Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-06-30
Continued from First Pagl

Continued from First Page
last winter included such items
as these:
. Oyster boats. with oysters
in their holds, would tie up
at the Maine avenue docks.
The decks were swabbed down
with water lifted from the
highly polluted river basin,
the water leaking through the
decks onto the oysters stored
below.
Q Shucked oysters we're being
displayed for sale in jars ex-
posed to the sun. without ade-
quate icing.
o In the city-owned shocking
house on the wharf-a facility
provided for the accommoda-
ton Of those buying oysters
from the boats for shucking-
shuckers worked at concrete
sinks draining on the floor.
while in the immediate vicinity
fish were being cleaned at a
dirty wooden table.
o Hands and knives were
rinsed for cleaning by being
dipped over and over into
water contained in rusty old
tins. with fish entrailS stored
in the same room.
. A public toilet. without
facilities for washing. even
fllthier than the shocking
house. was being used by the
shuckers.
Complete Renovation Needed
Conditions were described as
so bad as to require a complete
renovation of the existing facili-
ties. Yet the condition had been
permitted to continue with no
real attempt at remedy in the
past.
The failure of the city to win
an approved shellfish sanitation
program does not mean that
oysters and other shellfish served
in restaurants or sold by repu-
table dealers are unsafe. for
most of the oysters and other
shellf1sh shipped into WASH
ington. packaged and tagged
with an appropriate label. come
here from certified shipping
points-which meet the stand
ards Of the Public Health Serv-
ice in handling such sea food.
The danger lies in sea food
which does not come from APP
proved shipping points. WASH
ington is not an approved ship
ping point, and it has been
charged that shellfish is sent
to Washington which would not
meet standards imposed. for ex-
ample. in Baltimore.
A wholesale dealer in shellfish
who buys it from an uncertified
shipping point cannot ship the
product out of Washington II it
crosses a State line. regardless
Of how high his own standards
of cleanliness may be. For the
District has no approved santa
ton program.
Talks Now Under Way
Talks are now under way be-
tween District health oficials
and the Public Health Service.
City officials are hopeful that
major improvements in shellfish
handling can be made before the
oyster season re-opens in the
fall. But the question now is why
the sanitation program was so
neglected in the past.
Shellfish sanitation is expected
to be one of the topics discussed
tomorrow as Commissioner Kar-
rick. Health Director Daniel L.
Finucane and Mr.. Cary disclose
their specific plans for the Food
and Public Health Engineering
Bureau.
Meanwhile. Mr.. Cary has out
lined his own ideas about guard
ing the Capitals health. Widely
regarded as a ''tough-minded"
administrator Of regulations, he
considers himself. instead. q
health ofiicer whose primary con-
Germ is protecting the public, not
handing out warrants.
Two Of his fundamental tenets
illustrate his philosophy:
ID The cleanliness Of a res
taurant or other establishment
is not guaranteed by inspecting
It a certain number Of times a
year.
t2) A passing score" on an
inspection means nothing II it
conceals an uncorrected health
hazard.
,s Inspections Keyed to Need
Frequency Of inspection, Mr..
Cary believes. should be deter
mined by need. In other words,
an establishment should be in
spected as often or as seldom as
necessary to make sure it's up
to par.
: ITS not too helpful" Mr.. Cary
explains. ito say you're going to
try to inspect every establish
ment. say. once a month. Some
OF them need less than that:
others require more.
Some BARRIERS. for instance,
are nearly perfect. For them,
the regular yearly inspection for
license renewal plus a few rou-
tine checks ought to be enough
"On the other side. know
Of one cemetery manager who
needs a man behind him with
a pitchfork to make him clean
up the place."
Even more basic in the Cary
approach to public health is his
dislike for magic numbers" in
rating establishments.
Point Scoring Discounted
Heretofore. a score Of 70 out
OF 100 on an inspectors check
list has been enough for an es-
Enlistment to hang onto its
license. even II a given deficiency
went uncorrected. A barber shop.
for instance. could gain a score
Of 70 without sterilizing its in
struments.
A. 80 t1ao., Al. ....A.. -