The Portland daily press., 1899-01-31
ARMY BEEF AND SALICYLIC ACID.
New York Tribune.)

ARMY BEEF AND sALICYLIC ACID.
New York Tribune.)
The increduious members of the War
nvestigating Commission who find II
impossible to believe that boric or salicyl-
10 acid could have been used to preserve
meat for ths army ought to study some
government aud other publications con-
corning the canning industry. Their In
nocence does them credit. but II DOES not
indicate any great familiarity with the
common trade methods which are brought
to their notice by the "embalmed beet"
Incident. II they really knew something
about the preserved vegetables and meats
with which the market IL flooded they
might not be surprised and shocked ut
the mention Of chemicals having bsen
found In one sample Of army beef. 1t Is
not likely that contractors were more hon.
est with army supplies sold in large
quantities at q wholesale rate, than with
gilt-edged goods disposed of at fancy
prices to private consumers IL salicylic
acid can be found In the nanEed goods Of
the groceries and refrigerated meats Of the
butchers Its existence In army food is not
so inherently improbable as to subjsct
one who reports finding 1t to suspicion
The use Of the acid Is not so uncommon
as to require the exhaustion Of all alter
native explanations TO account for its
presence in beef before lightning to won
der IL IL was not put there by the Gamer
himself.
~ ks.a
made extensive Investigations of food
adulterants. In part eight of q series of
pamphlets on the subject, published some
time ago, we learn that the use OF salcyl-
10 acid as food preser, ative has steadi-
ly increased, and there are probably now
few Gamers who do not at least occasion
ally use 1t. The aggregate of the amount
used yearly by the Gamers and sold for
home use in the form OF fruit preserva-
t.ves must be very large. Most of the SO
oret personalities sold by the druggists
and others owe their activity to its.pres-
ence. The uss of salicylic acid as food
preventative has been forbidden by sever
al European governments. The depart
ment found salicylio acid in many samples
canned peas and string beans, both 70
ei gn and domestic. OF twenty samples OF
domestic string beans fifteen contained
IT. Ii was found in ten out of twelve
samples Of baked beans In twenty-four
cases out of forty-one 1t was found in
corn Corresponding results were OBJ.
tained with other foods. The department
reports the Paris Academy of Medicine as
declaring thai. persons suffering from dys-
pepsia or diseased kidneys are especially
sensitive to this substance. The acid In
4 Al ls.aa
consumers, but to others IL Is decided
poison, and, moreover. as the pamphlet
points out. there is no safeguard against
its use in inordinate quantities If used at
all, for while qualitative detection is
easy, quantitatiye estimation Is difficult
A study of advertisements and trade
journals will also throw light ON the COM
monness of chemical preservatives The
New York Herald OF yesterday gave some
interesting specimens of such announce
mepts. One containing picture of mules
hauling borsx from the Western alkali
beds calls the attention of meatpackers to
borax and boracic acid in various forms,
and says: The preserving OF ineats
demands modern methods. Another
says that proprietary preparation can
not be detected and does not destroy the
natural flavor OF the meat, and VIII
keep steaks, chops, ribs, cuts Of meats,
tenderloins, pork loins, quarters of beef,
CuODptu Dttl, Ntdlt ibuttOh,
from one to three weeks in inst as fresh
condition as If the meat were frozen. "
Quotation Ia also made from pamphlet
devoted TO the exposition and defence of
salicylic acid as meat preservatiye.
Recipes are given for rubbing the meat
dry with powder, for satursting 1t in cold
solution and In hot solution. The
pamphlet also says: ''The treatment with
salicyiio acid will turn the outside of the
meat pale, but the interior Will retain Its
atural blood color This trade would
reach unlimited dimensions II absolute
safety were obtainable and II the meat
could be- warranted fresh aud fit for the
market when reaching its destination
There must be something of trade In
sslicylio acid for meats IL companies in
Chicago, New York and San Francisco
make a business of preparing anu adver-
Using 10 and pamphlets are published tel
ling how TO use IL. So much smoke tells
of some fire. When the acid is on the
market and so plainly employed on all
sorts of foods, including meat, there is
nothing remarkable In some of that meat
having found its way into the army.
The only remarkable thing Is that any
body should be surprised and attempt to
prove such thing impossible. The tes-
timoDy Of Captain Warburton about beef
which he condemned In Porto Rico fits
with the pamphlets description of cali
cy lated meat as being light colored on the
outside. We might even expect that the
meat sent 10 the troops, ~ chemically pre-
served, would be ovcrtreated. 1t was pre-
pared for a severe trial In tropical CHI
mate, and the packer, knowing, as the
Agricultural Department. says, that he
'who uses any at all may use almost any
quantity he pleases with perfect impuni-
ty," as far as detection is concerned,
would naturally use more acid than or