The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-07-01

SOtIu. Water and Its Poisonous
Sirups--PruSsic Acid an Ingre'
uiCut.

With the arrival Of warm weather, the
usual signs Of "CoOl soda-water, with
choice sirups," may be seen at every turn
while "Fountains Of Health" may also BE-
found at every corner, Saltwater, 30
called, is nothing but CrOton, more OF
less charged with carboniC acid gas, and
as to its quality, much depends upon the
manner OF this charging, and the Charac
ter Of the vessel in which the beverage il
kept. As in many other branches o
business, the competition in the manuiac
ture OF soda-water has become so grea
that prices have been materially reduced
and large profits can only be realized b!
either reducing the cost Of the article oil
w eiIecting large sales, To charge watel
with carbOnic acid gas, and thus convert
il into what is popularity termed soda
water, or, more correctly speaking, car
bonic acid water, does not require any
expensive neutrality-suspicious. and
sulphuric acid, both very cheap ana
water, which costs still less are
all the ingredients. The plr'ty Of
the carbonic acid gas which IL
10 be forced into the water de.
pends upon the amount OF labor bestowed
nnon il Unless made in very large
nnantitics. which only the largest makers
can do, Il Is necessarily very expensive
in tho way Of time and labor to purify it.
This naturally results in furnishing us
with dilute elixir Of vitriOl, which,
when somewhat sweCtened with strip, be.
comes quite pnlatable; but, il the reader
desires 10 satisfy himself Of the impuri.
ties and absolutely poisonous qualities Of
much Of the soda water sold, let him try
glass of plain soda or CarboniC acid
water, without any strip, and he will
soon find that he Is drinking an acidu-
lated water with decided metallic taste,
whereas, il the carbOnic acid water Is
pure, it is simply water with the sparkle,
lie and very slight but pleasant acid
taste, Just like champagne. Here Is the
first difficulty with this popular drink.
Add to this the inability OF many man.
uiaCurers to lit their apparatus with tho
later improvements, and remembering the
strong acid contained in the water, II
il easy to see how II acts upon the in
side Of the receiver or fountain which
holds ii, and from which, through pipes
equally exposed to It's action, II Is dis
pensci to the public to spread lead collie,
lead poisoning, and the still more dan
gcrOus effects Of poisoning by verdigris,
The result Of the action Of acid upon cop
nor. Very many Of these fountains are
still made of copper, and great deal Of
piping il yet made Of lead. Block tin
and porcelain lining are too expensive
for every manufacturer to employ them
ms preyentives against the poisoning effect
Of lead and copper. These II is nnneces-
sary to repeat, they have been so often
spoken Of. Lead palsy and lead collie,
stomach.achc, bowel difficulties Of various
kinds, kidney complaints and often death,
are the results Of taking lead or copper
into the human stomach. II Is safe to
assert that in very many instances there
are from three to ten grains Of the acetate
Of lead or copper In the glass Of soda
water sold to III. Particularly islhis the
case where, owing to the limited amount
Of trade done, the calculated water stands
for any length of time in contact with tho
founIainor pipes.
WHAT sIRUPs ARE MADE OF.
but granting even that the Carbollt
acid water is served pure, aud properly
purified from iron pOrCelain-lined fOun
iains, through block tin pipes, we still
have another trouble with The sirups thai
are put in the glNss to swepten and flavor
the water. The most popular sirups are
those generally called lemon, sArsaparillN
and vanilla. The former Of these Is gen
orally made Of tartaric acid, and even |
oil OF lemon il used, II Ia the cheapest ant
most impure, being strongly adulteratet
with oil Of turpentine; the sweetening Il
supplemented with glucose, the manu-
featured grape sugar from rotten starch
which, as the Mercury has already ex
planned, is n dangerous material, for OIL
stomaclls, rs II Is productive Of diabetes
one Of the most fatal diseases OF Tho
kidneys. SarSaparilla, does not contair
one iota Of sarsaparilla, being only III,
common glucose strip, and often mo
lasses favored with the oil Of winter
green and sassairas. Many people
order sarsaparilln strip, with tn,
vain hope that, as they have heart
that sariaparilla is good for the blood
this strip must also be good. Strip 0
vanilla very seldom has any vanilla In II
as vanilla Il very dear. The tOnka beat
is the source Of supply for most Of th'
vanilla layoring, tho strip Of vanilla be
ing only in reality strip Of the tonki
bean. As this is n poisonous substance
II may readily be seen that Sirup Of tonki
beans Is not as healthy as the genuine
vanilla strip. Genuine vanilla can not
however be made and sold at a pric,
which Ia far below that OF the raw mate
rial. The effect OF the tOnka bean upoI
the system Is very peculiar. Chemical!
II Is the same principle which Is 80 arc
matte in new-mown hay. II also exist
in many flowers; but no matter whenc
1t Is taken, when inhaled II produces ha.
fever, and in large quNntitle! taken Ii
the stomach IL produces giddiness, vcr
tigo, and, II continued, being what
called cumulative poison, produce
paralysis and even death. Hence II !
clear that II large quantities Of this lead
charged soda.water and tonka bean siru
arc taken into the human stomach, the
are productive Of the most serious re
suits.
-aaaassalll