Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1890-09-20
COFFEE MADE OF FLOUR.
THE HEIDQU4R-
TIERS FOR ITS MANUFACTURE.

oOcs oh uTChhsfhS AOuT anu
Some Very Accommodating Dealers.
Is Philadelphia gaining reputation as
the leading city of America in the manu-
facture of bogus coffee? kilograms and
other information recently received by
the Record of that city seem to indicate
that the city has gained that notoriety.
Chicago and New York papers have been
printing statements naming Philadel-
phia as the place where large quanti-
ties of "coffee beans" are manufactured.
The following is a telegram recently re-
ceived from Indianapolis:
"The citizens and board of health are
much exercised over a coffee fraud I'M
earthed here and traced to wholesale
dealer who says he got it from an agent
on Chestnut street, Philadelphia The
wholesale dealer showed this letter from
the agent:
DEAR SIR: I send you by this mail a
sample of imitation coffee. This is a
manufactured bean, aud is composed of
flour. You can easily mix 10 per cent.
Of this substitute in with genuine coffee
that ranges in price from 20 to 22t cents,
and it will improve the flavor of the
same 1t granulates the same as coffee.
If you deal with us it will be in the most
complete confidence. This IS. S. coffee
Superior substitute) is packed in barrels,
weight about 170 pounds to the barrel.
BY the use of our bean you can increase
your profits to II cents per pound and
improve the flavor. Try sample barrel
price, III cents per pound. Net, 10 days.
No attention paid to postal cards. "
In red ink was written: "Send ship
ping directions. would not show sam
pies even to employees. "
Having learned from leading coffee
and spice dealer of this city that coffee
bean mandatory of considerable size
was in operation somewhere in North
Philadelphia, a Record reporter started
out disguised as dealer from the North
west, 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 be-
ing made each week in Philadelphia,
Three or four different firms and one
coffee roaster referred the "dealer from
the Northwest" to WeXelberger & Sauer
coffee roasters, within stones throw of
Stetson's hat factory. The informing
coffee roaster said that he was positive
that the manufacturer of the coffee bean
lived not far from Tenth and jefferson
Streets but, said the roaster, $50 to Mr..
WeXelberger, 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 brick, especially after it
is roasted"
The Northwestern dealer approached
Mr.. Wexelberger in his little front office
one forenoon Conversation soon got
down to business, and Mr.. Wexelberger
went through all his grades of coffee to
the cheapest Then there was little
lull, while the Northwestern dealer
struggled with his principles. But he
finally said that his Swede and Norwe-
glan customers were densely ignorant
class of people and very poor. They
would pay only so much for coffee. Mr..
WeXelberger smiled, and reaching under
a newspaper or some such covering, drew
forth samples of the coffee bean, roasted
and unroasted. He did not misrepre-
sent the goods, but smiled again in
mild German way as he said: II guess
that's what you want. :"
"Well, what's that?"
"An imitation and good one. Don't
you think so? You can mix it with any
grade of coffee. Perfectly harmless. It's
made of 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 reasons.
But Mr.. Wexelberger offered to act as
middleman and procure for the North
western man any quantity at 15 cents
per pound, or, perhaps, less if large
quantity were bought. After another
earnest effort to get the address of the
manufacturer 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 partner. The samples of
coffee are now in the Record office.
The coffee roaster, who referred the
dealer to Mr.. Wexelberger, thought a
certain bread crumb adulteration, to be
sold ground, was much better than the
bran, and offered to put the dealer in
communication with the Boston agent
for the stuff.
If the enterprising manufacturer who
is making at least $4,000 a year by in
ducing retail tea and coffee dealers and
others to cheat their customers with his
"bean" were brought to the bar of JUS
tice he could not be punished severely.
DIR. Benjamin Lee, secretary of the State
Board of Health, thinks the following Sec
tion of an act passed in 1860 to punish
the adulteration of food is the only law
which enables the State to punish the
manufacturer of bogus coffee:
IF any person shall sell or expose for
sale the flesh of any diseased animals, or
any other unwholesome flesh, or shall
sell or expose for sale unwholesome bread,
drink or liquor, knowing his goods to be
unwholesome; or shall adulterate for
purposes of sale or sell any flour, meal,
or other article of food, knowing the
same to be adulterated, such person con-
victed shall be sentenced to pay fine
not exceeding $780, or undergo an i'm
prisonment not exceeding six months, or
both or either, at the discretion of the
court.