The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-04-27
Pure FOOD BILLS
PROVISIONS
Proprietary Medicine Men
Vigorously Oppose the
Measure In the House
.LOvERlNG'S AMENDMENT
1T DOES NOT EXACT THE PUB
LICITY OF PoIsoNS IN RENE
DIES BUT ALLOWS ACCOUNT
ING FOR FOOD PREsERyA-
TIvEs.


ING FOR FOOD PREsERyA-
TIyES.
WASHINGTON, April 26, 1906.-In-
terest in the pure food BILL which has
somewhat Jagged for the last few weeks,
is again being awakened by the proba-
bility that this measure will get before
the House within a week or two. and
that its presentation will precipitate a
lively fight over the patent medicine fea-
tures of the bill.
The patent medicine people, who have
had big and expensive lobby Of chem
| lists and others here for some time. are
moving heaven and earth to have the
proposed law fixed up so that they won't
have to tell how much alcohol. opium
and other poisons are contained in their
nogtrums. They claim. and with a good
deal of truth that to do so will in many
cases hurt their business. Another claim
they make, which doesn't seem to have
so much in its favor, is that the small
| quantities of opium and alcohol con-
jained in some remedies are 80 unim-
portant as not to be dangerous to health.
This patent medicine question and the
other matter of using preseryatives in
4 food products are the two main features
of the whole pure food controversy. The
| Gamers and packers have urged upon
the Senate and House committees that
little boracic or salicylic acid in meats
and canned goods did no one any harm,
just as the patent medicine men are now
urging that a little poison in medicines
won't hurt the people who take t. The
only important concession that hss been
1 made III the. Gamers and paekdSss - ID
allowing the Goldfish packers eff New
England, and possibly some of the other
prepared meat packers, to use preserv-
atives by external application applied in
such manner that the preservative is re-
moved mechanically or by macefation in
water, or otherwise, before the food is
used.
In the case of the Goldfish packers,
they are to be allowed to use certain
forms of acid preseryatiyes that will soak
out 1t is taken for granted that every
body knows enough to soak salt cod
| fish before cooking or eating it. If they
don't they will have 10 eat the preserya-
| tive and take their chances.
The pure food bill as reported by the
House committee is a very different
measure from the one that passed the
Senate.
While in some ways the House bill is
| more drastic measure than was the
Senate bill. its provisions for methods Of
procedure in prosecutions is far from be-
ing as simple. 1t provides complicated
machinery for deciding the question of
adulterations, which makes possible con-
fictng opinions, and may result in MAX
ing the whole measure largely Ineffective
If not imperative. DR.. Wiley, the head
of the bureau of chemistry of the Agri-
cultural Department, who has been the
foremost agtator in the country for pure
food legislation, is shorn by the House
bill Of. much of the responsibility and dis
cretion he could have exercised had the
Senate bill been passed This Was ac-
eomplished in the House committee at
the instance of t11e food packers, most
of whom hate DR.. Wiley very cordially
for the work he has done in showing
the people what they were eating and
drinking in the form of food and m%di-
cine.
The bill. as it will come before the
House, makes it misdemeanor, punish
able by a fine of 5000 for the first Of
fense, and line of $500 or Imprisonment
for one year, or both, for subsequent Of
fenses, for adulterating or misbranding
drugs and foods in the District Of CO.
lumbia. the Territories and insuiar pos
sessions, and for import or export. That
is, it prohibits the importation, exporta-
tion, shipping from one State to another,
or sale in the District and Territories, of
such articles as are. in violation Of its
provisions.
Under the terms of the bill candy is to
be considered aduterated if it contains
terra alba, barytes, tale, chrome yellow
or other mineral substance or poisonous
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