The sun., 1902-12-02
The TWELVE POISON EATERS.
THEY BEGIN 4 COURSE or DIET
At UNCLE SANS TABLE.
Experiments to Note the Eject OF Pure and
Adulterated Foods After Two Weeks
Of Good Food They VIII he Served
With 'POisone<i' or u,terated stun.

With Poisoned or Aduiterated stun.
WASHINGTON. Dec. THE poison eat
ers.' as the twelve young men who com
pose the Department of Agrcultures
training table have como to be popularly
called. began their course of diet expert
ments to-day. under the direction Of Prof.
Wiley. the chemist of the Department.
They will not eat any poisoned food for
about two weeks however, or until Mr..
Wiley finds out all about their physical
peculiarities and determines just how
much wholesome food it takes to keep
each one al certain weight. The twelve
young men. who are all employees Of the
Agricultural Depart ment-six of them from
the chemical laboratories and six from
the offices Of the Depart at
the Department this morning. They were
first made to strip were then weighed and
at O'Clock sat down to a breakfast pre-
pared by the Departments cook. that,
az they all united in saying, couldn't have
been better The fact that every ounce
Of food put before them had been care
fully weighed and measured and that every
drop Of water given them to drink had
been filtered and rendered germ proof,
didn't spoil their appetites to any marked
degree or make them bashful, and after
Prof, Wiley had viewed their perform
ances for n while he decided that they
were all mighty good men and that it was
going to cost the Department something
handsome TO keep the experiment table ia
operation.
Every morning before breakf ast the young
men will be weighed, their pulse, respira-
ton and temperature taken, and the results
noted on big chart, and in the course Of
two weeks Prof Wiley expects to be able 10
tell to fraction just how much whole some.
subtantal food Is necessary to keep each
of them at the exact figure at which he
weighed in to-day. When this has been
accomplished the twelve men will be divided
into two squads, and will take their meals
at separate tables, at one Of which pure
food will be served and az the other food
which has been poisoned or mixed with
ad,lterants, preservatives and coloring
matter, which are II general use in all classes
Of foods sold on the American market.
The poison squad will he kept on their
adulterated diet long enough TO enable
Prof, Wiley to observe ~hatever effect il
may have upon them. They will then
have a rest Of fifteen days, during which
time they will again eat nothing but pure
food, while the OF her squad takes its place
at the poison table. BY aheynating the two
Squads and comparing the results Of the
observations made while the members OF
the experiment table are on pure food
diet with the observatio ions of their respective
physical conditions when eating food mixed
with supposedly poisonous substances. it Is
expected that 1t will bc possible to deter
mine just how delete rious to the human
system the various adulte rants, preserya-
tives and coloring matters are.
To add an ele nent OF uncertainty to the
experiment, so Tar a. the twelve young men
are concerned, as well as to prevent the
theory of mental suggestion from having
anv inficnCe upon their bodily condition,
one OF the SIX at the poison table " III be given