The La Jara chronicle., 1906-08-03

products of the country are adulter-
ated. and how the consumer is de-
frauded. The space in front of the
speakers desk resembled small
section of a delicatcssen store and a
corner grocery with cereals, jams,
jellies, tins of peas, tomatoes, corn.
prepared spices. bottles of whiskey and
wine. imnortcd sausages, branded
cherries and other edibles and drink
ables scattered over two tables.
Representative Mann proceeded to
demonstrate to the House through
these various food products the neces-
sity for national pure food law.
One of the first articles taken up by
the Congressman was the ordinary
condment-pepper- to the lay
mind is considered too cheap for any
manufacturer to spend time in adul-
terating. He read circulars from nu
merous concerns offering for sale
certain grade of adulterant which
could be used to produce pepper or
almost any other of the spices with
some slight modification. AS he scat
tered package of this over his desk
the members in the vicinity started
back in order to avoid the usual snccZ
ing which follows the inhalation of a
small quantity of pepper. But they
were r.assured by the "grocerymau'
that it was not harmful, for while
it was called pepper it was NOTHING
but ground olive pits. He convulsCh
the House when he read the price list
of adulterants showing that they Were
offered to the trade for $50 n ton in
five-ton lots, and that at that rate they
We're guaranteed to make the finest
black pepper which, as everyone
knows, is sold by the ounce. He made
the statement that even the pepper
berry itself was adulteratcd by III
cleverly contrived manufacture of tap
loco colored with lamp black.
Possibly the most striking demon
stration of the afternoon was one with
bottle of red cherries. These cher
ries, it was explained, We're picked
green, and that after being bleached
out white by the use of powerful
acid, had been colored the brilliant
red by the use of coal tar dye
deadly poison if used in large quanti-
ties. Representative Mann dipped Il
piece of white cloth in the Juice" of
these cherries, and it partook of n
brilliant red as though it had just come
from dyers.
Olive oil, explained Mr.. Mann, is Il
product which is in most cases, adul-
terated. In many instances the cour-
tcrfet is merely American cotton seed
OLA wholesome and satisfactory
dressing for salad, but it costs about
y as much as real olive oil, and tn"
American buyer certainly does not
care to purchase dressing for four
times its actual worth.
HIvELESS HONEY.
One of the freak EXHIBITS was
bottle of "honey" which, in order to
complete the assurance of the buyer
that the article was genuine, contained,
as if by accident, the body of real
bee, yet the whole mess was pure and
simple glucose, and had never been
near Il hive, much less a comb. The
hive probably was ten story fac
tory in one of the large cities.
A bottle of "Freezine" was exhibited
by Mr.. Mann, who explained that this
remarkable article was guaranteed 10
preserve meat from the action of the
| air and stop decay. While he ad-
mitted that it would stop the action of
nature on meats, he claimed that the
preservative itself was actually poison
Gus, containing sulphlde of soda with
| red coal tar dye and could not be
used safely upon human food.
The public is unwittingly defrauded
| to n great extent through short weight
and short measure in package goods,
| explained Mr.. Mann. and he Insisted
that the manufacturers should be com
| PEELED to state on the label the guam
| tity contained in the bottle or carton.
In line with this was a dramatic dem
onstration when the Chicago pure food
| expert held up before the House u