Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-11-30
/ HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.
HOW FOOD WAS ADULTERATED II
GOOD OLD TIMES IN ENGLAND

HOW FOOD WAS ADULTERATED IN
GOOD OLD TIMES IN ENGLAND
| The present revolt of the people
against adulterated food is by no
means the first uprising of the kind.
In the first half of the last century
there was just sucl another outbreak
and a war against fbe tainted meats,
"dOctored" fish and fake" foods was
waged by books. papers and maga-
zines. England and France were the
centers of the storm at that time; but
America did not escape. and an old
newspaper of The time asserts that
"two-thiIds of the Catav ha wine man
ufactured in Cincinnati ID composed of
sulphuric acid and water, with just
enough of the real juice of the grape
added to give it favor The Upton
Sinclair OF that time was Frederic |
ACcum and bis boz x was called "There |
Is Death in The Pot y
Here is bit Of testimony before a
Commission appointed to inquire into
| the sales of tainted meat in London in
1870, which reads a; if it were culled
from the minutes - the caring before
the Congressional committee on the
inspection bill:
Diseased ment is brought into Lon
don in great quantities and is purchas-
ed by the soup shops, sausage makers,
beef la mode and neat AZ shops, etc. s
There is one firm selling $500 worth of t
diseased meat a week. This firm has
a very large fore ign trade. The trade l
in diseased meat is very alarming. t
AN certain that if 100 carcasses of a
COWS were lying dead In tne neighbor b
hood of London could ge, them all a
sold within "a hours-it does not mat b
ter what they died off, f.
There was any amount of testimony Ii
Of this sort given before the commits b
sion. 1t was ascer aimed that there 8
we're in London three large insurance Ii
which mr. de a speciality of ii
nsurIng cattle against dis, ase. When Il
cattlem an reported one o his ami G
nails sick the company whi' had TAX G.
10 the risk paid the insure 5e, took ii
he dlseas ed.animal, and sent it TO the r.,
arge slaughter. houses which the cOD II
,anies maintained in the country, and ol
t was killed and prepaI d for the a,
london market. The. grea. slaugh- o.
hnnGal n nc |
'auies were employed entirely In the s,
Killing and preparing for the market +,
If diseased cattle. The officials and if
tOckh olders of these insurance com r,
'anies were all ''eminently respectable pt
'eOple, moving in the higheat social G.
lrcles." Some of the specimens of h,
oOd purchased at randam in the mar ri
ets were found to have been treated w
hus: A fish was found to have been
with arseniLe Of copper. A
igeOn was cOlOred with croi lte of
lad and blsulphate of mercu =. A
owl with cromate of lead, gal lboge,
and three other active poi
ons; an orange with red lead; an ap' q
le with a dangerous dose Of cromate ds
lead. Beer was found on sale guilt W
'ss of either hops or malt and COM re
osed of various chemicals and foreign al
u Instances, among which weIe sui sp
huric acid and alum, while wine was a
ought which upon analysis proved to ed
e composed of raw French spirits aid W.
'gwoo1. Even gin was found to be fC
1uIterafej with oak sawdust Ito give bo
a complexion of burnt sugar" a l
emmy son took up the cry and in bis ho
Maud" excoriated upon the adultera- tri
on of food and drink. This revolt SCI
the poisoned lasted until about 1856
hen it died down, passed away and
as forgotten. How long will it be
sfore the present war for pure food
asses into history and is likewise for
often ?-N. Y Press.