The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1906-03-21
GUESTS SMACKED LIPS OVER
BANQUET OF SPURIOUS FOOD
Feast Prepared by Professor Spillman to Prove That
Artificial Food Stufs Are as Good as the Genu-
inc. The Drinks Were Hand Made, Too.

1t happened once upon a time that
Henry w. Goodrich of New York and
James E. Howell of Newark, N. j., at
torneys both, were associated as coun
sci in manufacturing case involving
lot of chemistry, says the New York
Sun. Their side called as expert Pro-
fessor Thomas B. Stillman, head of the
chemical laboratory of the Stevens in
stitute and member of the Chemical
Society of Paris. Their side won, large
ly because of Professor Stillman's tes-
timOny.
To celebrate Mr.. Goodrich gave din
ner at his club in New York. The food
before them and the chemistry which
led up to the dinner got mixed in the
conversation, and Professor Stillman
advanced the startling statement that
most food adulteration is not really
harmful
"They don't get exactly what they
pay for he said, but they do get it,
after ALL in chemical constituents.
just as nutritious as the real jelly"
His listeners didn't quite agree.
"Why, gentlemen" said Professor
Stillman, 'I'll treat you to a dinner if
you like at which nothing will be gen
uine except the meat and lettuce I'll
make every sauce, every wine, every
liquor, by chemical means. I'll do more.
I'll give you chemical biscuits, chem
ical cocktails and chemical butter, and
to prove how harmless it will be, I'll
eat every dish myself-if you'll back
me-"
1t was agreed, and the other night in
the Hotel Astor at New York Professor
Stillman gave what the layman would
call chemical dinner and which he
himself calls a synthetic dinner"
The guests were seated all right
and proper at table in a private din
ing room of the Astor. The host was
seated part Of the time, but mostly he
was hopping back and forth from q
chemical laboratory which he had set
up in the serving room and in which he
cooked his part Of the dinner in beak
ers and test tubes before every course.
In a corner of the room a kind Of
glass retort arrangement connected
with the electric light wires was drop
ping q clear liquid into a glass. There
the liqueur, the best thing that Pro-
fessor Stillman did for the party, was
a-distilling And when Professor Still
man wasn't baking and boiling and
brewing in test tubes he was waving
his knife and lecturing to the reporters
who sat drinking imitation dry Mar
TIM cocktails of wondrous potency and
watching the guests enjoy artificial
food.
The menus, written in French. with
explanatory notes, gave chemical for
mulae long as the moral law for every
thing. There were only three Of these
menus, and they are to be kept as
priceless souvenirs of the evening.
These were the main headings of the
menu:
Cocktail Martini.
Cocktail aux Huitres.
Soupe Claire la Tortue Verte.
Biscuits SynthetiQue. Butterine.
Pompano au Court Bouillon.
Ris do Veau Glaces aux Petits Pois.
Roti Ptarmigan au Beurre ct Gelee de
Groseille Rouge SynthetiQue
Salade de rAguacata, Sauce Synthetique.
Sorbet Annanas.
Creme Gface.
Cafe Substttut.
Creme de Menthe SynthetiQue.
This last, the menu explained, was to
be distilled In full view of the company
by Professor Stillman's pour Ia delec-
tation de ses convivres."
Now, there isn't room to tell all the
constituents of these separate dishes
The best thing that Professor Sttllman
did and the one Of which he seemed
most proud was the biscuits which ac-
companied the soup. These looked and
tasted like ordinary biscuits which you
see advertised IN a street car and buy
in box.
AS a matter Of fact they were made
out of things you buy in a drug store
and not a grain Of -four entered into
their composition. They were made OF
chemical starch, extracted originally
from potatoes; cream Of tartar, sac
charfne, q chemical sWeetenlng; DbcaE-
donate Of soda and artificial milk,
fluid containing all the ingredients OF
real milk, but which never saw COW.
OF course these were not made on the
sDot. They were mixed and baked In
the afternoon by Professor Stillman In
his own laboratory.
The Martini cocktails, which did
some shocking things before the even
ing was over, were made Of absinth,
alcohol, saccharin and yellow aniline
dive. They were an excellent imitation
of the real thing. Mr.. Goodrich. who Is
an authority on wines, said that the
professor rather fell down on the sau-
terne. He was trying to initiate haut
sauterne, and he got 1t too sour.
The professor responded by way of
renartee that Mr. Goodrich had proba-
hIv drunk haut sauterne made of no