The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-02-03

the Maine Agricultural experiments sta.
tion shall anslyse samples Of food pro-
ducts on sale In Maine. suspected Of be-
ing sdultsrHsed, At such times and 10
such extent as II may determine. And
the director of said station, In person or
By deputy, shall have free access ut all
reasonable hours to any place wherein
Il is suspected any article Of food adult
terated with any deleterious or foreign
ingredient or ingredients exist, and upon
rendering the market price of such arti-
ole may take samples, and said station
may adopt or fix standards Of purity.
quality or strength when such standards
are not fixed by statute.
Then the teeth are pat into the law rs
follows: When the director of the expert
inent station learns Of violations of the
act be is to report to the secretary of the
board Of agriculture who is to prosecute
the offenders. The penalty Is fine not
exceeding 500 for the first offence and
not exceeding $40 for each subsequent
offence The agricultural experiment
station 10 to reosive for taking samples
and making analyses, travelling expen-
ses and Is for each sample taken. money
recovered from violations Of the law, to
be held rs = fund to pay these expenses.
SOME VIGOROUS OBJECTIONS.
Tho bin will encounter vigorous oppo.
sitiou. The powers 1t confers are so
Lroad and Its provisions are 30 drastic
that mercantile interests arc alarmed.
IL is not because inferior articles are
aimed at by the measure. but because
IL would deal q blow at many process
which are followed to meet the wishes of
customers and which do not injurs the
customers demand New Or.
leans molAsses which Is toned
down by having Porto Rico molassss add
ed to 1t, the New Orleans being rank in
flavor. Under tho bill, as its meaning
is understood BY the dealers, IL would
be necessary to put this mixed molasses
up In packages bearing q statement of
the amount Of each kind, and that is hard
ly practicable in selling molasses. Then.
again, Japanese teas are oolored In cur
ing. Is this violation Of the acts The
ooloring is not done to injure the teas
nor are people deceived. Coffees are
mixed together to suit the whims Of pur-
ohases. More than this, how are dealers
who buy Of manufacturers outside the
state to know that every package con-
forms to the label why" said one
gentleman today, mo man could feel safe
tor minute. The law imposed on him
such burdensoms regulations aud holds
him liable for so many things that he
could hardly conduct his business AS
q matter Of fact. the dealer who sells
poor goods does not long deceive e.pub-
lie and the cry Of adulteration Is greatly
overdone The man who tried to mix
peas and ohiokory with coffee would soon
find that he got no orders for coffee.
Then besides the endless confusion due
with a minute statement as TO Its oompo-
sition, how about the regulations OF the
director of the experiment station. Is one
man to hx standard and then cause
every body TO be prosecuted who does not
live up to It, What effect would 1t have
on business II the regulations were
changed ut time when heavy stocks of
goods were carriedy How is the bill 60
ing to affect the farmers who color but
teri The law is not Il necessity and 1t
goes so far that business could hardly
be conducted under It, .-a.
TO TRAIN THE SOLDIERS
The University of Maine beside being
the headquarters Of depai tment to
guard the diet of the people, proposes also
to see that the state is supplied with off
GERS when Uncle Sam next goes TO war
1t was reported this morning that Presi-
alton the Legislature may see fit % make
to build his drill hall. 1t seems the
building Is to be u guarantee of the suc-
cess Of the Maine troops in the next war
and the quality of the band music. Here
is the statement OF fact which accompa.
mics the resolve:
The State University was established
by the state, in accordance with an act
of Congress, approved July 3, 1861 grant
ing public lands rs an endowment. In
view of the need OF trained officers in
the army of the United States ut the
time, military training was required by
the United States government as part
of the course of study. In addition TO tn
National Guard, the only source of sup
ply for trained officers to command the
volunteer forces OF this state, Is the body
of alumni and students of the university.
The late war showed that the National
uard cannot supply officers for more
than two regiments, of not exceeding
5000 men In all. The war of the ebel
lion called out rs. 900 mon from Maine.
As the protection of property and the
health and life of the future soldiers Of
the state will depend largely upon the
knowledge and skill of the officers who
command her forces, IL seems wise to
provide the facilities needed for good
work in the Hillary department in the
university.