The record-union., 1897-04-23

| pays his money for a pure article and
receives one of these packages, is to
just that extent swindled out of his
coin, to say nothing whatever of the
effect upon his stomach, kidneys and
| intestines Yet we are told that there
cate and oppose any effort to protect
the people against these frauds on the
ground that 1T will hurt trade" that
the San Francisco people ARE cranks;"
| that the so-called authorizations ARE
| harmless and so on.
1t is monstrous to think that there
| live and breathe human beings so lost
to shame and responsibility as to put
so much as hair of obstruction in the
path of exposure of food fraud. 1t is
not the honest grocer, for he does not
manufacture, and he can have precisely
as large trade in pure as in bad goods;
it is not the honest jobber, for he can
| do as much business in unadulter-
ated goods as in impure food, since just
so much food must be consumed. Who
is it then who suggests that no action
shall be taken here, either for repre-
sentation in the Pure Food Congress, or
! for protection of the health of the peo-
pie by enforcement of a law made by
the people? Whoever it is who blocks
the way is tri1ing with human life,
with human right, and is staining with
| blood outlines his own soul.
| The pure food proposition is very SIM
pie. perfectly clear and absolutely un-
answerable 1t is precisely the argu-
ment advanced by the 'Record-Union''
two and a half years ago when the
law was under debate in the Legisla-
ture-namely whosoever proffers mon
ely for food and receiving the food parts
with his coin therefore, takes it with
the implied warranty that it is precise
" what it purports to be. If ii is sold
as condensed milk, as sugar, as coffee,
as raspberry jam or currant jelly, as
pure syrup, as tea leaf, as coffee berry,
and it is not, but is either salicylic acid,
boric acid, tartartic acid, starch and
apple peel jelly with coal tar coloring;
terra alba, spurious leaf or anything
else than the genuine, the buyer is
swindled and the seller who knowingly
cheats him is a swindler, and perhaps
worse, for if the fraud induces i'll
health and that brings on disease and
GUS article is morally guilty of murder
From that there is no possible escape
1t is said that the people want cheap
goods, and will buy the cheap and adul-
that to be true, the answer to the ar
gument is label the packages truth
fully" Let them be labeled honestly
thus Half and half apple and currant
| Jelly stiffened with starch and given
snap by salicylic acid Terra alba cof
fee" Terra Gotta coffee BEANS" AL
mond shell ground cinnamon" False
Japan tea" ''Adulterated golden sy
| fup, Lemon Jelly u1due VI SldTCn anu
tartaric acid,'' Strawberry jelly made
of apple jelly artifciauy colored"-and
so on For these are precisely the hon
est titles that chemical analysis finds
should attach to much of jar, can and
other food sold as pure and wholesome.
Properly marked there is not the
slightest objection to the sale of these
spurious goods. But what man is
there in this or any other community
who will dare to stand before the eyes
| of his neighbors and say it is right
and proper to offer for sale food pur-
porting to be pure and wholesome that
is impure, aduterated, a cheat and a
sham, and in most cases deleterious
that it is right and proper that this
| thing shall go on in order that trade
may be promoted? We concede that
such a man, if he can be found, will be
right and defensible in his position if
he interprets trade to mean traffic in
| human life, and human health, and
human woe and suffering.