The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-12-07

contain mixture of other articles, some
 Of them healthful and others not Con
 greeS will be guilty of grave dereiiction
 of duty if 1t falls this winter to enact
 stringent legislation and place all forms Of manufactured foods under the care Of
 the commissioner of internal revenue, as oleomargarine and other limitations of butter are now.
 Tt is of course impossible and it would be imraoticable to prohibit the manufacture and sale of all imitation foods and to prohibit all collaboration, but every package of food should at least bear a label accurately stating the materials 1t contains. so that people may know exactly what they are buying, and tho sale of impure and injurious articles can be prevented. Every ono of the pre- pared foods should show on the label the exact formula of its composition and tho quantity of each and every element that It contains. But men who manufao- ture adulterations do not want this. and the grocer who seeks to make few dol- lars moro by pain1ins ofr upon his cus- toners adult6rated articles disguised as pure and limitations marked as genuine, and thus endansers their health and sometimes their lives, does not want it. There would be a much smaller number of articles upon the grocery shelves and much less variety if every package were honestly labeled to show exactly what 1t contains
 Many things are used knowingly as well as unknowingly that are injurious to the health. Hence 1t would be only fair to the consumer to stamp the names of the ingredients upon every package so that he may use his own Judgment as to its use.
 Impure and adulterated foods leave trail of human woe. We do not realize the amount of disease that is due to pois- onous and indisestible substances that are mixed in with the things we eat. Along this trail are sufferers of dyspep- s1a. rheumatism. appendicitis, all sorts or liver and kidney diseases. impure blood. impure cumpexIons and all forms Of stomach and bowel complaints It Is easy for the trained eye of doctor to pick out the sufferers. It is alao easy for him to pick out starved and poisoned well fed bodies. Men who work with their minds often eat improper food which does not feed the brain. but makes only fat and muscle and then they won der why their mental faculties are slug gish. Others may have some constitu- tonal disease or weakness and ignorant ly devour from day to day the food that aggravates it instead of adopting diet that will assist nature in restoring i'm paired functions and in building up wasted tissues. Others may eat improp- eriy cooked food which by partial cook ing has ben placed in chemical state that is injurious and then wonder why the kidneys groan under the burden of sitting the impurities from the blood
 Poor cooking and fraud in food affects the mind as much as the body. More sui- cides, crimes. vice. unnappincss, divorces, business incompetency and ugly tempers ere due to bad cooking and impure food than to any other cause. Professor Smed- ley, the head of the child study depart ment in the Chicago public schools. finds direct connection betwen bad conduct and bad food. and holds that baa nutrition | Is one of the chief cTuses of boys being sent to the bridewell. Professor Atwater, the famous food expert. recently an-