Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-17
SHARP PRACTICE
AIDS BENZ0ATE
METHODS OF PRESERVATlVE
MAKERS REVEALED
DR.. HoRNER DENIES AUTHORSHIP
OF ARTICLES
Newspapers and Press Bureaus Ca
Ioled Into Belief That Man
Peddling 1t Was a
Physician
Especial to The Herald.1
BY WILLIAM WOLFF SMITH


BY WILLIAM WOLFF SMITH
WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct. 16.-The
some time past it has been evident to
those who have followed the benzoate
of soda controversy that those who ad-
vocate its use as food preservative
were resorting to desperate methods
to mislead the public in regard to the
facts in the case. These methods have
been ventilated in the newspapers and
magazines, one putting the case: 1.-THE
same folks who taint your food are
trying to taint your news"
One of the methods utilized is for a
press agent in New York to write arti-
cles to the newspapers under a ficti-
tions name, posing as a scientist in
terested in the matter from a purely
scientific standpoint. Another scheme
was editorially exposed in the out
look" last month as follows:
Exposed in Magazine
"And, finally, the manufacturers who
believe sincerely in the right and pro-
priety of their use of benzoate of soda
are not really doing their cause good
by some of their methods of creating
public opinion. An organization bear
ing the high title of the Ma
tional Association for the Promotion Of
Public Health, and purporting to be
a philanthropic and public-s spirited So
ciety, is really maintained as an adVer-
tising or press agency by some at least
of the manufacturing group which use
benZOate of soda.
This press agency recently sub
mitted to The Outlook for publication,
an article by a physician which, under
the guise of a charitable appeal for
poor children suffering from infantile
paralysis, was a thinly disguised ad-
Vocacy of the use of benzoate of soda
in preserved foods. The outlook of
course declined the article, and it can
hardly be said that its confidence in
the commercial advocates of benzoate
of soda was greatly increased by the
incident"
Play Game at Capital
1t was not until few days ago, how
ever, that Washington had a demon
straton of how far they would go in
attempting to mislead the public
through the press and so slNllfully was
the plant" prepared that it is no
wonder that even so thoroughly re-
liable and irreproachable an organiza-
tion as the Associated Press fell for it.
October 6, the trustees of the Ameri-
can Institute of Homeopathy met in
Washington to consider matters per
tanning exclusively to that organiza
ton. They adjourned that evening and
most of them left the city.
That night a man of eminently re-
spectable appearance called at a num-
ber of newspaper offices, among others
the Washington office of the Associated
Press In his hand he carried mum
Der of copies of a statement and on one
of them appeared the 20. K" of Dr.
J. Ritchey Horner of Cleveland, secre-
tary of the board. Whether lnten-
tionally or otherwise, he conveyed to
the Associated Press representative the
idea that he was DR.. Horner and on
the strength of this the Associated
Press carried a dispatch which began:
Wanted to Reconsider
"Characterizing the action of the
American Institute of Homeopathy re-
Gently in condemning the use of ben
zoate of soda as a preserYative as haV-
ing been too 'hasty' the trustees OF
the association which met here today,
adopted a resolution recommending
that the institute as its next annual
meeting reconsider it's step"
Continuing, the dispatch quoted DR..
Horner, the representative of the AS
sociated Press being under the belief
that he had talked with DR.. Horner
At the office of a Washington news
paper, the same party showed up ana,
as a result of his visit, an article ap-
peared the next morning stating that
the trustees "took hand in the ben
zoate of soda controversy by unanl-
mously adopting a resolution asking
the next annual meeting of the insti-
tute to reconsider the action of the ma
tional gathering in Detroit last june
condemning the use of benzoate as a
preserVatiVe.
The names of the trustees were { wen
and it was announced that two had
Travelled across the continent to at
tend the meeting, the Inference being
that they had come to vote on the
henzoate of soda resolution. 1t is un-
fortunate that neither the Associated
Press dispatch nor the article in the
local newspaper was true. a resolu-
ton asking the institute to reopen the
question for further consideration was
presented to the board, but instead oi
being adopted unanimously or any
other way, as was represented by the
nartv conveying the information to the
press, it was referred to the committee
on resolutions, a point of order having
been made argainst it by Dr. j. B
Custis of washington, that the trustees
had met to consider other matters anc
that the benzoate of soda controversy
had no place in their deliberations.
Horner Denies Authorship
This was confirmed by the stenog
rapher who reported the meeting, DR.
w. o. Forbes of Hot Springs, Arkan'
sas, and DR.. Custis DR.. Horner wa;
interviewed over the long distance tele-
nhone and denied that he had visited
the Associated Press or given anyone
the right to use his name as authority
for statement that the board hat
"adopted" the resolution, which, he
said, was referred to the committee or
resolutions.
DR.. Custis is the chairman of the
committee designated by the institute
to present the condemnatory resolutions
to President Taft He has done so ant
will see President Taft about them or
the latter's return to the city.