42 
T. E. MUNCE. 
what certainly must be regarded as more progressive towns and 
cities of our own country have come to realize that to continue 
to permit the slaughter of animals under unfavorable conditions, 
such as is being done in many places in every State in the Union, 
is to sanction a system that is considered obsolete in most foreign 
countries, and at the same time gives encouragement to methods 
which jeopardize the health of a large portion of our people. 
The first town in the United States of which we have knowl¬ 
edge of having provided a municipal slaughter house is Paris, 
Tex., in 1909. The plant cost about $10,000 and was met by 
issuing bonds. It is the purpose of the officials to run the plant 
without a profit. The charges for slaughtering are as follows: 
Cattle, $1.25 each; hogs, sheep and calves, 75 cents; the livestock 
owner receiving the hide, liver, head, caul, tail and brain. The 
offal, blood, etc., goes to the city. The charge includes refriger¬ 
ation for a period of five days, and delivery is made to the local 
shops free of charge. In case the carcass remains over five days, 
a charge of 10 cents is made for each additional day. The in¬ 
spector (veterinarian) receives $1,200 a year salary. 
I had hoped to be able to give you an up-to-date statement 
showing the financial side of this proposition, as well as that of 
those I am about to refer to, but on account of conditions arising 
over which I had no control I was unable to write for same in 
time to include them in this paper. 
The first six months of operation, however, showed receipts to 
average $701 per month, with the average monthly expenses of 
$562, giving an average profit per month of $139. We under¬ 
stand that since then the receipts pay the running expenses of the 
plant, the interest on the bonds, and also provide a sinking fund 
to meet the bonds when they mature. 
Beaumont, another up-to-date town in the same State, accord¬ 
ing to recent advices, has taken steps to supply a public abattoir. 
Still another southwestern city that has led the way in munic¬ 
ipal progress along this line is Little Rock, Ark. Here an ar¬ 
rangement has been made with the owners, we understand, of two 
establishments, one located on the west end of the city, the other 
