Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-07-15
THE STAFF OF LIFE.
Efforts 10 Secure Pure Bread for
American Workmen.
No Amount Of SkilIul Fraud Can Defraud the
Microscope.

There are a good many people III
world Interested in bread from tine
standpoint Of health. Authorization in
food products is an oftensa or. if you
desire 4 stronger term, a crime, which
is being fought by municipalities, by
states and by nations with a fierccr de-
termination than ever before to bring
the battle to a finish.
Leaving out Of consideration the De-
casional use Of various kinds Of finely
powdered earths, ctc.. it is worth while
considering the kind Of authorization
now practiced in the manufacture Of
:our. from which the American labor
ing man grts his staff Of life.
No doubt the men who adultcratc
their wheat flour With corn starch con
sole their consciencas with some such
roIssuring thought that the adulterant
is nOtouly not poisonous, but uninjurious
in lis elements, ana yct they are guilty
Of the most dcspicable picc, OF robbery
known since meanness began. and
those who eat ii to the extent that thu
lahoring mon Of the United States eat
bread simply enter upon 4 certain. ana
not 50 very prolonged. period of starva-
ton.
But first. a word or two as to this
adulteration and how the scientific
men are discovering it-hnw they arc
working to render such adulteration as
this in the future q practical impos-
sihility.
The starch Of the flour Of every
wheat berry ana every corn kernel diff
fcrs always and essentially rs they
com" under the microscope. Take a
sample Of honest Hour and YOU will
tind every tiny grain To the last hun
dredth that comes into your field Of
vision rs You move the slide below the
lens ruundish in shape. every one Of
thom. if cut in twain. showing a series
"t roncentric circles, and q transverse
section indicating The general form of a
pair Of dumbbeIls
When the corn starch. like the wheat
starch, has been washed clear of all
other elements. every grain. to the
farthcst miilionth instca 4 Of being
round, is angular. fun Of corners the
Hat body Of the grain usually showing
from five To six sharp angles. In tn
center Of the grain the lines are not
circular, as in The wheat but straight.
starting from a Well-dofincd spot in
the heart Of the grain or starch ono
ladiating out in perfectly straight
lines, from three "a five or six lines in
each grain.
Each ono of these grains is inclosed
in wall Of ceIluloSe. The char2ctoc
IF the starch On the interior Of each is
precisely the same. whether of corn or
wheat. IN the wheat -four. however. as
nature has given ii To man ii: the wheat
kernel. there is just the right proportion
Of starch for tia needs Of he human
system miX"d with other ingredients
which go 70 give the system its
strength
When flle men who want to adul-
terate their -four find that wheat costs
81 and corn - cents a bushnl. il is 4
very nature thing. following the bent
Of crooke mind. to mix the corn
starch with the flour starch The two
are Of pre-. .isely the same character as
to appearance. etc.
But th.e. detective is there. too. and.
aided liy that chief of all detectives.
Mother Nature. the scientific chemist
takes the adulteratcd flour. washes it
in cold water So that every part of the
gluten Of the flour is cleared out. ana
then. placing a tiny portion of -
flour. or. as il now stands. starch .
little tube. he puts it in solution. ~.
it with iodine beautiful purple. puts
drop between the thin pieces Of glg-
for his slide. tucks it under the micrv-
scope, and there, swimming together
side by side, as purple as a sunset in
the land Of the midnight sun. are the
two types Of starch grains. hundreds of
them, the one round, the other angular.
The one having concentric rings on its
interior. the other with lines as jagged
as the greenish radiations from 4
fractured pane Of glass
1t isn't question of theory, but one
OF very cold. hard fact The scientific
chemist. especially the agricultural
chemist, such a one as Professor Harry
Snyder of the state experiment station
OF the College of Agriculture in the
University Of Minnesota. doesn't have
to depend upon any theories He takes
sample of perfectly pure wheat flour,