Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1881-01-22

exact facts regarding them. IL the
general statements of some Of the
alarmists who have written on the sub
ject have correct basis of fact on
which 10 rest, food adulteration Is prac-
ticed to so great an extent and IS of
such charaier that what we eat and
drink is always liable 10 contain poison.
The British National Board of Trade
has lately awarded prizes for essays on
the adulteration of food and drink, and
for drafts OF laws for IFS prevention.
The essay Of Mr. g. w. Wigner. of
London. received the first prize. and it
is certainly Il very clear, practical and
exhaustive discussion of the subject.
From that essay. and also from the
essays which took the second and third
prizes Offered, we will make summary
OF the facts.
The public will be relieved when they
hear that there is no satisfactory evil
dence presented TO show that danger
Gus authorizations are at all common
among Us. There isplenty of adultera-
ton beyond a question; but it is almost
universally of "a sort rather TO deirapd
the purchaser than to injure the health
and imgeril the lie of the consumer.
The article sold is not wholly what it is
represented TO be. but the substances
introduced into il. or mixed with il TO
cheaper its manufacture or to give more
attractiveness 10 its appearance, are
usually innoxious.
When the London Ldncet. twenty
wears ago. undertook a thorough analy-
sis of food and drugs to detect adul-
iteration, it found that about siXty-live
per cent of the samples examined were
sophisticated. Some of them, as. Tor
instance the mixture of -four with mus
tard. were altogether harmless, and,
indeed, demanded by the taste of the
public: and the most serious of the
others have since that day fallen into
disuse. Tea was then almost univer-
sally adnlterated; the practice has en-
tirely ceased since that time. Alum
was commonly found in bread; now it
is very seldom used in bread max
ing. Pickles were invariably con-
taminaied with copper, now that
adulreration is very rare.
The watering of milk. Of course, goes
on still; but both here and in England
effective measures for lessening the ex-
tent Of the fraud have been introduced.
Imitation butter is sold in great guam
titles; but oleomargarine is not injuri-
Gus 10 health. and the only necessity
with regard to it, so far as the laws
are concerned, is to compel its sale for
what il actually is; TO prevent its being
palmed of on purchasers as genuine
butter.
Wines and spirits show a large pro-
portion of adulteration, but generally
this has been simply dilution with Wa
ter. A good wine is watered, an in
ferior is mixed with a superior quality.
and then toned to the color and flavor
of the best by the addition of foreign
substances. such as burnt sugar and
tanuin. Molasses. water and salt are
put in porter and stout; glycerine is
mixed with beer, and various substances
are added to liquors and wines; but
they are almost invariably of a sort
to justify the conclusion reached in
1872 by committee of the English
House of Commons that. lin the matter
of adulteration. the public were cheated
rather than poisoned" Sugar is adul-
terated with glucose. butter and cheese
are colored with annotto; spices are
mixed with various foreign substances;
and chicory, burnt sugar, and roasted
pease are put in coffee; but people can
eat them all without danger to life, and
generally without direct danger TO
health. Poisonous coloring matters are
sometimes used in confectionery, but
even such cases are rare.
Mr.. Wigner has been able to find only
about twenty or thirty cases in Eng
land during the last five Years in which