Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-08-04
FOR PURER Food.
A Bill to Prohibit the Adultera-
tion of Alimentary Products.
Proposed Safeguards Against the
Sale Of Impure Food.

The House Agricultural Committee hos
taken important action looking to the adop-
tion Of system of safeguards to prevent the
aduitsration of food products. The committee
directed the report OF substitute for the BUT
terworth bill, providing for the inspection
and examination by SPECIAL officers Oh tne
Government of lard and lardine products OF
the reineries Of the country, with view 10
preventing the manufacture and sale OF artl-
Giles unfit for food.
The most important action taken by the
committee, however, was the order to MIR.
Laird to report the Pure Food bill. This
measure was introduced June . by Mr.: Lee,
of Virginia and referred to the Committee
on Agriculture Irproyides that:
ANY Si9erson, persons or corporations
causing to be made, manufactured, sold or
offered for sale, or transported from one
State into another. or into any Territory OF
reservation OF the United States, or into the
District of Columbia, or exporting from the
United States, or any transportation COM
pany transporting from one State to an
other. or from or into the United States any
adultered or misbranded articles of food,
liquor or drugs. shall be deemed guilty OF
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall pay
fine OF not less than 500 nor more than
$1,000 for each olfense. and upon conviction
second time, may be imprisoned at the dis
erection of the court"
The bill also provides for the creation in
the Department of Agriculture of division
to be known as the Food Division equipped
with chief and corps of assistants. In ad-
dition, chemist shall be appointed by the
President. with assistant chemists in New
York, Boston, Philadelphia. Charleston,
Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans. Calves
ton, st. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati and San
Francisco The President shall appoint one
food Inspector for each State and Territory
and the District Of Columbia, and two assist.
ants may be appointed by the inspector when
necessary, whose duties shall be to sample
any article of food, drink or drug, and have
the same properly verified and analysed by
the food chemists. They shall inspect
slaughter-houses and have microscopic and
analytical tests made of slaughtered animals.
and when they find adulterated articles of
food, drink or drugs. or tainted or diseased
meat sod OF offered for sale in violation of this
act, they shall present the facts, properly
verified under oath, to The District-Attorney,
who shall Immediately proceed to prosecute
all vio!ators of this act IN the courts OF the
United States.
The Agricultural Committee also adopted
BIr. Laird's resolution appointing sub-com-
mittee To visit the packing and refining es-
Establishments located i'll the large cities. With
regard to the reforms sought to be effected
by these measures Mr.. Laird said to q CORE
spondent: 1.-THE investigation before the
committee of the question of compound
lards which has been in progress
during the present sson demonstrates
the Importance OF legislation, not only on the
subject under consideration, but also on the
whole subject of pure food and particularly
as to pork meats for the European markets
The expert evidence disclosed that the
trouble with American meat products 10 Eu-
rope arose largely from the fact that these
meats were nowhere in their history sub
jected to disinterested inspection; that the
only protection which the consumer had
either at home or abroad. was found
in the interest of the packer in his own repu..
tation; that no regulation of any Board OF
Trade required an inspection of tire product
sold through them; that there was no au,
thority interested in the wholesomeness OF
the great quantity of food sold to the poor OF
the country These people are absolutely
without protection except so far as it may be