The record-union., 1894-06-02
ROOD ADULrERATIoN.

Fl. W. Wiley, Chemist of the United
States Department of Agriculture, in his
recent lecture before the Franklin Insti-
tute devoted himself to the question of
the adulteration of food.
The expose is a very lengthy one, and
quite too elaborate for ordinary news
paper reproduction. 1t is a startling
revelation, and, though the chemist ab-
hors exaggeration and sensationalism,
his paper goes long way to support the
claim of the American Medical Associa-
tion that we ought to have Secretary of
Public Health, with national health
service behind him. a petition to that
end is now before Congress and is COM
manding much attention, in view of the
fact, with which every one is familiar,
that preventive medicine has already
accomplished wonders in checking con-
tagious and infectious diseases, and in
raising the sanitary standard very high,
as in the matters of drainage, house fit-
ting, quarantine, meat. inspection, disin-
fection and publication Of foul soils, etc.
Chemist Wiley tells US plainly that we
like to be humbugged, and that we all
know we suffer from use of adulterated
food, but have not the courage to protest.
Nevertheless a bill is before Congress
known as the Paddock pure food bill,
that proposes to prevent interstate COM
merce in food products or drugs that are
impure or adulterated to an extent to en-
danger health and life. 1t is far reach
ing bill and if ever it becomes a law and
is enforced, we win find the health con-
ditions Of the people, and especially of
the poor, very much improved. At least
that is the sober prophecy of the medical
faculty and the official chemists. The
bill passed the Senate in 1892, has been
renewed in the present Congress, has the
support of every agricultural association
and medical body in the Union to which
it has been submitted, and the earnest in
dorsement of the Agricultural Depart
ment of the United States, which de-
mands that the wicked and corrupt
practices Of the men who adulterate the
food of the people be put stop to.''
Mr.. Wiley declares that in a great
many cases two-thirds of the nutritive
property of our food is extracted and the
loss supplied in bulk by harmful in
gradients, and he regrets that the pure
food bill referred to cannot put stop
to this evil except in the Terrific
ries and so far as relates to inter
state commerce. 1t will be neces-
ssry when it becomes a law, therefore,
for its provisions to be repeated in State
laws, most of which have anti-adultera-
ton laws that are weak and ineffective.
In Massachusetts, however, there has
been decided progress made, and in the
single item Of pure milk it is difficult to
estimate the great good Massachusetts
has done her people by enforcing her law
against impure and dangerous fluids.
The average content of solids in pure
milk is nearly 1S per cent, and milk fall
ing below that is affected by incipient dis
ease or indicates deficient nutrition. The
butter fat should be 8 per cent. of the
total weight of the milk, but there are
very few laws that require this standard,
and the result is that impure and nom
nutritious milk is much used by the peo-
pie, to their injury.
Spent tea-lesves are largely sold as gen
uine; butter is much adulterated; milk is
doctored to far greater extent than is
supposed; evaporated milk is largely di-
luted and rendered harmful by additions
of sugar and salicylic acid; lard is mixed
with other substances which decrease
the value of the fat; Gotten oil is initiated
and made fraudulent; sugar is put upon
the market that is only IS per cent. pure
sugar.
Syrups are badly adulteratsd, and
maple syrup adroitly initiated: hickory
bark is used to give misleading flavor
to the syrup of cane sugar, and glucose
enters largely into syrup cheats. Indeed,
Mr.. Wiley declares that the great base Of
all our table syrups is glucose made from
Oorn.starch, bat II shs glucose were prop