Evening star., 1937-09-05
CATTLE TRUCKS
MENACE IS SEEN
Areas Outside Benning May
Be Affected by 0dors, Dr..
Rutland Says.

elue tile DeIlIllue area may De SUD-
Jected in the future to very serious
annoyances" from great numbers OF
malodorous truckes bearing cattle
hogs and calves to the Union stock
yards and the proposed Adolf Gobe
rendering plant, Health Officer George
c. Rutland warned yesterday.
Creation of new traffic nuisance
OF this sort might easily arise in
the event of large scale slaughtering
operations, he said, and constitute a
troublesome problem not only to the
Health Department but also to resi-
dents and motorists along the routes
This lnescapable phase of stock yard
operations has been largely ignored
by public officials during 10 months
OF discussions over attendant slaugh-
ter house nuisances To home owners
in the Northeast section, especially
In the vicinity of the stock yards, it
constitutes real threat against which
complaints were made at recent
Capitol hearings on the King Norton
bills.
resident of the section which has
been deeply interested in truck trans
portation of live stock, should the
Gobel plant open up to anything like
maximum capacity, warned that few
sections OF the city would escape the
accompanying nuisances.
Secretary Ickes has talked a good
dna1 Qhn11t thu Iofo or;o
erty values in the northeast section
because of these proposed slaughter
house operations" the home owner
said. What will he and the residents
OF the northwest have to say when
truckloads of hogs and cattle come
into the city over Wisconsin avenue.
the Key Bridge, Georgia avenue and
maybe even Sixteenth street,"
Officials admitted that live stock
trucks coming into Washington from
Virginia would principally use the
Highway Bridge and some would come
over the Key Bridge There is no
likelihood Of the police allowing such
trafhc on Constitution avenue, but
there are no restrictions on the thor
oughfares leading from Highway
Bridge to Benning. The trucks then
would traverse densely settled sections.
A recent official report on this phase
OF the slaughtering problems indicated
it is unlikely that any animals would
be shipped into the city from the
north, as this business normally would
go to Baltimore Senator Millard E,
Iydlngs' farm constituents in Prince
Georges County and in Southern
Maryland, it was brought out at the
Senate hearings on the anti-nuisance
bill, are looking forward eagerly to
the resumption of thriving live stock
trade in Benning. They appeared in
large numbers at the hearing to
plead for rejection of legislation which
would have closed the Benning market
to them.
Trucks Use Increases.
A marked development in the pack
Ing industry in recent years has
been the increased use of trucks TO
transport cattle, sheep and hogs to
stockyards The operation of this
trucking business has been charac-
terized by the development of indie
pendent truck operators who scour
rural districts and transport what
animals they can pick up on a COM
mission basis.
With all truck loads consigned to
the Gobel plant and the Union stock
yards converging on Benning, the
residents of that section and normal
traffic over Benning road will be-
come the worst victims.
Health officers pointed out that
the present annoyances from the
scores of poultry trucks entering
Washington from all points give an
indication of what might be ex-
pected from caravans of live stock
trucks. Most of these trucks 60
direct to the markets or the large
chicken-killing centers in the South
west. Officers said they come in
at all hours of the day.
DR.. Rutland visualized the future
problem as one that might require
drastic revision of the District code,
SO as to be able to cope with it more
satisfactorily. The presence of a
great many of these trucks on the
streets would be particularly offen-
sive. he said, during the Summer
months when odors would be ac-
centuated.
Slaughtering Confined.
Slaughtering of live stock in Wash
ington is now confined strictly to
calves and lambs and the total num-
Der killed daily in six small operat-
ing plants is slightly less than 200.
The plans for the Gobel slaughter
House provide for a maximum of
about $3.50 animals day, majority
Of which are hogs.
" Extensive slaughtering operations in
Benning, it was conceivable, would
mean well-filled stock pens with their
o~ti accompanying odors and noises