Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-23
Professor Wiley's Experiments
Show 1t Injuries Health When
Used In Foods
EFFECT ON SYSTEM is NOTED
Bulletin Issued as Result of His lnves-
tisation With Food on His Famous
Squad of "Poison Eaters'-Affects
Both Mind and Body of the Vic.
tim.

| Washington, June 23.-Professor
Wiley has demonstrated beyond all
doubt that borax when used as food
| preservative is dangerous to health
! The agricultural department has is
sued one of a series of bulletins deal
| fng with the investigation by Profess
sor Wiley and his squad of poison
eaters"
The bulletin says not sufficient data
have been collected to make possible a
determination of the question whether
external application to cured meats TO
preserve them III proper condition dur
ing shipment to foreign countries
should be prohibited. The statement
is made, however. that "as it is evil
dent that in cured meats the processes
of absorption and diffusion are much
restricted unless the shipment of the
product extends over long period OF
time, there could be no great penetra-
ton of the preservative to the interior
of a package"
Again the report says that when
boric acid or borax equivalent there
to in small quantities not exceeding
half a dram a day is given in food, no
notable effects are produced immed-
lately. If, however, these small doses
be continued for long while, as for
instance, in one case fifty days, there
are occasional periods of loss of APP
petite, bad feeling. fullness in the head
and distress in the stomach. When
boric acid or borax in equivalent guam
titles is given in larger and increasing
doses there is a tendency to the devel-
opment In more accentuated form
of the symptoms above described.
The most common symptom devel-
oped is persistent headache. sense
Of fullness in head, with clouding, to
slight extent Of mental processes.
When doses are increased to three
drains day these symptoms are es-
tablished in the majority of cases. but
not in every case. The effect Of the
administration of borax upon the
weight of the body is we'll marked.
It's continued use decreases the desire
for food. and interferes with the d;-
gestion of food already in the alinen-
tary canal and produces in certain
cases a persistent headache and bad
feeling and discomfort in the region Of
the stomach Its final effect in dim
inishing the weight of the body is not
doubtful. This tendency becomes so
we'll fixed that 1t is not entirely ehmi-
mated for several days after the adj
ministration of the preServative ceas-
es.
In the after periods. extending N
some cases for ten days, during which
time the subject was kept under OBJ
servation after the administration of
the preservative ceased there was not
a uniform or even general recovery
of original weight and of original con-
dition.
1t is not advisable to use borax IN
those articles of food intended for
common and continuous use.
While many individual data obtain
ed are contradictory, the general re-
suits of the investigation show in a
convincing way that even in doses not
exceeding half a gram a day boric
acid and boraX are prejudical when
consumed for long time. 1t is un-
doubtedly true that no bad effects may
be produced upon persons in good
health. but the occasional use of pre-
servatives of this kind in small guam
titles by the young and debilitated and
by the sick is dangerous. A safe rule
to follow is to exclude these preserva-
tives from food for general consump-