The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-02-20
DuIuthian Elected President of the Re-
tail Grocers' Association.
Convention Declares in Favor of Sun
day Closing and the Label.
Also Pure Foods and a Ban on the
Breakfast Cereals.
Visitors ceaclude Their Labors and
Start For Home.

START tof nome.
The last day of the grocers' state CON
vention opened this morning with a
somewhat reduced attendance, but many
of the vacant chairs Were filled later
The work of the forenoon opened with
a paper on Pure Food Laws, State and
National" by Geo. L. Dingman, assis.
tant food and dairy commissioner OF
Minnesota. He suggests that the state
laws be extended so as to take i'm other
articles than those now covered. Syrup
molasses, chopped meats of most kinds
and fruit extracts of all kinds are among
these. The problem which the depart.
ment has most seriously to contend with
is that of q lack of funds. The speaker
thanked the mercantile trade for sup
porting the good food laws and asked
for its continued support. The sum OF
$4,000 is seriously needed to success.
fully enforce the laws, yet there is only
5000, and of this only $3,0o0 can be
used to enforce the food laws by strict
compliance with the statutes. A guaran.
tee of purity alone, it has been contend
ed, is all that is necessary. This would
open the food gates of fraud and protect
no one in producing an honest article.
While maple syrup made from glucose
may contain no injurious Ingredient, yet
one can buy legitimate glucose article
for small fraction Of the cost of the
genuine product of the sap. In like man
ner, honey can be so dosely adulterated
with glucose as to resemble the genuine
article, yet we have no legal or moral
right to enforce a line on the public. No
one has right to use an adulterant of
value to mix with that of recog-
nized standing much HIGHER in the scale
and then palm off the mixture as a pure
article. If such scale were to be es-
tablished, it would soon Pillow that pure
articles of food would De driven out of
the market by bogus articles passing for
genuine. To avoid this all articles
should, when adulterated, be tabled for
what they really are.
VIM. T. Coe of Minneapolis, attorney
for the state association, spoke upon
Relation of the State Association to the
Law" He explained the present and
garnishment laws, and said that
the various bills being pushed by the
association will probably be enacted in
to law. He spoke of the growth of the
grocers' association before the legisla-
ture. The influence of the country gro
GERS with members of the legislature is
great, and the associations strength in
the legislature i, with the country mem
bers.
"The Retail Merchant, the Friend of
the Laboring Man," was the subject of
a paper written by Themes Guinness of
but in his absence read by
Assistant Secretary Sherad. The writer
told how the po,r are treated with the
same courtesy IS the millionaire, and
how they are extended credit during
sickness and trouble. The merchant
sees the daily if and struggles of the
poor, and knows heir joys and sorrows,
privations and hlrdships, so is it any
wonder that he is their friend.
Favor Sunday Closing.
The committee N resolutions present
ed another partia report, as follows:
Your COMMITTEE ON resolutions re-
spectfully recommend that this conven-
ton endorse the sunday closing bill and
that we use our individual effort with
our home membes to secure its passage.
Your COMMITTEE would further re-
that tbs convention put itself
upon record as fatoring the sale of goods
which bear the uiion label. i
Further, be it resolved that the good
feeling existing htween this association
and the Federation of Labor should be
and encouraged by our men,
bers furthering wherever possible the
interests of organized labor.
Whereas, the airy interests are fore.
most among the Industries of Minnesota,
be it
Resolved, Tha we, as retailers, be-
lieve it to be detrimental to our present
and future commercial and business in
terests to encounge in any way the sale
of butterine or ,leomargerine as sub
stitute for buttG in any form.
Whereas, it has come to the notice of
our convention hat local agents OF diff
ferent railroads in our state have been
acting as agens for catalogue houses
which is againIt the interest OF the
wholesale and rttail grocers of our state,
be it
Resolved, Tlat our secretary be in
structed to tale this matter up at once
with the generI ] freight agents, and the
superintendent of the different express
companies will the view of having this
practice discontinued and that we ask
the cooperation of the wholesalers in this
matter.
Whereas, we as merchants OF Minneso-
ia are in every way favorable to the
sale of pure pods only, and