Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-24
A NEW DEPARTMEN T
TO BE DEVOTED TO COMMERCIAL
INTERESTS.
Representative Hepburn Will Under
take to Push the Measure and
the Pure Food Bill.

Two measures OF more than passing In
terest to the District OF Columbia and Of
general interest to the country at large are
to be brought prominently to the front at the
short session OF Congress by Col. Hepburn.
chairman Of the House committee on COM
merce. One OF these is the bill establish
ing a department of commerce and the
other is the legislation known generally as
the pure food bill.
Colonel Hepburn had conference with
the President today regarding the former
measure. Before this conference Colonel
Hepburn said to a Star reporter that he
had come to Washington two weeks In ad-
vance Of the session for the express pur-
pose of looking after this matter.
The Proposed Department.
When Congress adjourned the status OF
the department OF commerce bill was this:
The Senate had passed bill which our
committee had given careful consideration,
and also careful consideration to the whole
subject. A committee was appointed to
confer with the President in order to ascer-
tain his ideas as to what bureaus should
be Included IN the proposed new depart
ment.
This committee saw the President He
Indicated at that time that he was not pre-
pared to give hts recomme ndations, but said
he would designate a competent person
from the several departments to confer
with the committee. No meeting between
these two committees has ever been held.
and at present I am not informed as to
whether the departmental board has yet
been designated.
However. there Is little doubt that this
matter win now receive the serious con-
sideration of the executive and of our COM
mittee, as it Is our intention to get consid-
Grafton Of the subject at the coming session
IL possible"
Col Hepburn's committee gave consider
able time to hearings on the department of
commerce measure at the last session. and
developed the fact that there was a differ
ence OF opinion among some bureau chiefs
as to the advisabiity of disturbing their
present location.
bill which passed the Senate was consider
ed in committee but short time, and no
general oppor1 nifty given for an express
sion of opinion by government officials and
others. The labor organizations also took a
hand in the House hearings as the Senate
bill included the present department of
labor IN the proposed new department. The
position Of the representatives of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, and also of other
labor organizations. sut1 as the railway
employees, was against this amalgamat ton
The Knights of Labor however, were In
favor OF the bill as It passed the Senate.
Pure Food Measure.
The pure food measure was also threshed
out thoroughly by Col Hepburn's commit
tee, and favorable report made to the
House. This consideration developed de-
cided opposition to the measure as sane
toned by Prof. Riley and other government
food experts, by many manufacturers of
food products. such as jellies and jams.
Representatives Of the manufa cturers Of
these products freely admitted before the
committee that the goods they put on the
market were in many instances composed
Of materials entirely foreign to what they
were sold for. but they opposed the legisla-
ton by proposing a measure Of their own
drafting. which on examination was shown
to do little else than make the state pure
food laws Of no effect, while 1t enacted no
restricting provisions.
The pending bill, to which the committee
has given its Endorsement, will create a ma
tional board of food inspectors. with power
to confscate any consignment Of food prep
arations should 1t be found to be adulterat-
ed, or be misrepresented In the label on
the package. with a penalty clause at
tached. It also provides that standards of
purity shall be fixed by the food analysis
or the Department of Agriculture.
This measure Is ready for consideration
In the House. and measure with the same
end In View Is also on the Senate calendar.
so that elimination Of the LEGISLATION
would not seem to be too great an under
taking for the short session of Congress