The Fight for Sanitary Food
Tacoma’s club women are spearheading a radical new ordinance to force bakeries and food merchants to meet strict hygiene standards.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
When the ordinance prepared by City Attorney Stiles at the request of the club women of Tacoma is passed, citizens will know that what they eat is clean. All bread must be baked by clean bakers, wrapped in paraffine paper, and stamped with the firm name. No food will be allowed exposed where dust or flies may get to them. No decayed or unwholesome food will be permitted to be sold. No person afflicted with tuberculosis or any other communicable disease will be permitted to handle any foodstuffs. For several weeks, women from 30 different organizations have been pursuing this campaign. They will appear before the health and hospital committee of the council next Monday to advocate for the measure and the appointment of a special food inspector.
“Citizens will be able to know that what they eat is at least clean.”
This movement represents the early 20th-century push for municipal health regulations, led by organized women’s groups who were effectively filling the role of government oversight before the state fully stepped in.
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