Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-07-25
COFFEE MADE OF FLOUR,
1T Is MANUFACTURED EXTENSIVE
LY IN PHILADELPHIA.

uine Coffee Is Mixed with 1t the Re-
suit Can Be Sold at a Very Low Price.
There Is a Penalty for the Manufacturer.
Is Philadelphia gaining reputation as
the leading city of America in the manu-
facture of bogus coffee?
kilograms and other information recent
ly received seem to indicate that the city
has gained that notoriety. Chicago and
New York papers have been printing state
ments which have named Philadelphia as
the place where large quantities of "coffee
beans' are manufactured. The following
is a telegram recently received from In
d~ianapolis:
"TE4 citizens and board of health are
much exercised over a coffee fraud I'M
earthed here and traced to a wholesale
dealer, who says he got it from an agent ON
Chestnut street, Philadelphia. The whole
sale dealer showed this letter from the
agent:
Dear Sir-I send you by this mail a
sample of imitation coffee. This is a man
ufacturcd bean, and is composed Of flour.
You can easily mix Is per cent. Of this sub
stitute in with genuine coffee that ranges
in price from 20 to 22ll55 cents, and it will
improve the flavor of the same. 1t granu-
lates the sa,ne as coffee. If you deal with
us it will be in the most complete conf
dence. This as. S." coffee Superior sub
stitute) is packed in barrels; weight about
10 pounds to the barrel. By the use of
our bean you can increase your profits to
~ cents per pound and improve the flavor.
Try a sample barrel; price, 11E cents per
pound. Net, ten days. No attention paid
to postal cards"
In red inkw was written: "Send shipping
directions. l would not show samples
even to employees"
A LITTLE DETECTIVE WORK.
Having learned from II leading coffee and
spice dealer of this city that a coffee bean
mandatory of considerable size was in
operation somewhere in North Philadel-
phia, a reporter started out disguised as a
dealer from the northwest, where he sold
coffee to the poorest class of Swedes and
Norwegians. He soon learned from other
dealers that four or five tons of coffee
beans were being made each week in Phila-
| dclphiu. Three or four different firms and
one coffee rooster referred the "dealer from
the northwest to Wexelberger G. Sauer,
coffee roasters, within a stones throw of
Stetson's hat factory. The informing COT
fee master said that he was positive that
the manufacturer of the coffee bean lived
not far from Tenth and Jefferson streets;
"but," said the rooster, "go to Mr.. Wexel-
bergu", of Wexelberger & Sauer. He roasts
the bean, and will sell you all you want.
He can tell you who the manufacturer is,
and where his mill is. But you won't like
the stuff, because it is as hard as a brick,
especially after it is roasted"
The northwestern dealer approached Mr..
VVaya1barrar II, his 1itt1n fr,,t ,T,n no o,o
forenoon. Conversation soon got down to
business. and Mr.. Wexelberger went
through all his grades of coffee to the
cheapest. Then there was a little lull
while the northwestern dealer struggled
with his principles. But he finally said
that his Swede and Norwegian customers
We're a densely ignorant class of people
and very poor. They would pay only so
much fof coffee. Mr.. WexelDerger smiled,
and reaching under Il newspaper, or some
such covering drew forth samples of the
! coffee bean, toasted and unroasted. He
did not misreyrescnt the goods, but smiled
again in a mild German way as he said: II
guess that's what you want"
FIRST RAT IMITATION.
"Well, what's that"
"An imitation, and a good one. Don't
you think so? You can mix it with any
grade of coffee. Perfectly harmless. It's
made Of a flour paste"
The customer was delighted, and asked
if he could be put in communication
with the manufacturer. He learned that
he could not for some vague rea-
sons. But Mr.. Wexelberger offered to
act as middleman, and procure for the
northwestern man any quantity at Is
cents per pound, or perhaps less if a large
quantity were bought. After another ear
nest effort to get the address of the manu-
facturcr the dealer took some samples of
the roasted and unroasted bean and left,
saying he would probably order about 500
pounds as soon as he heard from his part
ner.
The coffee rooster who referred the deal
er to Mr.. WeXelberger thought a certain
bread crumb ad%ulteration, to be sold
ground, was much better than the bean,
and offered to put the dealer in communi-
cation with the Boston agent for the stuff.
WHAT THE LAW CAN IMPLICIT.
If the enterprising manufacturer who is
making at least $4,000 a year by inducing
retail tea and coffee dealers and others to
cheat his customers with his "bean'' were
brought to the bar of justice he could be
punished severely. DR.. Benjamin Lee, Sec
eetary of the state board of health, thinks
!he following section of the act passed in
1860 to punish the adulteration of food is
the only law which enables thu state to
punish the manufacturer of bogus coffee:
IF any person should sell or expose for
sale the flesh of any diseased animals,
or any other unwholesome flesh. or shall
sell or expose for sale ,unwholesorne bread,
drink or liquor, knowing his goods to be
unwholesome; or shall adulterate for pur-
poses of sale or sell any flour, meal or other
article of food, knowing the sa.ne to be
adulterated, such person convic, I'D shall
be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding
500, or undergo an imprisonment not ex-
ceeding six months or both or either, at
the discretion of the court ."-Philadel-
phia Record.