Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-19
USE OF FORMALDEHYDE
ONE OF THE PERSONALITIES
WHICH DISCUSSES BAD MILK.
A Potent Germicide and Sometimes of
High Value in Sanitary
Science.

From the Chicago Record Herald.
Elastic human credulity, and the dispo-
sition of those who should know peter
than to attempt to establish other than
demonstratable facts. lead to widespread &C
ceptance of erroneous statement and make
impressions on the public mind which zeal
Gus exponents of the truth find II difficult
to efface. This Is conspicuously true re-
gsrding Impressions as to the properties OF
the most potent germicide known to mod
ern sanitary Observation-Disclosures
I.audable are the endeavors of investi-
gators to unmask the practice with milk
dealers of tampering with the milk supply.
While the dealers ostensible object Is to
benefit the people the real motive is to
avoid financial loss by at least appearing to
preserve the qualities OF pure, fresh milk
until IL has been disposed of to advantage
I'm the municipal market,
Scientific revelation of fraud is inestima-
bly, Der eficial to all and should be enc0ur-
aged However, the opprobrium cast upon
q valuable non-toxic agent of disinfection
because of unguarded reference to 1t as a
poison in baby's milk engenders an un-
favorable popular opinion regarding II
which reacts to the disadvantage or those
who may be materially benefited by its
utilization under proper circumstances. but
who like many with preconceived pre1u-
dices. refuse the offices of agents that. at
times. are Enthusiastically the very best for
them TO take advantage OF.
Doctoring Milk.
The fraud of distributing doctored milk
for the pure article and the folly Of per-
hitting an indispensably valuable agent
like formaldehyde to be enormously pro-
claimed a poison. thereby creating unrea-
sonable prejudice against 1t with those who
are quick to form opinion, but slow to UNI
derstand the true merits of agents provided
for their protection, should be plain enough
.INE tyfNv ha
thought.
The facts in the matter should be made
plain should be weighed with elaboration
and an ardent desire to favor the spread or
, information up to date in the direction of
advancing the interests of the whole peo-
pie. In the first place. 1T is conceded by the
best authorities in hygienic matters that
any attempt to preserve milk other than
to keep 1t free from impurities, to permit
escape of the animal heat, and to keep 1t
thereafter at a temperature below that
favorable to the development OF natural
processes of change, which set in early
when facilitated by absence of due care, Is
unwarranted and unhygienic. This Is COM
mon sense well science. To mix old
with new milk (Which. in the writer's opin-
ion. IS done by our shippers and milk deal
: daily is wrong, because 1t Is reason
able to conclude that to add milk day
old to fresh milk gives processes of Ter
mentation that have started In the old the
. chance TO impel the same processes in the
new.
Formaldehyde Not Poison.
In the second place. while formaldehyde'
is a powerful bactericide. its properties are
not inimical to or destructive of the higher
animal organism. The gas of formaldehyde
may be respired freely, and 1t Is curative OF
respiratory affections The solution may be
injected into the blood without producing
poisonous effects. Formaldehyde kills bac-
terra in milk, but 1t cannot prevent changes
in its constituency. due to age and lack of
care to keep 1t fresh which are baneful to
alimentary processes.
The gist of the whole matter is that 1t Is
, fraudulent to add foreign material to milk
In lieu of sensible management to preserve
its sweetness, and 1t Is folly to permit
wrong impressions to be formed relative to
an agent of curative and distinctive po-
! tencies which may prejudice the unscien-
tific mind against 1t, and the habit should
be cultivated of learning the properties Of
q chemical before deScanting upon unwar-
Eantably ascribed poisonous ones.
No one with common sense will indorSe
the acton of those who mix yesterdays
with todays milk. add antseptic material
and put the resultant product the mar
ket tomorrow or the day after. This prao
tice. minus the presence of formaldehyde.
would lead to infantile mortality. To bring
into unmerited disrepute such a reliable
disinfectant as formaldehyde by proclaim
ing 1t a poison in milk" and fail to recog
nize its worth by naming its true merit. is
an error OF both commission and omission
double sin. Formaldehyde Is most ad-
mil able agent for the dsinfection of in
fecttous habitation. and to prejudice the
public mind against Ii by any step whatso-
ever Is, to say the least, reprehensible.