The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-11-20

found, it would be in the matter of
drugs. Yet Mr.. Angel says he was in
formed by an eminent doctor of Boston
that so abOminable are the adultera-
tiOns of drugs in this country that often
the medicine a physician orders for a
patient in extreme danger possesses on
ly u quarter of the strength it should
have, because of its adulterations, and
in consequence the patient dies. A
wholesale drug dealer of Boston stated
that the adulterations of drugs was now
so great that it was almost impossible
to make living by the sale of honest
goods.
Thousands of tons of the meats of dis
eased animals, he said ,are annually sold
in our markets, the detection of which
after they are dressed is almost impos-
sible.
If the statements Mr.. Angel makes
in regard to arsenic are true, it is sur
prising that the known cases of arsenic
poisoning are not more frequent. Dur
ing the year ending June 20,
1875, 2,327,742 pounds of arsenic
were imported into this coun-
try, each pound of which contained
enough poison to kill 2,800 persons. 1t
is sold in our markets at a wholesale
price of two cents pound, and is used
in wall papers, paper curtains, lamp
shades, boxes, wrapping papers for con-
fectiOnery, tickets, cards, kindergarten
papers, artificial flowers, dried grasses,
eye shades, ladies' dress goods, wells,
sewing-silks, threads, stockings, gents
underwear, socks, gloves, hat Innings,
boot and shoe Innings, paper collars,
baby-carriages, children's toys, colored
enameled clothes, wool, silk, cotton and
leather goods, and in toilet powders and
candies. The case of a child in Troy,
n. Y, was cited who died in convul-
siOns by taking arsenic from a veil
thrown over its crib to keep off the flies.
The largest use of arsenic is in the prep
aration of our wall papers. The poison
Gus papers are of all colors and prices.
There can be no doubt, Mr.. Angel says,
that thousands of people in this country
are now suffering, and many have died,
from the effects of arsenical wall papers.
Lead poison is likely to become as
notorious as arsenic. Hundreds OF
thousands of people are now suffering
from lead poison taken from the water
they drink. But lead water-pipes are
not the worst form of lead poison. Many
vessels used in the kitchen are manu-
factured from an alloy of tin and lead,
the latter being used on account of its
comparative cheapness. The alloy is
readily acted upon by acids, and salts
of lead are thus introduced into food
Cases are known of children having died
of meningitis, fits and paralytic affections
caused by milk kept in such vessels
The learned university chemist declared
the beautiful notified ware called t' mar
bleized ironware,'' which has beer
largely manufactured in the form o.
cOffee-pots, tea-pots, milk-cans, sauce
/ pans, ETC., to be alive with poison. The
cheap tinware now coming into daily
use in our kitchens, our dairies, etc
is composed largely of soluble lead. The
Journal Of Chemistry advises the us'
| of sheet-irOn instead of the tinwart
| found to be so extensively poisonous.
Mr.. Angel thinks that to remedy this
/ formidable evil it will be necessary fOl
| those anxious to secure reform, botl
! buyers and retail sellers, to form pro
! tective health associations in the import
ant cities and towns, which should hav,
analyzed the various articles of con
sumption. The purchaser who finds h
has a poisonous or adulterated articl
should return it to the retail dealer, tn
retail dealer to the wholesale dealer
and he in turn to the manufacturer, ant
-demand not only his money but ful
damages. The guilty party, he believes
would be glad to pay and stop adulter
ating. When such associations are ev
erywhere to be found, the poisonous NJ
ticles will disappear from our markets