Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1885-07-23
Chloride of Zinc.
i POISON USED IN CANNING GOODS.
HOW IT HAS usuRrEp THE PLACE OF RosIS.
brooklyn Eagle.l

As the season is approaching in which the
Gamers are to pack their fruits and vegeta- |
bles for the coming winters use, and as they |
have complained tina, their business has !
been injured bv sensational journalism a |
few suggestions will not be amiss. If these |
hints are adopted by Gamers they will re-
store canned goods to their former popular |
itv How great boon this process has |
been to the public and how much the public !
wish these goods. can be seen from the fact /
that the consumption of canned goods |
averages ten cans year for every man, wo-
man and child IN the United States. II is
especially the poor mans food. He has not /
the means to buy in advance or the place TO /
store, nor has his family the knowledge how |
to put up in their season the various fruits /
and preserves. If the laborer can send to I
the corner grocery for his can Of tomatoes, |
or peaches, or plums, or peas, or corn, as
the case may be, his dinner can be ready at |
any moment The backwoodsmen on the |
frontier, the army and navy, all need food |
thus preserved and the business properly |
managed is sure to bring prosperity IN the |
future as in the past The mercantile agen-
cies show that those businesses prosper that 4
deal in the necessities OF life.
This business arose TO its enormous pro- /
portions by honest management. and has re- /
ceived its present set back not from sensa-
tional journalism but because the Gamers IN /
their mad greed for gain left the well known /
and safe method Of scaling their cans with /
rosin for the of one of the most deadly /
poisons known to science. Chloride OF zinc /
is poison almost as deadly as arsenic. /
When YOU consider how heavy zinc IS YOU /
can understand how little is necessary to de- /
stroy human being. Why the Gamers /
should abandon the safe process OF sealing 1
with rosn and adopt a dangerous one of /
mingling poison with food 1t IS interesting 4
to inquire. and brief history Of the bust 4
ness vii, show how this has taken place. At {
first the Gamer put his own name on the +
cans, and the reputation Of that class OF
good. went 10 him. and he naturally struse T.
to keep up the credit of his brand but he
rs a rule was not capitalist, and he had TO
employ some jobber TO sell tor him. The
iohoer having capital dictated terms. The
label must have the name Of the jobber on
il. and not of the Gamer The next wear
the ioober looked around 10 see where he
could buy the cheapest, and the Gamer could
not dictate 10 him. as the brand was the
jobbers. not his. There was no longer any
ambition among the Gamers 10 see who
could get the finest goods, but who could
get goods that would be cheap enough to
catch the order; every item that could re-
dace cost was studied, and the competition
was carried to such an extreme that often
goods so worthless were packed that the
lobbrrs would not have their own names on
ihem-and IN almost every grocery store
can be found brands With bogus Labels on,oi
mythical factories that have no existence.
The substitution Of the dangerous poison,
chloride Of zinc. was made in the place 81
the safe rosin because it would cheaper the
cost of the goods.
1t requires some skill to solder with ros:n
fax. Il requires none 20 solder with 1Iuo;
the solder will stick to The tin in ansbodys
hands Skilled workmen could be done
away with and bols employed, and when wa
ges enter SO largely into the question Of
cost a, IN canned goods, this was an mpoT
tant item. that could not be overlooked.
Again, cheaper TN could be used. 81!
further, it was found that cans could be
made by machinery. as the solder Was
sure 10 suck, and the handmade can and
safety became almost thing Of the past. Il
!. not to he supposed that those 10 the bust
ness would knowingly Use dangeruu, poi
,on about food We give them tie cred.,
Of isnorantly Introducing. from he roof
III. trade. a process, that they thought
would cheaper their cost Of packing and q!
aeius IN ignorance of the danger OF cnlogldr
Of zinc Having become an article Of uuI-
scr.al use with the Gamers. thyy 81. dead
to abandon Il. for fras some one Vii si.,k 10
1t and 80 .'a-->ell ,hem-lhe idta 81 having
-. time. 0f the trade.
Too long q time it Y,., Bright. J.,.
a.
country in frighiful delG:T'r.e, 50 that at pre-
sent It ranks next 10 consumption in It's
fatality. II !, not difficult 20 explain the
cease for thi, enormous increase. l. !, an
utter and absolute iuiposslbtl,y 20 seal cau
with chloride Of zinc. no matter hos careful.
YOU are, without an apprrc,able quantity Of
the poison getting into The can.
An interesting experiment Of thls KIND
tired at the well known canning e,iah-
l,hment Of Kemp. DAY \ Co. Their veteran
foreman, who has had thirty wears rNper.-
ence a. a Gamer, took an empty can aud
with small marking brush carefully wiped
the brush on the edges Of the pot tili the
brush was only moist. and lightly touched
the edge Of the tin holding the cap dow
firmly with his hand all the while. then he
took heavy heated soldering iron and
placed it on the top Of the and then
went round with the solder. Taking three
minutes h, th. watch 10 solder oh A SINGLE
can at ,his rate he caud only solder ON 200
cans dsv instead n & 400 uhirh A WORK
ma, has n do a day "a max. h;s v,yes
and ,et ubrn the can was opened after ali
TIL. care several droo. O. III. cblor,b, of
zinc we're found on the inside Of the ran
Nov when his noi.on oct. Jnro Tho can
who, all ms care i nsei wh,t i rhe nroha.
h;,i,y NM, ~. r,ns ar. sealea a. ,bey a,e
IN tho rn,b ~ bp.ipe..2 \ Gamer receives
IN csots hundred cans in B.it;mnre for
nn,,,ng an tho cans H. has To fYrni.b h..
avn tai. AK a,d solder. Instead If cars-
f,lIy na;n,in,, round The can with a markin,
trm:b ~. ce,,ar Ia. hrnsb a I,r.,. =
,h,, ,s.J he i. Ron. ,,;,,.r ~ can. ara
,r,,cra 49,, aarb h.t,,s II. n,
and With ore DAN II bis brush across ,L,.
,nn of,h. ean ,ha IONS of,ba wboIa ,w,lx,.
c,rs ars re,,I.rsJ ,cid then the soi1.r,r,
ar[,,,,1 ~, can,,al Az.
nta".l r. cars are ,h.a M, ;,,o az
;ran cra,. snd lo,,..r.d ;n,o a M, h,,b
- ,h',. a,a,. f,o,, So ,,en,, ,,i,r,o.
4 aan.,1.n,. - -. a,,,g ,hat !. b.;na NJ
- 7r.a IA l,r, a., ~. ton of, 10
- ash..I az ,.;,h 49, b,,b ar,d ,ha nan