTION
/ # ABATTO|R WINS
Welfare Board Chairman
Says Blight viii Ruin
Small Home Area.
BACK OF THE YARDS"
DISTRICT IS FORECAST
McReynolds Claims Advantages
to Be Offset by Property Value
Drop and Tax Loss.

Re-establishment Of large scale
slaughter house operations at the
highway entrance to Washington
proper over the Benning Viaduct, 1t
was claimed today. would create even
tually back of the yards" district
and bring ruination to large subur-
ban section of the northeast.
The economic advantages claimed
for the model packing plant which
Adolf Gobel, Inc, Is fighting in the
courts to conduct at the Benning site,
in the opinion Of Frederick w. Nc
Reynolds, Washington lawyer and
chairman Of the Districts Board Of
Public Welfare, would be more than
Offset by the depreciation Of real es-
tate values and . subsequent loss In
taxes:
Some Of the citizens Of that sec
ton who appear to want an abattoir
In their midst may not realise" he
said, that the maintenance Of
stock yards district, however modern.
would serve as q barrier that would
isolate them from the rest Of Wash
ington.'
Sees Section Ruined.
McReynolds said that the District
probably would lose much more in
taxes as q result of deprecated values
and unrented property than it would
receive in taxes from the packing firm.
1T would ruin q large section for resi-
Dental purposes" he added, "and in
terfere seriously with its proper de-
velopment."
McReynolds' views conceded ex-
actly with those expressed by a prop
erty owner and close neighbor of the
Gobel site who was born and raised"
in the BennIng area.
Tells Of Old Plant.
"This section will never develop the
way it should. 50 long as there is any
chance of q slaughter house operating
here" he said
He pointed to the practically unoc-
cupied animal pens. some of them not
much more than 100 feet from q row
Of houses on Anacostia road, and said:
In the old days when these pens
were filled with animals, it was nee
essaTy to keep the windows of my
house closed because of the stencil.
But that wasn't all. The bawling Of
the calves and the squeals from the
pigs and hogs would keep up all night.
That was the way it used to be, and
none Of this so-called modern mechan-
Ism and sanitary conditions they speak
Of in connection with abattoirs can
keep down the noise or the smell of
hundreds of animals shut up in pens"
Near the slaughter-house site be-
yond the yiaduct are q number Of at
tractive homes, and . block distant,
on Black street and Anacostia road,
are half a dozen other residences
Asked about prospective employ
ment conditions, in the event that the
Gobel Co. Is permitted to operate in
Benning, the neighborhood resi-
dents said that in the old days
only hand full Of the people living
here worked in the plant; nearly all
the employees came from Washington"
Georgetown Plant Remembered.
The experiences Of Georgetown res
idents with the odors arising from
the meat-rendering plant operated
several years ago on the water front,
near Thirty-third street, are still re-
membered by many. They were re-
called today by Frank P. Leetch, .
member Of the Committee Of 100 on
the Federal City, who knew about the
nuisance from practical experience.
This plant was . small one, rem
dering inedible offal, fats, etc., col
lected from butchers, markets and
other sources" Leetch said.
THE odors arising from this plant
were so offensive at times that protest
after protest was lodged with the
District Health Department. The de-
partment made inspection upon COM
plants, but always found the interior
Of the plant clean and sanitary within
the existing regulations.
ITO the credit Of the operators of
this plant it may be said that, within
the mechanical limitations of the
plant. they tried to keep down the
odors as much rs possible, but 1t was
apparently an impossibility to entirely
abate the nuisance.
They resorted to the operation of
the plant late at night, hoping thereby
to get by under cover of darkness.
when the citizens were asleep. This
subterfuee, however, was not very
successful
Personally. I was many times
awakened In the night by q stencil SO
offensive that had to get up and
close my bed room windows to try and
get some relief.
Policy Il Changed.
"On such occasions I frequently
called up the inspector Of police and
Of the Health Department to report,
20 that they might be caught IN the
act. My experience was that Of many
citizens.
The Georgetown Citizens Asso-
ciatof took action on the matter ON
several occasions, and was prepared
TO take the matter into court, but be-
fore this was done there was
change Of ownership and an abandon
nient Of the general rendering Of ma.
teriak - before.
'While. the plant b sttll In opera
ton, 4 understand 1t u only proc
easing certain materials for chicken
feed. etc, and there has apparently
been less cause for complaint"
GAME TO BE DISCUSSED