The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-04-02
ALUM BAKING
POWDERS PROHIBITED
Scathing Legislative Report by
the rlissOuri Legislature Against
Their Sale or Use.

the rlissouri Legislature Against
Their Sale or Use.
Testimony That Alum Powders Are
Extremely Harmful Is OverwheIm-
ing-The Anti-Alum Law Is COnsti-
tutiOnaI and SEust BE Observed.
The contest in the Missouri legislature
over the alum baking powders has been
watched with great interest, by both the
consumers of baking powders and the
manufacturers of the alum brands. in
every section of the country.
A statute in that state had been adopt
ed prohibiting the manufacture or sale
/ of alum powder. The makers of
such powders contested the law in the
courts. but it was sustained. They then
! sought to have it repealed, but the good
I sense and integrity of the members of
| the assembly came to the rescue Of the
! advocates Of pure food and defeated the
/ efforts Of the most powerful lobby known
/ in Missouri for years. The prohibitive
/ law remains.
The statement is made by the legisla-
tive committee to which the bill was re-
ferred that the manufacturers Of alum
/ powders have combined in a trust,
and annually pay into a legislative fund
a large amount Of money to procure
action in their interests, and to prevent
the passage Of pure food laws. The fol-
lowing extracts from the report of this
committee against the repeal OF the alum
law are quoted from the St Louis Inter-
State Grocer:
The purpose Of this bill is to repeal
so much Of the present statute as makes
it unlawful to use alum in food and food
compounds. In the opinion of this com
mittee that should not be done. If we are
to place any faith whatever in the unani-
nous testimony of all the leading chem
lists Of the union, including those in the
public services of the government as well
as those employed in All the principal col
leges and universities in the country
there can be
NO DOUBT THAT ALUM IS A POISON,
and that its use in food is hurtfuI to
health and dangerous to life, especially
in the case of children and young girls
and delicate women. The voluminous and
overwhelming testimony which has been
given by scientific experts upon this sub
ject, is corroborated by the testimony
of hundreds of eminent physicians in ac-
tive practice, including the medical heads
of both the army and navy of the United
States. and including, also some five hun
dred physicians Of this state. ell testi-
flying, with remarkable unanimity, to the
same effect, that alum is a poison, and
that its use as a food ingredient should
be prohibited In addition to that it is a
fact that the use of alum in food and
compounds that are used in the prepara-
ton of food has long been prohibited
by law in England, France, Germany and
other European countries, and the laws
are rigidly enforced.
Against this great mass of concurrent
testimony, in which science, experience
and law all combine in condemning alum
as food ingredient, there is scarcely a
protest from any source worthy to be
treated as an authority. It is true that
certain chemists employed by the
American (AIum) Baking Powder associa-
ton or trust, the General Chemical com
pany and 1ne Pennsylvania Salt company,
two corporations organized in New Jer-
sey, and the greatest manufacturers of
alum in the country, have expressed the
opinion that alum, when used in making
bread, loses its poisonous quality by some
means in the process of cooking but this
interested testimony is contradicted, and,
in the opinion OF this committee, over
whelmingly refuted. by large numbers of
THE MOST FAMOUS SCIENTISTS
peated and conclusive experiments with
alum baking powders that a poisonous
residuum is left in bread after baking,
which is extremely harmful to health
and dangerous TO life Many serious and
fatal ills in given cases have been traced
directly to this cause.
The people of the state are entitled to
be protected against frauds which i'm
peril their health and lives. and this COM
mittee is unwilling 20 repeal a law hav-
ing that end in view, merely to oblige
those who would make pecuniary proht
10y imposing upon a conhding public
The cIap-trap about this bill being
opposed by a so-calIed trust engaged |
in manufacturing baking powders without
the use of alum, scarcely deserves TO be /
noticed ii should not matter. if il were !
in human food. should We therefore begin !
at once to feed poison to the people? I
That would be carrying trust opposition /
TO the point Of criminal stupidity.
A LARGE ALUM POWDER CORRUP- !
TON FUND.
That there is a rich and powerful as
ISOLATION or trust interested In the manu- /
facture and sale of alum baking powders /
does not admit Of doubt. and that that |
trust has been back Of this movement I
to repeal this law is almost equally GER /
tain. This alum trust or association is I
made zap Of sixty-Seven alum baking pow /
der manUfacturio 4 companies and two /
great chemical companies Che two New +
Jersey. corporations above mentioned as
engaged IN making aluml. The members I
OF this association contribute annually 4
TO legislative fund. TO be expended in I
preventing pure food legislation which 4
has Tor its object the prohibiting OF the /
use az alum as n food aduiterant. ard I
ii is believed thar not less than 10000 i
are annually expended in that direction I
M'ViCKER- RH0ADES