V. I. Lenin

Whata sensation! A most vital need of the workers is being
satisfied! Cheap meat for the people—where? what? how?

Russkoye Slovo reports that the city slaughter-house in Moscow
has opened a “Freibank”, i.e., a shop for the sale of cheap meat which has been rendered harmless and certified as relatively
fit for use.

Cheapmeat is a good thing. But what is the meaning of “rendered
harmless”, “ relatively fit for use” (consequently, there would
be equal reason to say “ relatively unfit for use ”!)? Here is
what it means:

Whenanimals are put up for sale, they are examined by veterinary
inspectors. Sick ones are rejected. No permission is given to slaughter
them, because their use for food threatens to infect humans with various
diseases. Most rejected animals are tubercular and measly (worm-infected).

Ofthe total of about 450,000 head of cattle going through the Moscow
slaughter-house almost 30,000 are rejected as suspect .

Andso this suspect measly and tubercular cattle is rendered harmless
by boiling in a special chamber under the supervision of a veterinary
surgeon for about three hours. This boiling kills off the worms and the
tubercular bacilli.

Well,apparently all, or almost all, die off or nearly die off! This
yields cheap boiled meat that has been rendered harmless.

Thepeople say, according to a comment in Russkoye Slovo , that
“this meat won’t kill you, but it may give you TB or stomach trouble,
because, after all, the brutes were ailing.”

Thedemand for this meat is heavy. Workers from the city itself go
there and queue up for a long time. The morning queues consist mostly of
women, housewives; the day queues, of workers, mainly builders.

Theboiled meat that has been rendered harmless and that won’t kill you
but will give you stomach trouble is just right for the people. The people
cannot afford real meat.

Itis said that the more painstaking the veterinary super vision, the
more meat is rejected. “So”, Russkoye Slovo concludes, “the
population have a twofold interest in thorough supervision: the middle
classes want sound meat delivered from, the slaughter-house; the poor, more
cattle rejected and the Freibank kept well supplied with meat.”

Wecertainly live in very civilised and philanthropic times: we have
learned to make the population take a “twofold interest”. And the
“freedom” for cheap meat is remarkable: after all, “Freibank” in German means “free shop”.

Civilisation,freedom, cheap products, revival of trade—everything is
for the people! Whenever you see an advertisement: “People’s Quarters
Society”—you can be sure that the cellar or garret will be cheap and
under medical supervision: it won’t kill you of course, but you will
get TB.

Wheneveryou see a signboard: “People’s Dining-Hall”—don’t hesitate
to go in. You will be served cheap boiled meat which has gone through the
slaughter-house under supervision, and which has not gone through the
slaughter house without supervision.

Wheneveryou see a signboard: “People’s Library”—you can afford to
exult. There you will find cheap or even free pamphlets issued by the Union
of the Russian People or the All-Russia Nationalist Club, under the medical
supervision of the spiritual censorship.

Itis being said that a “Freibank” is soon to be opened for the sale
of “people’s bread”—made of grass, which is boiled, rendered harmless
and baked under veterinary, sorry, I mean medical supervision.

Civilisation,freedom, cheap products, revival of trade—everything is
for the people! And the population will find itself with a growing twofold
interest: the rich, to have their meat sound, and the poor, to have the
“Freibank” well stocked with meat relatively fit for use.

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