Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-09-08
IOWA LINES UP WITH coNsERvA
TlvEs IN ENFORCEMENT OF
LAWS.
PROTECTION TO CONSUMER
ALL THAT is REQUIRED
Commissioner Wright Takes Position
That People Ought to Be Permitted
to Buy Adulterated Foods if They
Desire Them-Packard's Departure
Leaves Board Vacancy.
special to Times-Republican.

Il II.
Des Moines. Sept. s.-Iowa is on the
conservative side of the pure food
question. State food and dairy COM
nissioners are divided into two camps
with no visible evidence that they will
get together on any uniform course of
acton. The differences are quite vital
and of considerable concern 70 the pub
lie. One side lays great stress on the
fact that canned peas and beans are
sometimes found to contain sulphate Of
copper which is poisonous; that boric
acid is used TO preserve meat and tha.
formaldehyde IS used in milk. In fact
some raise such a hue and cry over
these things that the public gets the
idea that il is scarcely safe to eat any
thing for fear ii IS. poisonous. The 9th
e. side admits that these things are
sometimes true. but claims that ii is
but a small per cent Of the time and that
the food laws are mainly for the pro-
tection Of the public for forcing tile
manufacturer 10 say in a label on the
outside Of The package when the food
Is adulterated
one side raises the cry that the peo-
pies lives are endangered. The other
simply demands that the public has a
right 70 know what il is buying and
insists that few people If any have los.
their lives from eating impure foods.
H. r. Wright. state food and dairy
conplissioner Of Iowa is taking the
more conservative ground The people
nave a right 10 buy adulterated foods
i they wish them" said Mr.. Wright
today. "Adulterared foods are chea per.
The manufacturer can doctor up some
glucose so that 10 the taste You can't
tell il from honey. The man whose
pocketbook won't stand strained honey
has q right 10 buy this glucose bul ne
has right 70 know that he is buying
glucose and the manufacturer has no
right = charge him Tor honey when he
is selling him glucose
The main province OF a pure food
law i . protect The public. There are
some cases where poisons are used as
conservatives and the state law pro-
hints these but they are very rare.
'36- tci1 IJ4tJt ing tLt1l le-I d. II! cLe-DaN
injurious % the health but not very
Injurious and the same with other CO..
oring matters. Many state departments
are putting all the stress on those
things don't believe in ii. The main
province of the pure food law IS -
compel the manufacturer to sell his
product for what ii actually is MANY
poor people cant afford 70 buy pure
pork lard Beef fat and cotton seed
oil makes an excellent substitute which
the poor man can afford 10 buy but the
manufacturer has no right 70 sell! il
70 him a pure pork lard. The con-
sumner cam tell the difference wl1en
he buys them in the store bu, )ur
chemist up stairs can and thai is jus-
why We have a pure food law and just
why We have a chemist-tor the pro-
tec-ion of the public
The differences between the two
classes Of state food commissioners Is
The same as that between the yellow
newspaper and the Conservative news
Iaper Il IS easy for the one side 70
make out such a startling case of adul-
Grated foods as 20 nearly scare the
public 10 death and come quite as close
- deaths door in fact as tho the adul-
leraled foods we're eaten.