West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-09-04
ADUITERATIONS.
The Later-Day Practice SoreIy TryIns the
Virtue OF DaIrymen and Farmers.

The Later-Day Practice Sorely TryIhz the
Virtue OF Dairymen and Farmers.
The farmer and dairyman who is In
clined TO be honest has his virtue sore
" tried by the apparent success of his
less scrupulous competitors who prac-
tice open and fragrant adulteratiOn of
their products. Scarcely an article
which admits of it, whether of food or
clothing, is pure. Even the sweets OF
life are made bitter by the uncomfort-
! able reflection that the sugar Is in part
common glucose, made from starch by
a chemical process; some of the hobey,
even in the comb, is made from, the
same glucose or common sugar syrup,
while the candy which tn farmer takes
home TO his children on his return from
town is in large part white clay,
plaster of Paris, and, more recently.
the pure white tale, which is preferred
because of it's great weight and it, unc-
tuous character. Even the maple sugar
and syrup is made of this prevalent
glucose. strengthened by brown raw
muscOvado aud favored by chemical
stuff or by the addition of portion of
are VIGOROUSLY adulterated, aud the
cream of which the popular ices are
I made is too often a filthy mixture of
| milk, eggs and oil, or is wholly free
from milk in any form. Whatever the
farmer sells Is moro or less chiefly
more aduiterated, and whatever he
buys may be truthfully said TO be uni.
versally mixed with cheap and nasty
substances.
Is this evil TO continuep III il is the
honest farmer may retire from business
of any kind which admits of such ne
farious practices. Honest dairying
must wholly cease; il has ceased TO a
large extent, and many farmers have
abandoned it from necessity, being I'M
able to make pure butter or cheese and
sell it at profit in competition with
tallow or lard or cottonseed oil. Laws
do not seem TO be operative New
York has a stringent law against
adulteration OF dairy goods; Illinois has
enacted one equally strong, and so
has Pennsylvania. But, unfortunately,
these laws seem TO conflict with tho
legal rights of the aduterators, who
can not lawfully be prevented from
making and selling openly any sub
stance which is not injurious to tho pub
lie health. And so appeals ere taken
with confidence against convictions,
and the evil remains. Since writing
the above il is reported that the New
York Oleomargarine law has been de-
clared unconstitutional But is it an
evil, broadly speaking, to manufacture
substitutes for any existing article
which may be thereby driven out of tho
market by the cheapness of the substi-
tute? We can not forget how the cult
ure of indigo and madden has been
wholly destroyed by the introduction Of
the aniline colors; how the value of
wool has been reduced by the shoddy
and mungo which have been used to
adulterate it and to make cheap cloths;
how handicrafts of many kinds have
been replaced by machine processes;
how wood pulp has displaced several
other kinds of paper stock; how paper
has displaced leather i'm several manu-.
features, and how in every department
OF industry the pursuit of cheapness has
led TO the use of substitutes, generally
Interior but sometimes better than the
original, but always with the effect of
injuring or obliteratng an established
and important interest.
But there are various methods of
cheating and adulterating which arc
not of this character classification is a
crime, and years ago was visited 10y
severe penalties and punish mentS,
which night well be revived TO sell
inferior or injurious articles for better
or wholesome products should be visit.
ell with adequate punishment, as rob-
berry is, and should be made an equally
unpopular oflense Five centuries AGO
the intolerable frauds which were then
practiced led TO the establishment of
associations known as guilds, which
were really protective societies. and
under the management of these guilds
various condign punishments were in
! ilicted upon dishonest competitors and
aduterators. Thus, the Hatters Com
pany, of London, prosecuted the makers
OF false hats" caused the doubtful
goods to be seized and burned and tho
offending hatters to be put into the pill
Tory. In the same way the potters pro-
tected their trade Of making pure brass
pots against those who sold fal,e pots
which were not brass. A mean farmer
who sold unwholesome pork was put in
the pllory and had the sinking gam
mons" burned under his nose. A ven
der of bed wines, or one who sold
skinned milk, was likewise condemned
to stand in the pilory and have all his
| poor stuff which he could not be made
| to drink poured over his head Thus
| upon his own head were literally visited
/ the sins of the ''falsiiier'' i'm such q way
as TO make him ignominious and TO de-
/ ter others from following his example
\ Those were the good old times -
Henry SteWart, tn ~ y Times.