Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1907-11-09

about the doings Of the corporations
that furnish 1t with food. They are
dealing In the kind of "public utili.
ties that mean life or death. In OBJ.
tanning this knowledge. the public ex-
poets to be enlightened from the re.
ports Of state Pure Food Commission
crs and the columns of the press.
| Next year II the presidential year
and on every stump the packers and
their records will he held M to the
public eye and given to the public ear
The failure of the government In Its
attack on the Beef Trust because the
packers turned states evidence on
themselves and were granted an i'm.
munity bath In consequence, has not
been forgotten by the people. and the
great rise In the price Of meat has
tested the patience of the voters to the
limit.
The withdrawal Of the City Of Chi.
cago inspectors from the big packing
houses, presumably to Obllgc the pack.
ers, has added fuel to the fire, and
next year will sec the country nblaze
upon the subject.
The pure food department Of Illinois,
like the health department Of Chicago,
has rested supine. while other states,
like Michigan. North Dakota. Pennsyl.
vania and Kentucky have taken great
pains to protect their citizens.
And the packers appreciate the Of
forts Of these states to protect the
health Of the men, women and children
residing In them by promising not to
send adultcratcd food into these com.
monwcnlths.
We have not heard of their saying
anything about sending unfit food into
the states where the authorities are
not sO honest.
According to all accounts. much bO.
racic acid and sulphitcs, as well rs
many dyes. are used by packers. and II
II against these prcscrvatlvcs that
many states having honest officials
have taken action.
The records of the North Dakota
and Kentucky Pure Food departments
show what has been done In this dircc.
tlon In past years.
We do not know whether bOrlc acid
and sulphites are used by the big Chi
cagO packers now or not. M city In.
spectOrs have been withdrawn from
the large houses
Showing the effect Of bOric acid and
0f the boratcs, the following IL repro.
duccd from pages II and IL. Of Part
2. Of the Fifteenth Annual Report Of
Il. +. Ladd, food commissioner Of North
Dakota:
80 the use Of bOraX and
borIc acid intcrfcres with the ab.
sorption Of food and causes the excre-
tlon Of IN abnOrmally large amount Of
nitrogen. lie believes II IN demon.
strated that large doses Of boric acid
reduces the body weight and that the
excretlOn Of these substances from the
body IL NO slow that their accumulation
In the body is probable. BOrax and
hOrIc acid cause diuresis. which may
produce damage Of the Kidneys; they
may cause skin disturbances; they
mny produce dinrrhHa; they Interfere
with the abnormal absorption Of food
and they may produce vomiting. The
conclusion II that the use Of bOrlc
compounds In food should be forbid.
den"
On page ~ Of the same part OF the
same report. the North Dakota food
commissioner hns this to say about the
use Of sodium sulphites In meats:
"Our own studies with sa,isages and
hamburger steak Indicate that from
O.oO to O3O per cent of sulphites are
employed In these meats. AS tn the
harmfulness of these products II recent
article by DIR. Harrington, of lIarv.
aM Medical College. entitled Sodium
Sulphlte; u Dangerous Food I'reserva-
tive gives the results of his invest-
cations and from this we quote the
following
"'It Is classcd ms n food prcserva.
tive, but It's antiscptic properties are
comparatively feeble. II IL used more
especially on account of It's effect on
the appearance of the food to which it
Is added, lis prescrvatye influence be.
Ing decidedly II minor consideration. 1t |
confcrS upon minced meat Chopped |
meaD nm abnormnlly brilliant red col |
or, which conveys 10 the purchaser the |
idea Of freshness. Perslstng MS Ii |
does, meat which Is In reality well adj |
vanccd In decomposition Is readily dis
posed of MS perfectly fresh, for although |
the number of bactcra per grain may |
run rs high as 800 millions, 1t may |
give of no marked odor II may fairly |
he said that on account Of Its masking /
decomposition, It Is an undesirable
"Ccrtanly, then, with these facts he.
fore us, we do not believe that the peo-
pie of North Dakota wish to allow the
use OF these drugs and
Chemicals in their food products"
The following standards are laid
down for food control work, in the
same report page l3:
Preserved meats: Ham, bacon,
dried beef and cured meats should
be preserved by smoke, dcSiccatlon,
salt and sterilization only.
Sausagcs Sausages are finely diyid-