The record-union., 1897-03-26
THE PURE FOOD CRUSADE.

The pure food crusade continues in
San Francisco, and a large number Of
retail growers are under arrest and will
be brought to trial rapidly The pros
ecutions are conducted by the local
Board of Health, which seems to be
more than usually energetic official
body The San Francisco Chronicle"
says that the defense of the retailers IS
that they cannot possibly analyze all
the food goods sold by them; that they
must take them as they are offered by
the wholesalers, therefore they should
rot be held responsible by the consum-
ers.
But, as the Chronicle we'll replies,
this answer is disingenuous. The re-
tailers know perfectly we'll that the
consumers represented by the Board OF
Health cannot proceed against the
5obbers-most, or at least very many of
whom are without the jurisdiction OF
the State. Moreover, the retailers must
know by their price lists the difference
between pure and impure food goods
But aside from our contemporary
reply, there is another that We think
better, namely, that the retailer is put
upon inquiry by the very nature of his
business. When he offers to sell sugar;
when he offers an article as sugar in
reply to the demand for it, he is bound
to know that sugar is delivered to the
purchaser. and he is estopped from say
ing that he did not know it was in part
some other substance. Here is pre-
cisely the case where the rule of "ca-
veat enptor'' does not apply. The pur-
chaser is not bound in these cases to
"look OUT
When a man establishes a business
ard puts up his sign purporting to sell
groceries, the binding implication upon
him is that he means pure, not adul-
terated groceries. 1t must be assumed
when the customer applies to him for
goods he purports to sell, that, in con-
s!deration of the money paid. genuine,
not spurious, goods are delivered.
The retail grocers ought to be the
most active in upholding the Board
of Health in its crusade. They have
nothing to lose and everything to gain
by the sale of pure food goods. Just
so much stock must be consumed to
support life; just 50 much viii be pur-
chased, no matter what the character
of the goods. The profits on q pure ar
ticle are probably as large as upon a
spurious one, If the retailer is, as they
all aver, honest in his own premises,
and does no adulterating on his own
account.
Assuming 1t to be true that cheap
goods are in greatest demand, it does
not follow that the grocer makes more
by their handling, since his margin
must be narrower where the purchase
price is small. But If it is contended
that this erroneous, and that we are
mistaken concerning the margin of
profit, We reply that then there are
other and higher considerations. 1t is
not absolutely necessary that all the
grocers do business, whereas it is alb
=
There must be supplied and consumed
a given amount of food to sustain HUI
man life, but the existence of the race
does not depend upon the number of
grocers, merchants, blacksmiths or
newspaper men,
The man who asks and pays for pep
per has the absolute and indefeasible
right to have pepper delivered to him
for his money, and no possible BUSH
beating will suffice to excuse anyone for
giving him some other vegetable
ground and prepared to resemble pep
per- This is the meat of the whole
questionable human right.
OF course If the retailer wishes to
protect himself from prosecution for
selling impure food goods, all he has to
do is to remove the implied guarantee
of purity by announcing to the pur-
chaser that he sells the goods without
guarantee of their purity; that he sells
them as purporting to be what their til