Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-08-28

between lion and man as 70
which were the real king of
beasts. The lion cited as proof OF his
claim of kingship the testimony or the
other beasts of the forest. AS rebuttal
the. man showed the lion a statue repre-
senting a man killing lion. True. re-
piled the lion, but man made the statue
So from the viewpoint of man the genus
homo is the most important OF animal
kind.
If then we are convinced by our own
testimony that the protection and preser-
walton of the human race is more inn
portant than the fostering of plants and
other animals. in one very urgent particu-
lar our conduct is inconsistent with our
belief. In Georgia we have made ample
provision for pure plant food control,
for the state has employed two chemists
and a full corps of fertilizer inspectors,
and the general government Is maintain
ing an agricultural experiment station
manned by expert specialists. This is as
it should be- and as a consequence the
farmers of the state use more fertilizers
than are consumed in any other state Of
the union. This is not because Georgia
lands are poorer than those of any of the
reighboring states but because in this
respect the farmers are more scientific
and are exploiting their lands to better
advantage.
Furthermore. both in orr experiment
station at Griffin and in the state chem
lists laboratory at Atlanta, some work
g done in the analysis and formation of
food for farm animals. This. too is well,
and more should be done along this line.
But the object of this communication is
to call attention to the fact that in Geor-
gia we are pursuing the anamalons policy
of providing pure food for our plants
and lower animals, while we are almost
wholly neglecting the purity of our own
food. In the poor there was excuse for
this neglect-in fact, the neglect has not
become criminal till now-for in the nat
ural evolution Of our nation, in the begin
ming the energies Of the people were ex-
pended in developing the superabundance
of our raw materials But now we have
come TO the manufacturing stage which
should be accompanied with an education
al and aesthetic advance. So long as raw
materials were abundant, there was small
reason for adulteration of food but with
large increase of population than of
natural food, more economy must be prac-
ticed and inedible and unpalitable natural
foods must be manufactured into edible
and savor~ products,
AS the supply of natural food is limited
and as the demand is greater than the
natural supply, all manufacturers are
tempted and many are persuaded to adul-
terate their wares.
Many parts of our country are awake
to their exposure TO this illegitimate traf-
fic, and about one-third of the states have
established pure food laws. Among those
states which have quite recently estab-
lished such laws are the southern states,
Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina.
In the older states OF the north where
food laws have been in successful oper-
alton for several years. the farmers and
other producers know and appreciate the
excellence Of their products, while the
consumers are protected against impure
and adulterated foods.
We are acting against our interest both
in our ignorance of the superiority of
many OF our products, and the inferiority
and adulteration of much OF the food inn
ported into our state.
To illustrate the former point, refer to
two discussions recently published in sew
eral state papers; namely, concerning the
food value Of Georgia wheat and the sugar
percentage Of Georgia syrups. Regard
ing the value OF Georgia wheat. DR.. H. W.
Wiley. chief chemist for the United States
Department OF Agriculture, some time ago
published I'm one of his bulletins that
the poorest wheats were grown in the
southern states" This would of course,
imply that Georgia wheat is inferior and
in a measure would discourage the indus
try of wheat growing in the state. an in
dustry that has been revived largely
through the fundamentally of two pa
pers. The Atlanta Journal and the Macon
Telegraph.
Through the efforts of The Journal and
DR.. McCandiesS. the state chemist, nine
teen samples OF Georgia wheat were an
alyzed and found to contain an average
food value higher than the general aver
age for the entire country. According TO
the scale adopted by the judges at the
Worlds Columbian exposition at Chicago
the following comparison is given:
Average of American wheat exhib-
tied at Worlds Fair. -. -. .1OS.5J
Average OF Georgia wheat analysed
by DR.. McCandlcss -. -. -. ......DS.20
AS a result Of this analysis and of a more
recent analysis of his own, DR.. Wiley ac-
knowledges the excellence of Georgia
wheat. and writes:
Therefore, the statement previously
made should be modified as indicated
above and should not be made general of
all localities of the southern states
The other case was that Of Georgia syr-
ups.
Louisiana syrups have had the reputa-
ton OF being the best produced In this
country, but for two or three years so
much interest has been manifested in
Georgia syrups in the markets OF this and
neighboring states that some dealers In
Savannah induced DR.. Wiley TO come tC
the state and analyze samples of native
syrups. The result OF the analysis snow
ed that Georgia syrups possess a greater
saccharine content than any other Amer
lean syrups.
With this good showing made by two Of
our lesser products, ] am curious to know
the comparates of our great staple food
products, corn, oats, sweetpotatoes, wa
termelons. peaches. etc.
AS to the value of food imported into
the state, we are in the dark. This is es-
pecially true of manufactured articles,
such as canned goods patent bread stuffs,
ments, and beverages.
Inasrnuch as all OF the European cOun-
tries and many of the more populous
states of this country have established
pure food laws, those states which have
no such legal protection are peculiarly ex-
posed. My conviction is that Georgia, as
orc of tho more prosperous states Of the
south, Is n rich field for INSCRIPTIONS
manufacturers who make the state
dumping ground for their inferior, adult
Grated and cmbalmed goods.
During the past year / have examined
a number CT samples of canned vegetables
and found about one-fourth OF them to
contain one or both Of the artificial pres
ervafives, formaldehyde and saliCylic acid.
These and other chemical antiseptics
paralyzo tho germs which produce decay
and arc a sure and cheap means Of pre-
serving perishablo food. But according to
the hest authorities, such personalities
are deliterious to health.
LBr,facerr Alhart llrpEprft Of tho TTf1i-