The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-09-21
save ti;c Children.

Detrimental food which, by rcasn1 ut
their superior strength, may not,s,riuus
~ affect The health OF adults. Is = vel
known, frequently acts upon the more
delicate organs of the child 10 produce
disorders of the most serious en- aracter
The amount Of laudanum or other poison
that would be harmless To in udull
will cause the death ot an infant This
great difference between the vitality ii
adults and children is too generally
overlooked in the preparation of food
Because no harm Immediately p,rccp~
tible comes to the adult by the use uf MI
article Of food,no thought is given to the
effect it may have upon the mort Il, licata
organs of inferior age.
Children diet largely upon cake and
bread. and these articles. if light, sweet
and composed of materials that are free
from injurious substances. gre easily iii
gested, nutritious and wholesome
There is danger to our children. how
ever, lurking in their bread and cake
which is too often lost sight of. Thest
articles are now leavened largely by bak-
ing powders and when pure and whole
some baking powders are used they max,
not only the most palatable food, but one
much more wholesome and nutritiyc than
if leavened with yeast or cream of tarter
and soda. The trouble arises from the
fact as shown by recent scientific tests
by the Government chemists and by Off
cial boards of health, that all these bak-
ing powders, with the single exception Of
the Royal, contain either lime, alum.
prosphates, or acids of an injurious char
actcr. Therefore when bread or cake is
made with the use of these cheap baking
powders, these ingredients (Which art
present through the efforts of the manu-
facturers to produce q cheaper ARTICLE
pass into the food and are taken into the
delicate organs of childhood where they
are the source of very much of the dis
case with which our children are afflicted
Persons who have not strong c0usti-
buttons, growing girls, young children
and nursing mothers are particularly
liable to the evil effects produced by the
introduction of the aduitcrauIs named az
found IN the cheap baking powders.
Heartburn and the prevalent forms Of in
digestion are often solely tracGable to the
action of alum on the delicate coats Of
the stomach. Prof Willard Parker. L.
$. Surgeon-Gencr4l Hammond, Prof.
AlonzO Clark most eminent physicians
of New York, with scores Of others,
have written and spoken most earnestly
of the evils arising from partal.ing Of
such food. There should be rs much
care IN the choice OF "A baking powder as
in obtaining pure milk or in having a
prescription compounded from pure
drugs and not from poisons.
The matter is one Of the greatest im.
portance, particularly TO the rising gem
Grafton. and while our conservative law
makers are making up their minds as to
the proper legislation to stop the sale of
the poisonous compounds, mothers will
do well to study it carefully. The house
keeper Will experience no Inconvenience
in discarding the use of the adulterated
paking powder, if she has been using it,
as the Royal baking powder, upon the
purity whOlcsomeness of which all the
government chemists agree, is equally &C
cessible; but she will need to exercise a
close watch upon her packages from the
grocer in order to prevent the inferior
brands from creeping into her kitchen
unawares.
In what We have felt it our duty to say
in reference to the subject of baking pow
der there is no intention to disparage the
work or tie products of those many man
ufacturers IN other lines of food products
who, with conscientiousness aud liberal
ity, are serving the public with pure and
wholesome articles of diet.