The record-union., 1899-02-10
VOICE OF THE PRESS.
EXTRACTS FROM EDITORIAL
EXPRESSIONS.
State and Coast Opinions ON SUBJ
jects Of Living News
Interest.


Livestock Exchange, whose hub is Chi
cago, affects an air of injured innno-
cence concerning the army meat devel-
opments. Resolutions adopted by the
exchange declare that these revelations
are affecting alike our foreign and do
mestic trade, result of which is now
being demonstrated by deprecated
values" AS the great meat trust is
understood as having absolute control
of the business, from calf to consum-
er, the Livestock Exchange is no DOUBT
spur of the mighty meat system. But
if they want to stop the ruinous effects
Of the developments they would do bet
ter to cease complaining and meet the
accusations. If the meat goods have
been, and still are pure and wholesome,
a comprehensive analysis, by unpur-
chaseable chemists, would settle the
question. Meat consumers would be
glad to have positive evidence that our
soldiers We're not victims of meat
frauds, and they would also be glad
to have some idea about what they
masticate when they tackle those can
ned goods.
THE MEDICAL BILL.
Los Angeles Times: 1t is obvious,
upon even a casual glance at the pro-
visions of the Valentine medical bill
that the definition of medical prac-
titioner which it seeks to establish, is
altogether too sweeping. If this bill
were to be passed, and the law were
enforced, it would prevent the sale, by
druggists or other persons, Of the sim
plest remedies, excepting upon the pre-
scription of a practicing physician,
which would generally double, and in
most cases would more than quadruple,
the cost of such simple remedies to the
public. druggist who should sell, say
seidlitz powder to one of his Gus
toners, without a doctors prescription,
would be liable to prosecution under the
law. Such simple household remedies
as camphor, arnica, glycerine and the
like, would come under the ban- 1t
would give to the doctors tremendous
monopoly, with correspondingly heavy
financial returns, and the general pub
lie would be obliged to foot the bills.
Under a law so absurd and all-inclu-
sive, a large class of people who are
engaged in legitimate enterprises would
be driven out of business. In this
class would be included opticians, man
ufacturers and sellers of artificial legs
and eyes, dealers in trusses. crutches,
canes and other appliances for the re-
lief of bodily ailments. A person could
not even give his neighbor a draught
of ''boneset tea" without laying himself
liable to the penalties prescribed by the
law. The aggregate absurdity and the
downright asininity of such a law are
apparent to the wayfaring man,
though a fool"
In the case of opticians the injustice
of the law would be felt with especial
force, not only by opticians but by the
general public. In the majority of
character that the scientific optician
can remedy them by supplying such
lenses as are shown, after a careful
test, to be required In grave or diff
cult cases, the advice of an oculist
orally charges from IS to $50 for his
services, in addition to the cost of the
glasses. If every person who uses
eye glasses were compelled to consult
an ocu1ist every time he purchases a
new pair. it is evident that the oculists
would experience great business
BOOM" But the resulting increase of
expense would be a heavy, unjust and
unnecessary burden of expense upon the
public at large.
The evil effects of this measure, should
it become law, would be so far-reach-
ing as in all probability to defeat the
object aimed at and to render the law
dead letter These evil effects have
been referred to, above, only in part
But the unjust provisions here pointed
out are enough, or should be enough, to
defeat the passage of the bill in it's
present form. If passed at ell, it should
be radically amended so as to eliminate
the unjust and absurd restrictions
which It now contains. AS a matter of
fact, 1t will probably be found upon in
vestigation that existing laws, if en-
forced, would sufficiently protect the
public against medical empiricism, and
that Mr.. Valentines law is needed
about as much as fifth wheel is needed
in an ordinary wagon
THE ANTI CARTOON BILL.
Santa Ana Blade: 1t seems to be
the fashion to ridicule the anti-cartoon
bill which has been introduced in the
State Legislature, but there are many
4 q
should be enacted. A newspaper has
no right to defame and ridicule any
man by printing pictures such as often
appear in the big newspapers Of the
country.
FORESTRY.
Yreka Reporter: In the forest and
water preservation convention at San
Francisco, an excellent suggestion was
offered 1t was proposed that a de-
partment Of forestry be established by
each of the Universities of California
and that the students act with the State
in preventing waste. The Los Ange-
les Herald" thinks this would be a
start in the direction of systematic and
scientific forestry work on the plan
quite general in Europe Forestry de-
partments are important adjuncts of
the Universities, and students evince
keen interest in them. Cornell Uni
versity, New York, has lately insti-
tuted what is called college ofy,for-
estry,' the first in the United States.
DO THEY PAY?
Tulare Register: Newspaper men are
gradually waking to the fact that the
wonderful Mergenthaler typesetting
machines are not a source of profit to
them. When one paper gets a machine
the others have to, and as they can
set more type, so there is more type to
set, as papers, can be furnished cheaper
so they are, and it is the same old grind
for newspaper owners, whereas the
public get their papers cheaper and
more of them. This time it is not the
consumer who pays the tax.
PARIS EXPOSITION