The San Francisco call., 1898-09-23
Will Try to Influence
 the Supervisors.
HOPES TO HAVE s10,ooo MORE
NO EMp1oYEs To BE DIS CHARGED AT PRESENT.
Investigation of All Brands of Chew ing Gum on the Market to
 Be Made by the
 Board.

That fifteen or twenty employees or the Health Department will be dlscnargeu' III order to reduce expenses to the hini' VI the appropriation determined upon oS 'no Gunervisors now seems foregone con clusion. It was stated yesteroay py aii official prominently identihed Wllh tno denartment that considerable pressure u'as hrougbt to bear on the members of the hoard prior to the Wednesday night ,.aa+inp In defer action looking to re- duction of the force until an opportunity bad been afforded certain 1nnuentlal per sons to labor with the SuperVlsors to III crease the appropriation to the iliiii1 oi last year. AS no department appropIia- lions have yet been formally Hiaoe' IL ID regarded as possible to secure recon sideration of the cut heraioeu III liio e''' mates for the tax levy.
 The persons who have undertaken 10 convince the Supervisors or tnelr aieseo mistake will point to the fact that lne s1o Oo0 reduction in the Health Depart ment's appropriation will result Ill the crippling of the system or lnspecllon ae now carried on, as fully two-thlrds or the . inspectors will have to be discharged ana +ba work in the pure food branch of the service almost totally SuSpendeo
 In case 1t Is found after quiet canvass of the Supervisors that no more ore III l1omeg ne, nroceed to cut down its force or lnspec- fors and will dismiss several other at- taches proclaiming the rae5 dspGssh have thrown down the gates which parTeu out disease With the possible exception or Mayor Phelan, who sleere 1eellnes of t9 inc Board of Health are strongly opposed 10 the re- duction of the appropriation this year
 Following the crusade agalhst a,therities the will Investigate certain lines or prepGre5u food looking for adulterations; This branch of research will De more vigorous, 5 Iy pressed than ever before, owing 10 a recent ruling of the courts, dehning an in- creased power in this direction TOT the Health Board. The chemical laporaIoTy IS heinz very much enlarged and consider able new apparatus has been secured Tor the use of Chemist Green, who will make analyses of many kinds d o5 1000. the the chemist no matter what other employeS may be dropped ~
 As one important item the chemist will undertake the analysis of the various brands of chewing gum now sold on the San Francisco market, including the so- called pepsin gums. Ihis step IS que 10 gums are detrimental to health, contain ing ingredients that are harmful and un- fit for placing in the mouth. Some of the pepsin gums contain no pepSin according to the complaint and the gum itself Is adulterated instead of being pure,
 A dispatch from London few, days ago stated that the sale of certain brands of hibited because of objectionable ingredi- ents found therein. As the gum-chewing habit has developed recently to great extent in England in imitation of the American fad the English health authori- ties have begun the inspection of the va rious brands, with the result that some were found to be pure, but others com pounded of vile ingredients. In. this coun- try the chewing gums have so far escaped that inspection that has been given to all food products, possibly on the ground that it was not an eatable article, but as 1t nevertheless enters the mouths of half the citizens of the United States every day, the advisability of careful inspec- ton becomes self-evident. So far any person has been at liberty to put chewing gums on the market and manufacture the same out of vile refuse or proper ingredi- ents, as he might see fit.
 "You can state that the health authori-