Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-27
ANNOTTO IN,THE MILK.
Many Dealers Brought Into Court by
the Health Authorities.
EFFECTS OF THE ADULTERATIVE
Proved by the Burden Of the Evidence Pro-
dEced in Court.
THE LAW AS REGARDS SKINNED MILK

PHILADELPHIA, November 26.-Assist-
ant District Attorney Ker yesterday in the
Old Court House, made strike for pure
milk and arraigned "a dealers on the charge
of selling adulterated milk. They were
Edward Hallett, John Hogan, Philip Rapp,
Alfred Robinson, John Sehram, Jacob
Graham, William Smith, Charles f.
Schwerer Hugh MeGill, Ebe W. HELM,
Lawrence Mooney, Peter j. Tierney, James
McAleely, William II. Metzgar, John Gut
john, j. G.. Voight, Henry Brandt, Edward
f. Duffy, Thomas Waldron, John Hanne-
gan, A. Erbsmehl, James Smith, Lewis
Machenfuss, and Jane Brannen. OF this
array of milk and water candidates, Hallett,
Jane Brannen. Voight, McAleely, HELM,
Metzgar, and Waldron were tried and
convicted, audGraham, Gutjohn, Machen-
fuss, McGill, Erbsmehl, and Brandt were
tried and acquitted. The other cases will
be taken up later.
In the cases OF all who were convicted it
was shown that they not only sold SKINNED
and watered milk, but that their milk was
colored with annotto, In the cases of those
acquitted it was shown that they changed
their milkmen after receiving their notices
from the Board of Health, and with the ex-
ception of Graham none OF them sold an
MOTTO colored milk.
ANNoTTo A DELETERIoUS SUBSTANCE.
Annotto, it was testified, was an obnox-
ious and deleterious substance, first obtained
from the root and stalk of Sonth American
plant, and afterward purified by disgust
ing process. 1t is extensively sold, it was
testified, to dairymen. Inspector Byrnes
testified that in all the cases tried he had
first tested the milk with i lactometer, and
notified the dealers, and after second test
had taken samples OF the milk to the Office
of DIR. Crcsson, of the Board of Health,
where it had been analvzed.
Chemist Robinson, who is DIR .Cresson's
assistant, ties titled to finding the annotto in
the milk oil those convicted, and in that sold
by Graham, who was acquitted. The ma
jority of the defendants were storekeepers.
and Mr.. Ker stated that the prime object Of
the prosecution was to get at, through them,
the real violators of the law, the actual
adulteraIors of the milk. Heretofore, he
said, this had been difficult thing, but by
convicting the sellers and getting them to
give the names of the people, and appearing
against them, who sold the milk to them,
the Commonwealth could punish the real
offenders and protect the public by stopping
the adulteration.
TRIED TO AVOID THE LAW.
Some of the defendants had evidently
tried to avoid the violation of the law This
was particularly so in the case of HalIett,
who keeps a restaurant. He claimed, and
it was not denied, that Inspector Byrnes had
told him that he could use skim-milk for
cooking purposes. Rallett stated that he
used only pure milk in cooking oysters, but
had, with the Inspectors consent, used skim
milk in pastries and things of that char
| acter. He claimed that skim-milk could be
sold if it was marked skim-milk and sold as
| such.
Mr.. Ker, however. takes the ground that
skim-milk cannot be vended under any cir
| cumstances in Philadelphia, and cannot
even be used for cooking any materials that
are sold. On this point there is a conflict of
opinion, which the court will be called upon
to decide to-day.
The point was also raised that all milk
from which butter is made must be skinned
milk, as the cream must be SKINNED from
it IN order to make the butter. 1t was
argued that it would be a hardship to the
producer if he had to throw away all the
milk so SKINNED, and that the mere skim
ming could not affect its purity. 1t was
also argued that doctoss often ordered
skinned milk for patients.
JUDGE THAYER's REMARKS.
Judge Thayer said: Suppose you give
such SKINNED milk to a sick infant. Il
might cause its death. Milk means milk,
not SKINNED milk
Voight, who is 4 ship chandler, and fur
nishes milk to ships crews, has been in
business 20 years. and paid cents a quart
for the milk he sold. He said he had
bought his milk from T. r. Rambo, of
Paschalville. Hallett said he bought his
milk from William Cripps, of Fox Run,
and Helm bought his, he said, from
Thomas Kirk. The convictions will all be
disposed of when all the cases have been
heard.
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