St. Landry democrat., 1883-05-26

and ground glass. If religion should
| some day get out in full swing it would
| go into hundreds of grocery stores and
pull out the plugs of one half the casks OF
| adulterated syrups and dump into the
ash barrel of the street the cassia bark
passed off for cinnamon, ,rand the brick
dust sold for cayenne, and shake the
| Prussian blue out of the tea leaves, and
sift from the flour bone dust, plaster OF
paris and soapstone, and drive the live
animalcules out of the brown sugar, and
| by quick chemistry, separate the quart
Of Ridgewood or Croton water from the
| few drops of honest cows milk. And
entering boot store would rub Oft the
| fictitious soles OF many fine looking pair
off shoes, in which pasteboard is sand
witched with sound leather. The
ADULTERATIoNs oF ARTICLES OF. FOOD
is so great that it is a wonder there is a
| life man or woman in America. Heaven
only knows what theyput into the butter,
into the sugar, into the spices, into the
syrups, into the wines, into the apotheca-
ry drugs. Themicroscope and chemical
analvsis have made wonderful revela-
tions. The Board of Health in Mas
sachusetts analyzed quantity of what
is called ground coffee, and found in
it not particle of coffee. Though the
law in England forbids putting alum in
bread, the authorities examined fity-one
honest physician writing prescription
knows not but that it may bring death
to the patient by the fact that some of
the drugs of tile apothecary may be
powerless through cheap mixture, while
others are in full strength and the medl-
cines have opposite effect from that in
tended. Oil OF wormwoOd, warranted
pure, from Boston, was found to contain
forty per cent of resin, alcohol and chic
reform. Scamony, very important
medical drug, is obtained at great care
and expense. It is the sap or gnm OF a
tree in Syria. The root of the plant is
exposed, an incision made at the root
and she'll fastened at the incision, and
into that shell exudes the sap or gum,
and it is very precious and very scarce.
The peasant mixes it with something
else cheaper and then the merchant at
Aleppo mixes it again. Then it comes
to the wholesale dealer in London or.
New York and he mixes it again, and
then the retail druggist mixes il again,
and by the time the patient gets it into
his bottle it has become ashes and chalk
and sand, and pure scamony when ana
lyzed has often been found to have no
scamony at all.
RELIGION IN MERCHANDISE
will hinder the great corners in bread
stuffs, such as hypocritical church mem
bers have within a few years got up in
New York and Chicago. Buying up the
wheat and the corn till food gets way
beyond the reach of the poor, fastening
the necessities of life in their storelouses
till prices go up and up and up, and
then selling out at prices which makes
the operators millionaires in one or two
seasons they try to settle the matter
with God by endowing a college or
building church or establishing an
asylum, deluding themselves with the
idea that their Maker will be SO pleased
with the charity He will forget the
swindle. Lest the man may have no
liturgy to say his prayers in, | suggest
the following prayer which he practically
makes 80 Lord, by the corner in wheat
we robbed the masses of the people of
the United States of $10,000,000, and
carried vast suffering all up and down
the land, but we propose to compromise
this matter with Thee. Please let us off
by Thy taking one per cent OF the
profits. Be easy with us, for though the
operation was very scaly, You know it
was smart. With that one per cent
Thou can'st take care Of some OF these
poor miserable ragamutfins OF the street,
and | will take a yacht and goto Europe.
You ought to be glad to get the one per
cent, for you might have got nothing.
Forever and ever, Amen.' 1t man
have gotten fortune, or any part OF a
fortune, wrongfully. a line OF asylums
and hospitals and universities from here
to Alaska would not atone for it. Hav-
ing made bis last corner In wheat, he
dies and then satan gets a corner on
him, and ne goes into long Black Fri
day. There was bfeak IN the market.