The record-union., 1895-03-25
PURE FOOD BILL AND THE 'REC.
ORD-UNION.o

The Manufacturers Convention at San
Francisco on Friday paid the RECORD
UNION a high compliment by quoting
into series of resolutions adopted by the
convention asking Governor Budd to
approve the pure food bill an editorial
from this paper expository OF the bill and
its purposes. and favoring its passage
an article printed at the time the bill was
under discussion in the Senate.
While the editorial from our columns,
which the convention adopted in full and
declared a GOOD exposition, fairly and
foreibly presented the question then un-
der debate, had the convention examined
our files further it would have found that
few days prior to the 2Sth of February
the RECoRD-UNIoN treated the matter
even more vigorously and gave the
strongest of reasons in support of the
bill.
1t ia not perfect bill by any means, but
it is the best that could be had at this
time probably, and is step in direc-
ton that should be followed out to the
end until the food of the people is pro-
tected from the attacks of the manufact-
urers and handlers who adulterate it and
sell it as pure, and at a price that ought
to secure to the buyer pure and unadul-
terated article. But it is in this matter
as in many others the public must be ed
ucated by degrees to the full knowledge
of its rights IN those matters in which
long established custom has fastened
evils upon them. Even in bettering con-
ditions the public is slow to cut loose
from old and adopt new methods. Ap-
proaches have to be made in detail in
most matters in working reforms. As,
for instance, how long it took before the
absolute secrecy of the ballot could be se-
cured by uniformity of tickets or bal
lots, and then how many years it re-
quired after that end had been attained
before the public mind could be brought
TO the acceptance of the booth system as
an additional means of hedging the ballot
about so as to insure the voter in his in
dependence and his right to be free from
cow.
Again, it took four or five years of hard
labor, amidst much of contumely and re-
proach. to SO far educate the public mind
ss to the necessity Of better and more
economic conditions in the making and a
maintenance of wagon roads as to induce
the people to hold conventions and con-
slider the subject; and then more time
elapsed and more educating work had to
be done before the Legislature could be
made to understand the value of an Of
fetal inquiry and exploitation into road
economies in this State through the
medium of Bureau of Highways, non
political and wholly in the interest of all
the people.
So, too, it was a long and laborious
work to bring the State to the point of
conviction that was necessary to secure
codihcation of the laws, first undertaken
about 1870, we believe. But the work has
never been regretted, and its cost, though
heavy, was but drop In the bucket COM
pared with the benefits resulting.
So it will be, we apprehend, with re.
gard to this anti-aduIteration law-really
not pure-food bill. as it does not go to
the extent of genuine pure-food meas
ure-it will prove its worth, we believe.
in brief time, and will lead up to a per-
fected system of preventing fraud upon
the people in the matter of aduluerating
their food and sophisticating their bever-
ages.