The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-12-31
ATTACK INDIANA
PURE FOOD LAW
RESTRAINING ORDER ASKED
AGAINST STATE BOARD OF
HEALTH.
Action Will Test the Power of In
diana Pure Food Law-Model
for Nation.

Whether or not the Indiana pure
food law empowers the State Board
OF Health to make rules governing
the preparation of foods and their
sales within the State is a question
raised in an action brought against
II. +. Barnard, State Food and Drug
Commissioner; DR.. ]. N. Hurry, sec
rotary of the State Board of Health,
and the other members of the board
The suit has been filed in the Federal
Court by the Williams Brothers,
picklers and preservers, and the Cur
tice Brothers Company, food manu-
facturers. The former firm is in De-
troit, Mich, and the latter operates
in Rochester n. Y.
The action is brought on a petition
for a temporary restraining order to
prevent the enforcement OF the pure
food law, especially as it relates to
the rule aaginst the use of benzoate
OF soda as a preservative, but it will
involve the constitutionality OF the
law The case was called Saturday
but the State asked a continuance
on the ground that it has not had
time to prepare for trial.
Great Damage Alleged
The complaint sets forth that the
Williams company has invested a
capital of 100000 and ships annually
into tine State products valued at $4O,-
600 and that the Curtice Brothers
Company has S1,75O,OOO invested and
ships an equal amount of products
into the State. The basis for the &C
ton is that under the rule OF the food
and drug authorities against benzoate
as a preservative, the sales OF the
goods shipped into Indiana have been
affected to the great damage of the
manufacturers and that the rule un-
der the law is unjust TO the manufact-
uring concerns
The field Of the complaint is en-
larged to show that the total output
OF food manufactured and preserved
by benzoate of soda is $60,000,000 an
nually and that this is all damaged
by the enforcement of the rule.
The rule to which the complaint
refers is known as Rule 12 and is as
follows:
eff it Ga food) contain any added
antiseptic or preservative substance
except common table salt, saltpeter
'ane sugar, vinegar spices or in
smoked food the natural products OF
the smoking process or other harm
less personalities whose use is au-
thorized by the State Board of Health
il shall be deemed adulterated"
Benzoate of Soda Barred.
Under the new rule benzoate OF
soda is barred as a preservative, and
foodstuffs prepared with it are judged
adulterated by the Board of Health.
Under the law such foodstuffs shall
be marked "Adulterated" and the
material designated which is used in
the adulteration.
The complaint sets forth that such
fo1J 1r0d,vote &c ,ra ,,,a,,,,fo ~, r 4
from tomatoes and cucumbers re-
quire some preservatives other than
those recognized by the rules of the
Indiana State Board of Health, and
that for fifteen years it has been a
common practice to use benzoate OF
soda as This preservative.
The case, when it comes to trial
will attract national interest, as have
similar suits tried in Michigan
against Food and Drug Commission
er Bird and in North Dakota against
she commissioner of that State In
the decisions in these two States, the
commissioner have been sustained
by the courts in the rules they have
made under the pure food laws.
Indiana Law a Model.
The Indiana law is taken as a mod
ell for pure food bills which will be
presened to nearly all the Legislat-
ures in the Union within the next
few weeks. One hundred and seventy
copies of the bill, as prepared by the
committee, of which Mr. Barnard is
chairman, have been prepared and
will be sent to the food and drug
commissioners of different States
within a few days. The fact that the
law, taken as a model for the States
of the Union, is to be attacked as to
its constitutionality will draw the in
terest of the entire United States
and of the national government
Points of Objection.
One part of the Indiana pure food
law is objected to on the ground that
it vests legislative powers an THE
State Board of Health, contrary to
the State constitution. 1t also is al
legged that the acts of the defendants
in promulgating the rules in regard
to the use of benzoate of soda are
void because they are unreasonable
and an abuse of such powers as they
may have. 1t is alleged that the prod
ucts of the compliments are whole
some and clean and that the preser-
vative as used by them is harmless.