The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-10
BAKING POWDER MEN WIN.
THEIR FIGHT ON THE sTEED PURE
FOOD BILL.

house MunulHEtuEAHE ON BHhs
Explains How II Was Done-The
Testimony of Eminent Chemists
That Alum i'm Baking Powders Is
Not DeIetcrious-Prof. whites
Statement Before the senate Com
mittee-Mr. Adams Argument Not
Needed to Dispose of the Bill.
Mr.. A. ". Morehouse, president OF the
NIorehouse Manufacturing Company, and
Mr.. 5. b. Adams returned yesterday morn
ing from Atlanta where they went TO OPP
pose the Steed pure food bill, which, II
passed by the legislature, would have
knocked out the manufacture of alum bak-
ing powders in Georgia. The Morehouse
company. as a manufacturer of baking
powder aud bcarb soda, was, OF course,
vitality interested in the defeat of the bill.
The action Of the Senate committee
in tabling the bill" said Mr.. Norehousc,
rs decided victory for us. We have
every reason to believe that it means Us
death. Mr.. Steed, the author of the bill.
moved to table himself. and explained as
/ understand that he was not satisfied
that it should pass. and desired more time
10 look into the matter more fully. There
is no doubt that the committee was with
US and against him, ana that If a vote
had been taken-which we very much de-
street.-The report on Il would have been adj
verse. Drs. White and McCondless were
present by invitation of the Senate COM
mittee.
The testimony of DR., White, professor
of chemistry at he University Of Geor-
gia, and one of the recognized experts Of
the country. was valuable TO US DR.. White
has made special study of the pure ZOO
question. being a N mber of he Pure Food
Congress- and member of one Of its most
irnportaut committees. and his views on
baking powder que tons are most Nafua-
bic.
'Dr. White made ii very clear TO the
committee" said Mr.. Morehouse that
the fact Of alum being one of abe insre-
clients that goes INTO the makeup Of a
powder does not at al mean that there IS
alum in The residue that remains In the
bread on the contrary, he made II plain
that the residue from our powders Is not
alum and has no alum N it. The residue IS
a sma quantity Of afumiua, q natural
property of wheat which is harmless,
while The residue from a cream Of tartar
powder Is Rochelle salts and Is much larg-
er than the residue from our powder lie
would moi say that this quantity of Roch-
elle salts IN a loaf of bread was deleterlous
or injurious. and he made II perfectly clear
that there is nothing deleterious or inju-
rious in the residue from our powder. HIS
statement was very eli ar and decisive on
the Point that there has been no proof OF
the claim that the residue from either
class Of powders was harmful. He told Inc
committee Of a number of experiments ne
had himself made, and evidently satisfied
their minds on the real point at issue-that
In xt-b alum moi
injurious to he health of consumers.
Mr. Morehouse said that Mr.. Steed I'M
dertook to criticise that portion Of his In
terview in the Atlanta papers in which ne
stated that the extra cost to the people or
Georgia would be 81 900 coo, and that there
was no necessity for levying this tax upon
the people since ii has been proven that
the articles reached by the proposed IeSis-
lation are not harmful
Both Dr. White and Prof McCandless,
the state chemist, were very positive In
their statements" Mr.. Morehouse said,
that no baking powder could be legiti-
mately claimed to be harmful although
Prof. McCandless acknowledged that his
prejudice was against the alum powders.
He failed, however to show any reasona-
BILE grounds upon which to base his preJu-
dice. He was the man on whom they de-
pended to make out their case, his tes-
timony on all essential points was as de
cidedly our way as that of DR.. White. In
response to a direct question he would not
say that the residue left in bread by an
alum powder was harmful He read an
opinion of a chemist but il was admitted
in answer to Mr.. Adams question that the
opinion quoted was expressed after its au-
thor had failed to have the English courts
sustain his view. The English courts have
twice held upon the opinion Of eminent
chemists that the alum baking powders
were not prejudicial 10 health and the OBJ
IA & l,,.l oh, al
by Prof. McCandless were written after he
had had his day in court against the Eng
land Alum Company and had lost his case.
Mr. j. T.. Maddox. the well-kn0wn whole
sale grocer of Atlanta, reflected the senu-
ment of the committee, Mr.. Steed except
ed when he said that the testimony OF
Dr. White. borne out as it was by that Of
Prof McCandless, should settle the ques-
ton at issue once and for all time. A
significant feature of the hearing, by the
way, was the appearance OF Mr.. MADDOX
and Mr.. II. Y. McCord, representing the
Wholesale Grocers Association of Atlanta.
They were selected 10 appear by the as
ISOLATION, whose officers in letter to the
committee stated that the members
of the association were unanimously OPP
posed 90 the Steed bill. Mr.. McCord, who
Is one of the leading wholesale grocers Of
the state, explained that 1t made little
difference as a general proposition to deal
ers what brands they sold, but that the
effect of this bill would be to put them
more and more in the clutches OF the
trust and the trusts are already sapping
the life out of legitimate business"
Mr.. Adams who represented the More
house Company, had prepared an elabor-
ate array of testimony absolutely cons
vincing, Mr.. Morehouse said, in support
OF it's position, but the small amount Of
time allotted made it impossible to so
into this in detail, and the testimony in
troduced from DIR. White and Prof. Nc
Candies made it unnecessary.
Some of this testimony was, however,
left with the committee. This included the
opinions of many of the leading experts
of the country and of England in support
of the Morehouse Company's contention.
I'm word" said Mr.. Morehouse, I'VE
made a complete fun case, and l am
sure impressed everybody with the JUS
tice of It. In the face of the showing
we are prepared 10 make it would be i'm
possible to enact such legislation any
where if the real truth is first ascer-