The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1882-10-12
The Ethics Of Adultcratlon.

Cocoanur .-1hells, according TO an |
article in the Philadelphia Record, are |
now used as an adulte atiug mixture !
with spice and pepper Carefully |
roasted and finely ground, they produce !
powder which cannot be dist 1euished
when ming Cd with the article which
they are used to cheaper. A manu-
fac urer OF pungent products, when
waited upon by an inquisitive reporter,
made these statements: 1--WE sci to the
trade probably m IRE adulterated goods
than pure. We cant help it. There
IS no pretence on our part that the
lower grades of spices are pure We
simply sell the retailer what he wants.
We sell him spices at almost any figure
| pepper, for in ,tance as low as e ght
and nine cents, but it is about as much
someth ng else as it is pepper 1t would
ruin the trade to prohibit adulterat on,
and, besides, there are not enough
spices grown TO supply tho United Statcs
alone, if nothing but pure spices were
sold"
This is the spccious logic of all who
manufacture or pack goods that are not
what they seem. Perhaps the bascr
material commingled with tho spice or
other ingredient is entirely harmless
attached to adulterated goods: "Pure
Pepper" ''Eure Creum-of Tartar" for
Instance? Ii the ground cocoanut
shells do no harm, why not say on the
label, "one-tcnth pepper, ninc-tenths
cocoanut shells"? 1t is not true
that manufacturers of goods Of any sort
cannot help the matter, nor that there
is no pretensc on tho part Of makers or
dealers that lower gra!cS Of given sort
Of merchandise are pure. That pre-
tense is constantly he'd out in various
ways when it is not verbally asserted.
The trade that would be ruined by the
prohibition of adultcration is not worth
saving. Then there is the statement
that there are not enough spices grown to
supply the country with q pure article.
Does the admiXturc Of bascr matter in
crease the quantity? Does not the actual
'quantity Of pepper, for instance, re-
main the same, no matter how much
one "CXtcnd1" the bulk OF the pun ycmt
powder with tho ilarOr.c;s UuSt?
Furthermore, there is the question Of
relative chcapnrSs. The blycr Of the
alulterated product pays 70 tMc value
less matter rs well rs for tlat which
has itS special purpose and 4 little
arithmetic VIII demonstrate 'h0t the do
graded stu,l actua ly costs more than
lnaL Wnlcn is pure.
l.. e., Il pound of cream of tartar
perfectly pare. costs forty cents. An
adu terntel article my be produced as
, follows:
Three quarters Of ronnl Of pure
AduItcratiug mixture. 10
, Making the pound cost
But the purchaser gets but three quar-
ters OF pound OF the pure ingredient,
i. g., OF the material which has the &C
, two quality, and for that he pays forty
cents or 1t the rate OF say tiGty three
cents IL pound. The formula Applied tc
my Gaze where there is DurpOscd
miAturc Of good anil bad m terials --o1
good and neutral if YOU please shows
, the same result, namely: the buyer o!
, the adultcrnted article paws in addition
to the price for the useful the cost o1
the use esS ingrediet,
The statement Of the packers oI
, "pure pepper" which is not pure OF
= of amy article to which is attac cd 9
! lying label - that they sell what people
ask lor, is not true. People do not ask
0 for fraudulent goods: cy DO not want
= cotton fab les Oaded down with clay
: and starch; they do not will inrlv l,ay
i for material which is not useful when il
n is not positively injurious. Who asks
i for stone when he goes in quest ol
: bread? No, the premises are false.
+ The only reason for the course pursued
0 by those WHO mix sand with sug3r is
: that it pays and it pays because nnr-
t ty-ninc per cent. OF the people buY
4 without quest oniag. Did they qnes-
Q ton, were they capable OF dctc mining
> the exact value OF the goods they are
, buying, the conditions OF IT. dc would
be entirely rcvc sCd-thc sellers would
be at the merry of the buyers. 49, Eo~i0H
Transcript.