The Louisiana populist., 1898-02-11
Laws Against Adulteration.
(Times-D -Democrat.)

The movement against aduItera-
ted food products is showing new
life throughout this country, and
is being carried on intelligently.
The great mistake in the past has
been that too much has been at
tempted. 1t has been proposed to
prohibit and severely punish adul-
terations of all kinds, whether the
adulteration was injurious to health
or simply u fraud on the purcha-
ser. This has generally had the
effect of creating a prejudice
against the law as too rigorous, for
there are many persons willing to
take adulterated articles, such as
oleomargarino butter: :because they
are cheaper.
In Baltimore the Citizens Union,
which has taken hold Of the mat
ter, does not want the use Of adul-
terates stopped altogether by legal
process, but what it does want is
to have all goods properly labeled,
so that the pure article will be
stamped ''pure" and the adultera-
ted article will be stamped ''adul-
terated," and all buyers will know
exactly what they are buying.
| A bill has been offered in the
Maryland Legislature, which gives
q list of commodities the nse Of
which are prohibited for adulters-
ting purposes, most of them being
in constant use either as coloring
matter or as An adjunct toward
raising the bulk weight Of things
that are needed dail y in every house
hold. Among the adulterate which
are thus placed upon the black
list arc:
Tannic acid, powdered steel,
marble dust, cocbineal, logwood,
Brazil wood, coppenss, sulphuric
acid, tincture of tobacco, acetic
acid, brickdust, vermilion, saw
dust, potato spirits, aloes, yellow
analine, autumn leaves, sugar Of
lead, alum, cocolus indicus, yellow
ochre, cocoanut shells, tumeric,
almond shells, burned crackers and
terra alba.
The union asks for the creation
of the Office of pure food commits
sioner, who, with his deputies,
shall have access to the factories
where the various commodities are
made and shall have the power of
inspecting the original packages.
The goods will be labeled by these
deputies, and there will be fine
imposed upon any one trying to
sell goods which claim to be what
they are not.
The law is aimed at the manu-
, facturers, rather than at the retail
} dealers, and the latter will be ben
, e6ted by it, Us it will insure the
: sale to them Of pure goods by the
: wholesale dealers and manufactu-
q rcrs. If a manufacturer is caught
D putting adulterated goods on the
t market he will be warned that he
D must no longer sell such goods un
e less they are properly labled rs
q the law requires; second ofense
9 will result IN his prompt prosecu.
j. tion.
Il The proposed Maryland law
G against adulteration promises we'll
l. because it is not too rigid and doe'
s not a,tempt too much. The great
G est mistake in legislation on thi
J. subject has been the severity o
e the laws. That adulteration il
IS growing, is universally recognized
v 1t is bad in the matter of foo'
# products, but is growing still wors
It in the matter of drugs and medi
,e cines, and it is probable that thou
" sands of lives are sacrificed annu
It ally because when medicine is OF
m dercd for them it is given in a
|! adultcrated form, and fails to hav
the effect desired.
The drug men Of Baltimore hav
been asked to join in the move
/, ment in favor Of a law agains
. adulteration, and will probably d
SO, as their business has been ser
70 ously cut into by the manufactu
r ing chemists Of other cities, WI
Of have been selling drugs at pric'
is- apparently below cost. This the
Va were able to accomplish by II
~ liberal use of adulterants.
r 'Three miles from nowhere,