Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1902-06-26
VIOLATING FOOD
AND DAIRY LAW

Robert NJ. SINNERS, Special agent
of the Department of Agriculture,
commonly alluded to i'll the newspap-
ers as pure Food Agent, arrived i'll
this city yesterday afternoon with the
official analysis of one of the several
samples Of milk collected during his
visit to this city several weeks ago.
William f. Diehl of Mahoning town
ship was mulcted i'll fine and costs
amounting to $50. % on the strength of
the official analysis, which showed
that the cream he vended was 80 per
cent water and the milk 30 per cent
water and that the cream i'll addition
was thickened and cOlOred artiticlally
to resemble the pure article. When
brought before Justice Bare Mr. Diehl
explained that he had been in the
habit of purchasing milk from other
parties As for himself he denied all
knowledge of any adulteratiOn.
A representative of the American
had an interview with Mr. Sim
mers yesterday in which it was learn
ed that not only have some citizens
been buying water at the price of
milk and cream per quart but also
poison III the form of fOrmaldehyde,
whether sold as such or under the
name of one of its several substitutes.
Mr. SINNERS says that throughout his
l., Il .%af
of affairs The adulteration of milk
is carried on to a deplOrable extent. A
dealer, tripped up by the officer, pays
his fine and frequently falls back into
his illegal practice and meets with ar
rest the second time. During the
Special Officers visit at Sunbury yes
were arrested and mulcted in a fine of
$50 each. As is natural the pure food
man is kept busy retracing his steps
backward and forward over the sever
al counties which constitute his dis
trict.
He makes preliminary analysis i'll
and if the milk does not show up as
pure he forwards the sample to Harris
burg where it undergoes an official
analysis, which is made the basis of
prosecution. His plan is to halt a
milk wagon on the street and endeav-
or to purchase n small quantity of
l. gh no
sometimes is, he merely asserts his au-
thority and seizcs enough for a sample. |
He labels the quantity taken and num-
bers it III its order. The number is
then given to the dealer. When the |
lattor later Is confronted with the |
official analysis he finds that it bears |
the number given his sample and he |
has no grounds for suspecting mis-
take
Mr. SINNERS says he came to this |
city in response to letter sent by one
of our citizens to the Department of
Agriculture calling attention to the |
adulteration of milk. In two instances |
the preliminary analysis revealed |
the presence of formaldehyde in one of |
its forms in the milk The official |
analysis of these, however, has not as
yet been placed in the officers hands.
Two drops of FormaIdehyde, wheth-
er as such or under the name of pre-
servaline" Salutine" or Antizyme"
placed in eight ounces of milk will |
keep it sweet for eight days, which
explains why the stuff is so much in
demand among INSCRIPTIONS dairymen.
Old milk can be mixed with new and
carted around indefinitely. Formalde- |
hyde is used by undertakers i'll en-
balming dead bodies. Its effect on the |
stomach when taken in milk is to stop |
the action of the gastric juice on the |
food Where milk is taken habitually |
as in the case of infants it is very in |
furious. In Sunbury, Mr.. SINNERS |
says, the death of an infant is traced |
to the use of embalmed milk. AnOth |
er child nearly dead was saved by |
changing milkmen, while out of a litter |
of puppies fed on preserved milk eight |
died before the cause of cir decline |
was discovered.