The Slaughter House Problem in Kalamazoo

In 1902, Caroline Bartlett Crane, a well known civic reformer, promoted meat inspection and sanitary slaughter houses in Kalamazoo. Mrs. Crane and several other ladies inspected seven abattoirs in Kalamazoo and were absolutely appalled by what they found. Mrs. Crane came away from these visits determined to see Kalamazoo with a central slaughter house and a meat inspector. Though the conditions she found were “indescribable,” then as now, trying to push reforms through can be. . . um, challenging. Even fourteen years after Mrs. Crane reluctantly dirtied her soles in her slaughter house inspections, a central abattoir was still merely a dream, though some important reforms were made during that time.

A meat packing house in Chicago, from the collections of the Library of Congress

During her inspections Mrs. Crane was disturbed by the conditions she witnessed. The abattoirs “were all in an indescribably filthy condition. . . Two are simply indescribable. . . I expected to see blood, but I expected to see the blood and the refuse disposed of in a clean manner. Instead there was an awful mass of filth and offal tramped down into the floor.” [1] The facilities were “utterly and absolutely filthy. They . . . are not ventilated, have no drainage, are foul smelling, dirty, covered with cobwebs and blood, filth and mould of years, and in general are revolting.” [2] “The ground under and around is soaked with rotted blood and filth of years. Nothing but a hoe and plane could effectually remove the caked blood, grime, grease and mould and other quite unmentionable filth from the walls and floors, and nothing but a thorough conflagration could ever remedy these plague spots” that send forth most of the meat eaten by the townspeople. [3] “At all or nearly all of the abattoirs, hogs are fed on the offal and afterwards slaughtered and sold.” [1] Mr. Rufus Averill, who runs one of the slaughterhouses visited by Mrs. Crane, didn't deny that hogs were fed on offal, but said “experience has shown that they thrive and that they are just as good meat as hogs fed in any other way; besides they perform a service that could be performed in no other way.” [4] Estimating that not even ten percent of the meat sold in the city was inspected and after witnessing conditions in uninspected slaughter houses, it is no surprise that Mrs. Crane declared “after my experience in visiting the local abattoirs, I utterly refuse to eat meat that has not been inspected.” [1]

The law at the time, prohibited the sale of “putrified, poisonous or diseased meat” but provided no system for detecting it. In fact, only six officers had the job of inspecting dairies and all manufactured food products for the entire state. [1] Clearly, the task of ensuring that diseased cattle were not allowed to enter the slaughter house could not be carried out by six men for all of Michigan even if that were their only chore. Mrs. Crane recommended that a central abattoir be built to service the Kalamazoo area and that it be overseen by an inspector under municipal control. [1] A single slaughter house would make it possible for an inspector to assess all cattle brought there for processing and allow him to make sure that sanitary conditions were maintained in the facility.

Before examining the slaughter houses in Kalamazoo, Mrs. Crane had toured at least one meat packing house in Chicago. There both the incoming cows and the resulting carcasses and internal organs were inspected for any sign of illness. [2] The slaughterhouses themselves were kept “scrupulously clean” with the “floors and surroundings scrubbed daily with boiling water.” [2] One can only wonder which facilities Mrs. Crane toured because this was only a few years before Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, his expose of the atrocious conditions he discovered when he took a job in a Chicago meat packing plant.

It may be that Mrs. Crane visited a meat-packing plant that exported meat and therefore had to meet higher standards. She was angered that the laws were designed to protect trade and not the health of American families. While Michigan did have The Pure Food Laws of 1893 on the books, remember that there were only six inspectors for the entire state, one to see to dairy compliance and five for everything else. Mrs. Crane continued “we can live without jellies and candies [which were subject to inspection], but few of us feel that we can live altogether without meat. . . The butcher trade is not even protected by a license. Any kind of man may kill any kind of a beast in any kind of a place, and sell it to any dealer who may or may not be aware if that animal came to the slaughter house diseased, dying or dead.” [3]

Whenever new regulations are proposed for practically any industry, one can expect objections, no matter the benefits that would result. This case was no different. Butchers, as a whole, claimed they would be put out of business. Others suggested that regulations were unnecessary as they heard no reports of people dying from consuming diseased meat. Then there was the usual argument that a new system of inspectors would cost money. While addressing the State Conference of health officials at the University of Michigan in 1904, Mrs. Crane proceeded to explain why those objections were not based on evidence. In her closing statements she said “Is there anything a city council should be more ready to pay for, than for wholesome food supply for the city?” [5]

Nearly three years after her inspections, Mrs. Crane cited how a few small improvements toward better meat inspection and better abattoirs had been accomplished. Asked about the situation in Kalamazoo, she said that “she had no doubt that it would be accomplished here too in time. 'And,' she added, with a smile, 'you know I said I would never give it up even if it took twenty years.'” [6]

Finally, in 1907, Mrs. Crane could celebrate a significant victory. “Kalamazoo is to have meat inspection,” cried the Telegraph. [7] After years of inaction the city council finally passed a resolution to appoint a meat inspector. It probably didn't hurt that the Kalamazoo health officer presented a basket of tubercular cow lungs to the council to underline his stance on the issue. [7] Shortly after this announcement was made, it was reported that Mrs. Crane along with the city health officer, a city attorney and the “newly appointed,” but yet unnamed meat inspector would draft a meat inspection ordinance. [8]

In 1909, the Kalamazoo board of health was still discussing a central slaughter house and after a joint meeting with the meat dealers association the Kalamazoo Evening Press reported that an ordinance including a central abattoir, local meat handlers and licenses for certain types of butchers was “coming soon.” [9]

“Soon” would turn out to be the end of 1915, at least for a license requirement for butchers. The Kalamazoo Telegraph-Press proclaimed that the new meat ordinance was “most rigid in requirements.” [10] In addition to requiring licenses for butchers, with yearly renewals contingent on a satisfactory inspection of their place of business, strict regulations for slaughter houses were also to be implemented. The new rules stated that: 1) All slaughter houses must have an ample supply of water, uncontaminated by any run-off from the premises, for the purpose of cleaning the building. 2) Slaughter houses must have cement floors with proper drainage and sewer connections. 3) Floors must be washed daily and other surfaces, including walls must be scrubbed at least monthly. 4) Offal and refuse must be removed the day of slaughter and properly disposed of. 5) Animals must be treated humanely. [10] This was a tremendous leap forward and assuming the ordinance was complied with, would do much to assure that locally butchered meat was fit for consumption.

Mrs. Crane succeeded in making known the disgusting conditions in local slaughter houses and as a result the questionable safety of the meat processed therein as early as 1902. Five years after her crusade began she won a victory with the appointment of a meat inspector for the city. In 1915, licenses would be required for the first time and strict standards of cleanliness, at least in comparison to what came before, were put in place for slaughter houses. A central abattoir would remain an elusive goal at least as late as 1916 when it was still just another recommendation in the annual report to the city council. [11, 12, 13] In searching the newspapers online at the Kalamazoo Public Library through 1923 I failed to find any mention of a central abattoir becoming a reality. Be that as it may, Mrs. Caroline Crane did Kalamazooans a tremendous service by bringing the issue of filthy slaughter houses and a lack of meat inspection to light. I have no doubt that her crusade played a critical role in successfully bringing meat inspection and regulations governing butchers and slaughter houses to Kalamazoo.

1. “Foul Places Are Abattoirs, Says Mrs. Crane,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 25 March 1902, page 1, column 1-2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 3 March 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
2. “The Meat We Eat,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 28 March 1902, page 4, column 3, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 27 June 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
3. “Meat Inspection, The Paramount Issue Among the Women of Kalamazoo,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 31 March 1902, page 7, column 1, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 27 June 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
4. “Visit To Abattoir,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 27 March 1902, page 2, column 4, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 27 June 2012), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
5. “Answer to Objections Against Inspection of Meat,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 12 January 1904, page 3, column 1, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
6. “Abattoir Inspection Movement Gaining Momentum,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 16 January 1905, page 2, column 2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
7. “Will Inspect City's Meats,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 11 June 1907, page 2, column 4, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
8. “Changes Made In Committees,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Telegraph, 28 June 1907, page 2, column 3, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
9. “Willing On Both Sides,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Evening Press, 13 May 1909, page 1, column 1, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 August 2014), Miscellaneous Kalamazoo Publications Collection.
10. “New Meat Ordinance Most Rigid in Requirements; Assures City of Clean Meat” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Telegraph-Press, 10 November 1915, page 11, column 1-2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 16 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
11. “Health Officials Want Improvements,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Telegraph-Press, 11 April 1914, page 10, column 4, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 12 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
12. “What Health Department Recommends” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Telegraph-Press, 10 April 1915, page 1, column 1, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 16 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.
13. “Report Shows Health and Sanitary Conditions in City to be Excellent,” Kalamazoo [Kalamazoo, Michigan] Telegraph-Press, 7 April 1916, page 6, column 2, digital images, Kalamazoo Public Library (http://www.kpl.gov: accessed 16 August 2014), Kalamazoo Telegraph Collection.