The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-16
BORAX IN The MEAT
Representatives Of Eleven
Packing Houses to be
Prosecuted
ACTION BY RETAILERS
Merchants Are Evincing Desire to
Rid Market of Products
Containing Pre-
seryatives.
ACTION BY RETAILERS

Representatives of eleven wholesale
meat packers will appear in the municipal
court this morning to answer to the
! charge of selling products containing
borax as a preservative. The action is
! taken by the Retail Butchers associa.
| ton. The firms accused are: Armour
! Packing company, three complaints;
Liverpool Packing company, two com
! plants; Mcmillan & Co., Cudahy Packing
company August Ammon, Nelson Morris
| &, Co., Swift & Co., and Schwarzchied &
| Sulzberger.
The state dairy and food commissioner
! some time ago commenced an aggressive
campaign against meats preserved In
violation of the state law. The last report
of the state chemist showed a large per-
centage of meats inspected to be under
the legal standard The action of the Re
tail association is important and sgnif-
icant, aside from the immediate results,
in that it indicates a general desire on
the part of the retail merchants of the
state to do business within the provis-
ions of the law Whenever the dairy de-
partment finds impure samples of goods
on sale in a retail store, it is obliged to
do one of two things, either prosecute the
retailer, or allow the retailer to become
himself the complaining witness and act
against the manufacturer or wholesaler
through which he bought his goods. The
Retail Butchers association has taken
this course and is determined to place the
responsibility where it belongs.
Merchants Abide by the Law.
The dairy and food department has
found the merchants Of the state more
than willing to fall in with this scheme.
The other day the department found some
illegal vinegar on sale in a Minneapolis
store, Nelson & Ericsson. The merchants
at 10 in haT
at the departments suggestion, and pros
ecuted the Minnesota representative Of
the Illinois Vinegar company, who imme
diately pleaded guilty and paid a fine of
$50. This attitude on the part of the
state department, in giving the retailer a
fair chance to prove his good faith is
providing of great benefit in reducing the
number of prosecutions for food law ViO-
lations.
1t is also proving a great benefit to the
manufacturers and wholesalers of Min
nesota, and to the jObbers of st. Paul.
If a dealer purchases from an outside
manufacturer who has no representative
in the state the manufacturer cannot be
reached by the law, and the retailer has
to pay the fine and stand the penalty of
the violation. The result is that dealers
are more and more inclined to give their
patronage to home manufacturers and
wholesalers Commissioner Mcconnell
says that he has found the Twin City job
berS eager and active to cooperate with
the department in discovering the manu-
facturers whose goods do not conform to
Minnesota regulations, and in informing
them that unless they will guarantee the
legality of their product in .4.ls state their
goods will be turned down. The result is
that outside manufacturers who do bust
ness in the state are being gradually
forced to observe Minnesota laws in order
to maintain their Minnesota trade. The
home manufacturer and wholesaler is on
the whole very careful to know that his
wares are legal before he sells them, both
because it helps his business, and because,
residing in the state, he is liable to prose-
cution by the dealer to whom he sells
impure goods.