Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-01

I: !: !: !: !
n H1I4y44Z. II !, the coming Mary |
MI HlIWMN Ann, and I must say |
vi HIN ]UW\E I think the old gen. |
Till Mml lLMN tleman is neither |
Ml HI E@lMll lIAE4tll just nor wise in this |
N| EA3ssEE@jf lNMNINE affair.
M NH TAI VlfWl|F I have found scat
Ill ljy lMl RNlIl(B tered in various d.
III iii M I'LL lf visions of the gov
UML NV E eminent veral
u" lines Of work in pro-
gress which have for their common object
to reduce the cost Of living and increase
the efficiency of labor by perfecting the
health conditions of the people. These
lines Of work of Prof. Atwater's investi-
cations of the chemistry and economy Of
foods, pursued in the Agricultural Depart
ment, in connection with the food expert
ment stations, investigations of foods and
food aduterants being done by the chem
list of the Agricultural Department.; inves-
legations Of household pests, fitfully con-
Quoted by the chronological division of the
same department, and investiga lions of
the sanitary conditions of the people,
barely under way in the department of
labor.
Certain incidental ends are sought by
these special investigations-as, for in
stance, Prof. Atwater's work Is meant to
Of nutritive food, and the investigation OF
food adulterants Is intended to serve conf
mercial interests, while bringing about ui-
timately the establishment in this country
of a pure food standard. However. since
the production of nutritive food depends
for its success on a demand for SUCH food,
and since legislation establishing food
standards must have its inception in pure
food sentiment, even these incidental ends
are served only as the results Of the in
vestigations tending to them are under
stood and applied in the house 1t has
therefore seemed to me that Uncle Sam
might wisely and economically group these
scattered Investigations in household d.
vision of the government, which, recogniz-
ing the channel through which the benefits
of this scientific work are to be realized by
the people, would operate with direct ref
erence to the economic objects sought,
| thus doing away with lot of scientific
| fluff that inevitably obScureS a subject
| pursued, with reference to no purpose save
| that which the scientists microscope re-
veals.
Opposed to n New Bureau.
I made this suggestion of household
division, or division Of domestic economy,
| to Secretary Morton about year ago, who
objected to it solely on the ground he takes
] against in any way extending the paternal-
istic features Of the government. Admit
ting the necessity of such paternalism, the
Secretary Of Agriculture assured me he
| Va
| a household division than for much
| that is now in operation in the de-
| partment. The assistant secretary, under
whose especial direction such division
| would exist has cause for opposing Its
| creation in the general plan of organiZa-
| ton of the Agricultural Department, which
| Is constituted of many separate divisions,
| eighteen or nineteen in number, and the
| chiefs of all these, instead of being repre-
sented by a much smaller number of chiefs
| of bureaus in their relations with the head
| of the department, are every one directly
associated with the assistant secretary, VINO
very naturally does not desire that the
number of subordinates and the burden Of
| the detail Of their affairs, which he must
assume should be increased"
| Dr. True, director of the food experiment
stations, under whose supervision Prof. At
| waters Investigations are made, told me
| he feared a household division would re-
| peat the history of the food experiment
stations which in the beginning were at
| tempted to be run with simple reference to
the unitarian objects sought, the result
| being that the scientific value Of the work
done was sacrificed to the superficial and
popular character of the endeavor.
Views of Mrs. Henderson.
| This did not alter my opinion, however,
but to make sure that no microbes from
| the female suffrage convention had entered
| nv circulation and affected my reason, I
| talked over the matter of a household d.
| vision of the government with Mrs. John B.
| Henderson, whose conservatism as a men,
| Ter of society is as conspicuous as the sue
| cess of the public work she has done in
| advancing educational interests, both by
the school of industrial arts for women
/ she has established, and the books she has
written on nutrition and dietics.
| Mrs. Henderson dismissed from my mind
| all fear that have become crank in this
matter, and from her broader knowledge
| of the subject assured me that there is
| more of the science of nutrition available
for Immediate application in our homes
| than l had been led to believe from fol-
| lowing the reports OF Prof. AtWaters IN
| vestigatons.
| Prof Atwater seems more and more 10th
to assert that any exact facts of nutrition
| have been discovered. But While making
| this assertion, these reports none the less
| sustain the notion 1 have Of the wisdom OF
adopting a household division Of the gov
| eminent as the medium of their develop
ment. for the reason that as Prof. Atwa'
| ter more and mere disClaims exact knowl
| edge of the science that Is to enable us
both to reduce the cost of living and live
be tier, that Is with increased capacity FOL
labor and enjoyment, he also more ane
more petitions assistance in perfecting hi:
investigations. The assistance he desire:
is in tho analysis OF foods; the study o.
dietaries, that is, the actual food consump
ton of people in different places and un
der different conditions Of life, and thu
study Of the food supply Of particular
places ard of the composition OF certain
classes of food materials OF Whlcn Dut lev
ANALYSES have thus far been made; the di
| feasibility of food, and the effects OF cook
ing upon digestibll1ty.
Temperature in Cooking.
Among the specific questions which neet
investigation are the temperature bes
adapted to the cooking Of different mater
ials in different ways-as roasting, frying
boiling, steaming and stewing; the chemica
changes involved in the process; the los
of nutritive material in preparing 1t TO
| use; the effects upon flavor, palatability
| and increase or decrease of its digestibility
This represents a wide and useful field o
inquiry, which is almost unexplored.
NV idea is that Uncle Sans domesti
science work could be advanced to the ben
, eft of both the government and the peopl
, IL it were brought to the particular atten
ton Of women, and the direct relation te
tween the home and this work could no
be more distinctly and profitably enunciate
| than BY having>it done in household d
vision, as have suggested, with woma
acting as chief of the division. =
Professor Atwater says that to remov
the ignorance which debases both our ma
tional stomach and our national food ecor
omy, two things are needed: 1.-THE first is