The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1905-08-18
SENSATIONAL
ALLEGATIONS
Made Against the Mason Jars for Can
ming Food Articles.
Powerful Organizations Go on Record
Against Zinc Caps.

/ In a recent issue the Portland Iele.
gram said;
Many citizens have put themselves
on record as strenuonsly opposed TO the
use Of Mason fruit iars 10 putting up
food articles State and Normal organi.
zations have been moved 10 take decided
action against the use Of zinc caps in
food canning
II II was on October 2I, 1903, that $.
y. Lowe, OF Florence, Ore wrote the
following;
FLORENCE. Ore. Oct. "a, 1903 Your
favor Of October 20 duly received and
noted. Replying, beg to say that the oc'
currcnce mentioned in your letter result
ed from the eating canned raspberries
put up in the Mason jar. The fruit was
At least year odd, and short time
prior 10 It's use had been transported
over rough road about IL miles. The
accumulated mold in the jar had proba-
bly been intermingled with the berries
in transportation which caused the diff
Gculty III question.
"The younger child 20 years Of age)
ate large saucer Of this fruit, and
having an overdose threw it up and was
soon over its effects; the other child
did not partakc Of a. much, and her
case was critical, aud only by the con
slant and persistent efforts OF physi.
elan was she restored.
tsignedI s. Z. LOWE"
The Telegram's account Of the affair,
published at the time in the dispatches
Of the day, was az follows:
Eugene. Ore, Oct. ia report has
reached Eugene from Florence, at the
mouth Of the Suslaw river, that Hattie,
1 thel4 year.old daughter Of s. i, Lowe,
and her brother, George, were poisoned
by eating canned raspberries last Thurs
day. and II was only by hard work
that the girls life was saved, The boy
was taken seriously i'll, but yomitcd soon
after and recovered before his sister did
The fruit which caused the trouble was
put up by the family last year. The
two children opened 1t and ate some OF
tine fruit about 10 o'clock Thursday, and
commenced to feel i'll few hours later.
A physician was called in the evening,
and by working hard all night, with the
assistance of their family, he succeeded
in saving their lives
1t was but natural that the Mason
fruit jar would come in for critical ex.
animation, the result Of which is the by
no means mild censure Of J. W. Bailey,
the State Dairy and Food Commissioner
for Oregon at the time, and the Inter.
national Pure Food Congress At st, Louis
last year, which latter body came out
with renewed yigor this year at the
Lewis and Clark Fair, upon the dangers
Of using zine chloride in soldering tin
used in canning foods. The Food Com.
missioncrss statement j. as follows;
"onice Of ]. w, Bailey, State Dairy
and Food Commissioner room 10, Bree-
den building Portland, Ore, October %
/ I00l.--The two Mason jar caps have
been examined the metal of the new
Mason cap was found to be pure zinc.
The small pinholc in the old Mason cap
were undoubtedly caused by the action OF
vegetable acids. As a result the fruit
in the jar must have been greatly con-
tominated with poisonous zinc COM
pounds.
va regard the use of jars with zinc
caps as very unsOnitary and even dang
erous.
Yours very truly,
J. W. BAILEY.
State Dairy and Food Commissioner. '
The appended statement is from
james u. Fisk, an analytic chemist and
assayer of note of this city;
"Chemical Laboratory and Assay Of
flee, 2Oih Washington street, Portland,
Ore. December 2. l9O4.--From my ana.