Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-02-27
OUR FOOD
IS IMPURE
Remley's Report Shows Near
~ ALI Prepared Foods
Are Adulterated.
THE GOOD ROADS BILL.
1t Stands an Excellent Chance of being
Defeated In the Upper Aouse-sen.
ator Junkin II In Favor of
Constitutional Convention.
THE GOOD ROADS BILL.

Des Moines, Feb. 23.-(Special Cor.
respondence. attorney General Rem.
ley has prepared and submitted to the
house and senate committees on pub
lie health very interesting paper on
the pure food question. 1t is com
posed mainly of testimony taken by a
United States senate committee last
year. The committee was headed by
Senator w. E. Mason, DR.. Wiley, chief
chemist for the United States depart
menS of agriculture. and DR.. Mitchell,
chemist for the Wisconsin Pure Food
Commission. These gentlemen testi-
fed that nearly every class of food
offered on the markets is to greater
or less extent, adulterated, misbrand-
ed, or otherwise manipulated. Mr..
Remley says in part:
"Currant jelly is made up from
cores and parings Of apples with glu-
cose, sulphuric acid, and some flavor
ing and coloring extracts made
from coal tar. Olive oil is largely cot
ton seed oil. Butter is robbed by the
butter fats, and filled in with rallow,
lard and vegetable oils churned in
sweet milk to give the flavor OF but
ter Coffee is made of molasses and
Hour, stamped into semblance of cof-
fee berries. Tea, pickles, and canned
vegetables are colored with poisonous
salts. Every sort of spice, favoring
nv
Vanilla is made from coal tar, and
lemon extract from tropical slough
grass. Communion wine is made from
salycilic acid and water with enough
grape juice to give flavor.
"Antiseptics and preservatives are
used to defraud and deceive. More
embalming fluids are put into our
stomachs by means OF meats, bulk oys-
tiers, and the like than we can safely
carry away.
ut was proved that America has be-
come the dumping gound of the world
for adulterated foods AND drinks, which
are prevented in other countries by Sc
we're laws rigidly enforced, Germany,
Austria and Francefsin in this respect.
Great Britain alone forbids the expor-
tation of food which is not permitted
1 AL UlllS Is because we dI0
too busy and too careless.
iowa, with soil and climate ca
| pable of producing more wholesome
food than any other region of equai
size on earth, is the most injured by
these practices, and the least protect-
Led. 5ts
1'As the United States is the dump
ing ground for the rest of the world,
SO Iowa is the slop-bucket of the other
states. These are bitter and sorrow-
full words but true. Nearly all the
northern states, from Massachusetts
TO South Dakota, have rigorous protec-
tive laws for their own people while
the refuse comes to u.s."
Senator Junlsin, chairman of the
committee ian ways and means in the
senate, is of the opinion that con
stitutional convention to reorganize
the laws of the state, should be called.
Senator Junkin's position the head
4 of the most important committe in
the upper branch has given him ample
opportunity to study this question, land
he has decided such a move is neces.
sary. The constitution provides that
| a constitutional convention shall be
called every ten years, and oftener il
the general assembly shall, by law, SC
decide. The question shall there be
a constitutional convention to revise
the constitution and amend the sameY
is provided for in article ten of the
constitution, which says such con
i vention shall be held in 1870, and il
each tenth year thereafter. The ques
ton shall be voted on by electors quail
i flied to vote for members of the legis
lature. If a majority favor the hold
ing of convention, then at the Mex
session the general assembly shall pro
vide by law for the election of dele
4 gates to such convention. 1t is the
opinion of Senator Junkin that the
d convention is necessary, in order thai