The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-02

Gut OF the Investigations made this summer bv
tne congressional committee into authorizations Of
Ioou VIII doubtless come if not national pure food
law, at least an immense impetus to the movement
10 secure one. AS in the of these consoIila-
tons to which the name of trust has become in
separately attached, with the control of aduItera
lions OF food, our dual system congress with only
the delegated to it. the states each with tic
sovereignty intact where surrendered stands
as the obstacle to effective legislation The mower
lodged III congress to regulate interstate commerce
opens the gates OF all states to the incoming of the
products OF other states in their original packages
free from Intervention of the police bowers of the
states In spite of state laws and their execution
generally and especially in Minnesota nsuficentIy
supported by necessary appropriations these prod
ucts of the seamy side Of competition find their
way onto the retail market and into CONSUMPTION
There is this noticeable characteristic nearly ell
the legislation enacted meet this attempt to gain
Illicit profit that it is the result of solicitation by
interests affected by the competition with their own
rather than that of deliberate concern for the
mon welfare by the legislature There are vile
authorizations of and substitutes for tea and coffee
sugars and Syrups, but the hand of the law is not
raised against them because there is no home in
tereSt affected by their competition The only effort
in that direction by the legislature this state got
40 farther than enumerating syrups and sugars III
Sle title of a pure food act all mention of them in
the body Of the act having been omitted by one of
those little tricks by which affected interests manpu-
late legislation Sequent upon this characteristic is
the Technology used in the law describe the lell-
lated inhibited article universally being some of
tenSive term calculated and intended 10 arouse
prejudice against the article and repel purchasers
lese laws for by far the greater part the ap-
IicatiOn in the state of the spirit that motives the
enactment of protective tariff laws.
Whatever ones concert government IyIe+1-
cOllectivist ndividuaIiSt, all agree that or
ganzed society has the right and is it's duty pro-
tect itself against deception and fraud that every in
dividual has the right to know what the article ne
buys is, and every maker and seller the duty to
make it known. This marks the legitimate course
of legislation Within it lie provisions for publicity
in marks and brands and statements of ingredients
This is use of law Without it lie those acts thai
under pretense of guarding the public, either i'll
health pocket seek to Cypress, to prevent to OBJ
struct a rival product Sometimes they take the
form of vicious of the taxing power, but often
in the enforced of term that exces fear
disgust. In these cases the motive Of the
act is to use law to prevent hinder competition
This is Il plain abuse of law
Most of this legislation antagonizes one of tbs
useful tendencies of the times utilization
of by products; the of substitutes that
the same purpose at a diminished cost just ~
the protective tariff is used to prevent the public
from getting the advantage that would to It
from new discoveries and improvements as, for
concrete case, when beds of boraX found IN
California, congress clapped outrageous tax GU
imports of boraX. 1t belongs to that vicious class
of legislation termed special privilege, always tie
signed to give its benelciaries abnormal advantage
or profit Against this abuse of law Democracy
must if true to itself set its face like flint: for the
rightful use of law it must ever be active and
Yigiant.