The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-12-24
Rochelle Salt. Bread.

stated to be injurious to health This
article appears as solid reading mat
ter, but is, we are reliably informe ed
in reality a paid advertisement pub
llshed by the Price Baking Powder
Co., who, not content with extolling
the virtue Of ti1eir own product take
this method of injuring competitors.
The result which the authors wish
to attain is to prejudice the people
against all baking powders save their
own, to lead them to believe that their
lives are in danger if they use any
other powder to force them to pay
extortionate prices for baking powder
and to divert attention from the fact
that in food prepared from their bal-
ing powder there is concealed large
quantities of Rochelle salts.
baking powder is a mixture of
substances which depends for its
bread raising efficiency upon a chem
ical reaction which takes place in the
process of baking. In this reaction
the nature of the original ingredients
is entirely changed SO that to say that
baking powder is a cream of tartar
powder gives the uninitiated no in
formation as to the substances left in
the food. What the consumer really
wants to know is what he eats.
The so-called cream Of tartar baking
powder consists of bi-carbonate Of
soda, cream of tartar and starch. The
chemical reaction which takes place
in the baking is between the soda and
the cream Of tartar, the starch acting
only as a filler or keeper. The soda
and the cream of tartar react upon
each other in such way as to free
carbonic acid gas and to form water
and Rochelle salts, which drug re-
mains in the bread and all of it is
eaten.
DR.. Prices baking powder, accord
ing to analysis, contains about % per
cent of bi-carbonate Of soda, which
will require G2.G per cent of cream Of
tartar for naturalization and the two
will make over SO per cent Of Rochelle
salts such as is found in the drug
stores. One heaping teaspoonful Of
baking powder weighs about 200
grains, and will make IA ounces Of
bread or twelve good sized biscuits.
In these twelve biscuits then we have
the enormous quantity of 1856 grains
of Rochelle salts. With an average
meal, at which three biscuits are
eaten, one would take into the system
461a grains of Rochelle salts.
Rochelle salts is the active ingre-
dent Of seidlitz powders and is
most excellent medicine in it's place.
but it is medicine and not an article
OF food and the daily consumption Of
from SO to $50 grains will seriously
derange the stomach, bowels and kid
@eys. When we consider the residue
left in the food, Dr. Prices baking
powder is simply Seidlitz powder
diluted with starch. Below is given
the opinion Of an eastern medical avl-
thority on this constant dosing with
Rochelle salts.
Dr.. A. Warner Shepard, formerly
health officer in Brooklyn, said Il
have not the slightest doubt that the
mental and physical health of thou
sands is permanently injured by the
excessive use of Rochelle salts in i'm
pure beer, bread and other forms of
food and drink. 1t is certainly a factor
in the alarming increase of Brights
disease of the kidneys and similar
complaints. 1t irritates the stomach
bowels and kidneys and may therefore
produce the most unfortunate results"
In an interview the manufacturers
of Calumet baking powders, one of the
powders mentioned in the article re-
ferred to, stated that food prepared
with their product was entirely free
from Rochelle salts, alum, ammonia,
lime or any injurious substance.
The Price Baking Powder Co. has
advertised that all baking powders
sold at less than As or SO cents per
pound are adulterated. Notwithstanl-
ing this they sell their Cream bak-
Ing powder in New York and other
eastern states, where they cannot OBJ
tain the extortionate prices demanded
in the west. at price which will al
wv it to be profitably retailed at 80
cents per pound.
1t is said that since 1893 there have
been forty bicycle deaths TO every
death from football
Catarrh Cannot BE Cured
with LOCAL APPLICATIONS as .hey
cannot reach the seat Of the disease. Ca
tarrh Is q blood or constitutional dis
ease, and in order to cure it you must
take internal remedies. Halls Catarrh
Cure Is taken internally, and acts direct
~ on the blood and mucous surfaces.
Halls Catarrh Cure Is not uuack med