The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-02-16
A QUESTION OF FOOD.
Hearing on Pure Food Bill at
Augusta.
PURE FOOD FOR COWS AND MEN
CONSIDERED.


that Institution Is Not I'm the Gsme
Lively Passage Between Lawyer
Spear and Major Thaxter OF Porf-
Iand--Food Bill yvon't BE Pressed.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREssl
Augusta, February l5.-Tbe loom of
the committee on agriculture was
Gro owded this afternoon as two important
bills were to be under discussion, one the
bill to amend the law in regard to tho
sale of concentrated food studs for ami
mails, the other and mors important
measure being the pure food bill Sc
called. Hon. w. 4. Haines first ad-
dressed the committee in order to define
the position OF the University of Maine.
Mr.. Haines said he had been the secretary
of the board of trustees of the University
for ten years and he had not heard of the
pure food bill until last week. At the
University of Maine is a government ex.
pertinent station maintained under the
United States statutes. The experimental
work Is done under the control of eoun-
oil of members OF the faculty of the uni
versity together with the secretary of tho
board of agriculture the president of the
State Pomologlcal society. This council
has had charge of the work Of the council
Mr.. Haines said he had heard 1t said by
wholesalers OF Portland merchants from
other parts of Maine and people about the
State House that II the University OF
Maine proposed to 60 into the business OF
directing the affairs Of the people 1t had
better be abolished. "And L don't know
a. l should dissent from that view, " said
Mr.. Haines "but ] want to make 1t
plain that the University Of Maine and
the experiment station are ss distinct as
the arsenal and insane asylum ut Au-
gusta. Although the trustees Of the Uni
versity have n general oversight of the sx-
pertinent station. they do not have con-
troi Of the actual running of the station.
MIR. Haines declared that he had no de-
sire to argue. the question raised BY the
bill He wanted to make 10 clear, how
ever, that the college was not rying.to
influence legislation.
Then the committee took up the COM
mercial feeding stuffs bill which, as
stated, related to feed for animals 1t wHs
the subject of u hearing several weeks
ago, reported ana then sent back for a
further hearing.
Major Sidney W. Ihaxter OF Portland
was the first speaker. He said that he did
not think any Of the gentlemen who
would address the committee would maks
any Of the kind of tall which Mr.. Haines
said was current He certainly had not
Understood that this law was intended to
Increase the revenues of the State College
and he thought that the law itself showed
that assumption to be false. MIR. Thar
ter said that two years Of experience with
the law had shown that its requirements
we're ve1atious, and it was often found
impossible to affix, especially on carload
lots, the tags required BY the act, the re-
suit being that the dealers were often
Obliged In the conduct Of their business
to violate the letter II not the spirit Of the
law. Mir 1haxter mentioned = number
OF objections to the present law. Tnking
up the pending bill, he said it was in
tended to place under the law the, by
products of wheat. such as bran and mid
dlings. MIR. Thaxter thought that Of this
kind OF food $4,000 tons were sold
annually in Maine and it was I'm
portant that people should known the
relative value of these products. They
ars the portions of the wheat not used
lin making flour and come from the great
hour mills, where there is no incentive
or opportunity for collection. While
these products do not contain as much
protein as cotton seed products and
Others that is not tha only thing to be
considered. In these products are com
bined elements which make perfect ra-
ton. MIR. Thaxter said that tine products
came labelled with the names of such
manufacturers as the Washburns and
Pillsburys. He thought that was suf1io
lent protection. These mills would nc {
adulterate the product any quicker than
they would adulterate their -four. Mr..
Thaxter quoted from bulletins OF the ex-
perrin station to show that these pre-
ducts are not adulterated. and explained
at length how the preparation of these
feeding stuffs rendered frequent analyses
unnecessary. The effect of the bin would
be to divert the product to other markets,
as western manufacturers would pay no
attention to Maine law. Under the
present law the higher grades OF cotton
seed meal products go elsewhere.
Mr.. spear who appeared as counsel Tor
the friends of the bill, asked some ques-
tions based on statement in an expert
ment station bulietin as TO the amount
of protein in different kinds of middiings.
to show that this made difference N
1.-The value of the feed. There WAS some