Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-13
GOAL TAR DYES
ARE INJURIOUS
Pure Food Law May Contain
Clause Forbidding Their Use
in Food Products
SOME EXPERIMENTS MADE
SOM e
EXPERIMENTS 1
TeaspoonfuI in Milk Killed Cat in a
Few Minutes-coaI Tar Dyos Often
Found in Fruits and Jams Sold
at Groceries-strike of Printers De-
lays Census Book.
Special to Times Republican

Special to Times Republican
Des Moines Dec. 13.--It is more than
likely that coal tar dye and its prod
ucts will cease to be an article of COM
merce in Iowa in foods after the pas
sage of pure food law if the recom-
mendations of the agricultural com
mittee and Representative Cummings
and Senator Newberry are followed
AT ahe hearing yesterday afternoon
when representatives of the grocery
association and representatives of
wholesale houses were present the
matter OF products of coal tar in ar
ticles of food as coloring matter was
very thoroughly gone into. Not every
wholesaler or manufacturer is op-
posed to pure food laws. Many OF
them have made very exhaustive
study of the matter through necessity
In coming in contact with the laws of
various states and these men are lend
Ing their assistance to the Iowa peo-
pie. When the matter of coal tar dye
was reached in the discussion of the
bill yesterday one of these men took
occasion to tell the committee some
of Ids experiences. He has found
that most of the coloring matter for
butter Is made Of coal tar dye, in fact
practically all of it is thus
made. Investigations showed that
deaths had resulted from the
use of the stuff. Less than tea
spoon full was given to kitten in
milk and in a short time the cat was
deacl. teaspoonful was given to a
full sized Tom cat and in a little while
1t was dead A New York chemist
doubting the claims, took teaspoon
fIl and three doctors finally managed
to save his life. A little girl at Iowa
City was killed by eating some butter
colol'ing tablets made of coal tar dye.
This gentleman, Mr.. Miller, who
represented Sprague Warner & Com
pany told the committee that candy is
almost wholly colored with coal tar
dyes. 1t is used because 1T gives so
many varying tints and candy colored
with good pure vegetable dyes will not
sell in competition with it. For that
reason he said South and North Da-
kota and Minnesota absolutely forbid
the use of coal tar dyes in any articles
of food. His statements carried such
weight and We're so conclusive that it
seemed a foregone conclusion when he
had finished that coal tar dye was
doomed to elimination and his remarks
We're considered so valuable that Rep
resentative Cummings and others
thanked him heartily for the inforana-
ton.
Along this line it is learned that
some Of the women of the state have
been doing some investigating of their
own account and are to be made use
of when the legislature meets before
the committees to which the bill is
referred. Dairy Commissioner H. r.
Wright says the club women of the
state have come nobly forward on the
pure food proposition. Mrs. Warren
Garst the other day experimental with
some fruit jams and jellies purchased
from grocery. She very ingeniously
put The jelly in a cloth and discover
stain on the cloth there was a very
pretty shade Of red that gave every
ground for suspicion that coal tar dye
had been used i'm liberal quantities.
The expected opposition to a pure
food bill began to crop out at the hear
ing yesterday when opposition was
made to such provisions as are really
deemed essential to the enforcement OF
any adequate pure food bill. 1t is rec
ognized that there is no way to reach
the mail order grocery houses with an
Iowa bill so far as the punishment is
concerned and thare We're those who
for this reason argued that the bill
would be an injustice to Iowa mer-
chants and would work in the interests
of the mail order house. All sorts Of
arguments were advanced without di-
rectly opposing pure food bill en-
tirely, though it is suspected that was
the real desire. Finally Governor
Packard showed that pure food law
would be guarantee to the public
that goods purchased from Iowa retail
ers are pure and there being no such
guarantee from the mail order people
they would lose trade where the Iowa
retailer would gain it. The Cummings
bill that will be introduced
will follow very closely the bill offer
ed at the last session, which got killed
in the committee room. The bill will
most likely put the penalty on retail
ers, manufacturers, or wholesalers, In
fact on anyone found selling adulter-
ated or impure foods, and justices Of
the reace will have jurisdiction, the
maximum fine to be 800. 1t is recog-
nized that the wholesaler or manufac-
turer outside of the state cannot be
reached directly for he is engaged in
Interstate commerce, but he will have
to pay the fines of the retailer or the
retailer will quit handling his goods
and he will have to put up pure goods
for the same reason. 1t is believed that
indirectly the mail order people can
be reached for the food commissioner
will have the right to conf1scate goods
in a residence and by analysis show