Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-11-12
ROW OVER USE OF PREsERvA.
TlvEs INVOLVES SECRETARY
OF AGRICULTURE.
SODA BENzoATE OPPONENTS
WOULD RETIRE OFFICER
Manufacturers Who Hold Corner on
Patent Preservative Aim to Put Com
petitors Out of 5usiness-oleo Fight
Brewing in lowa-Makers Want
Laws Modified.
Special to Times-Republican.
lives In.


Des Moines, Nov. 12.-That the fight
over the use OF preservatives in foods
is not ended and that the advocates of
the doctrine that benzoate of soda in
foods is harmful propose TO keep ag-
litating the proposition till they get Sec
rotary Wilson out of the department: of
agriculture at Washington is evidenced
by the late issuance of circulars and
other things trying to prove its harm
fulness. H. R. Wright, state food and
dairy commissioner of Iowa, has re-
Gently received such circulars, and they
are being sent elsewhere in Iowa and
the west.
j Pure food propositions at some stage
OF the game become commercial fgh,
pure and simple between different man
ufacturers, and the benzoate of soda
fight IS a. that stage now. Manutac-
turers all used preservarives OF every
KIND harmful Or not at one time till the
national pure food law was passed and
many states also passed such laws.
Then they We're forced TO get new pre-
serVatives that We're not harmful and
their chemists were put TO work. Some
manufacturers were more active than
others and when they had discovered
a new way Of preserving their foods
became Very ardent advocates of laws
and regulations against the use of pre-
servarives that tsivy themselves had
used before.
Down in Missouri at one time a bill
vas put thru prohibiting the use Ct
alum in baking powder There is bat
! one concern that manufactures baking
powder without alum. Alum is injur-
icus but it has since been successfully
shown by chemists in the employ of the
government that when the bread is
baked the baking process eliminates
all the alum and that kind of baking
powder is as uninjurious as any other
Salicylic acid, boracic acid and other
pceservatives were used in canning
beans and in making catsups and tie
like al one time II has been found by
: the government that they are actually
injurious and manufacturers then re-
sorted 10 benzoate of soda. Then one
of the leading manufacturers found an
other method of preserving these
things. Spices are used in enormous
nummies OF Egypt were preserved
with spices. Now these manufacturers
are back Of the scheme to have ben
zoate of soda declared harmful for the
reason that only one manufacturer has
discovered the method of using these
spices properly The others use ben
zoate Of soda still and if Secretary VIII
son ruled against benzoate of soda il
i
trust firm
The next Iowa legislature will We
asked TO modify its law relating to
oleomargarine ana the butter makers of
the state will have TO fight for their
lives. The oleomargarine manufacture
ers which of course are the beef pack
ing concerns are preparing 10 make a
harder fight than ever before for modi-
hcations of both the state and national
laws The thing they wish changed in
the national law is the amount of he
tax. Ii is now 10 cents a pound which
is prohipitive except in times wnen
the price Of creamery butter is way
up at the top notch. The thing they
want changed in the Iowa law is tie
question of color The law in this
state absolutely prohibits the sale of
oleomargarine with any yellow color
in it. This law was tested by the su-
preme court OF the United States and
il held good Ii requires that to be
legally sold the oleomargarine must he
white and white butter never could
compete with yellow butter. The pub
lie has been educated thru generations
ever since the discovery of the COW 10
expect butter to be yellow and if any,
thing is offered to them that is not yell
low they Will not buy it.
Evidences of the fight 10 be made by
the packers is shown in the campaign
in the Sixth congressional district in
Chicago which is the stockyards dis.
trct, 10 elect a successor 20 Billy Lor-
liner who has been elected 10 the On
tied States senate. The man whom
Lorimer has picked as his own sue
q cessor is William J. Monkey, a butter.
inc or oleomargarine manufacturer O.
course if Monkey is elected and thu
question of reducing the tax on cleo.
margarine comes up in congress Their
is no question much as to which wa,
he will vote.
In Iowa for some years the cleo
margarine manufa cturers have beel
slipping in little coloring matter
They first put in so little that it was