The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-08-27

settlement of that question at Wash
ington.
The association will adjourn tomorrow
after the election of officers
George L. Flanders of Albany n. Y,
is considered as the probable next pres
ident to succeed ]. @. Emery of Wis.,
consin.
Or. Remsen's Remarks.
Dr. Ira Remsen of Baltimore. chairman
of the referee board of consulting scien-
tihe experts, said in part:
In the early part of the year 1908
President Roosevelt wrote to the presi-
dents of half a dozen universities of the
country, saying that in the administra-
ton of pure food law some differences had
arisen, and that 1t seemed desirable TO
call in the aid of a group of seientlhc
men to pass upon such disputed matter.
l visited the President and he asked me
to take the Craftsmanship of the board. l
demurred, but he urged me. and there
was apparently nothing left for me but
to accept and I did so
THE President then turned over 10
me the letters he had received from the
universities and asked me to select the
members of the board.
"As a result I submitted to the Presi-
dent the names of Drs. Chittenden Long,
Herter and Taylor. The selections were
approved and the appointments promptly
made.
In the meantime had talked over the
situation with Secretary Wilson and since
the appointments my dealings have been
directly with the secretary. You under
stand that the referee board was to take
up only such questions as should be re-
ferred to it by the secretary. We had
nothing to do with the administration or
the pure food law.
Now, in regard to this work on benzoate
of soda the referee board was asked to
determine two points:
q Whether benzoate of soda. in guam
titles as are likely to be used, is or is not
injurious to health
% Whether the quality or strength of
a food to which benzoate of soda has been
added is thereby reduced, lowered or in
juriously affected?
You know the conclusions to which the
board has been led by its work. With the
actual experimenting had nothing to do.
The board had a number of long meet
ings in which the methods to be followed
We're fully discussed and finally agreed
upon. / attended three meetings and took
part in the discussions. During the pro-
kTtSS OF the WOTh L kept lnlOTiHtu III re-
gard to It, We then agreed upon the form
of the report and the knowledge I had
gained was of such a character that l
felt justified in signing the report
DR.. Chittendon Speaks.
Speaking OF the result OF experiments
made by administering quantities or
benzoate of soda into the food given to
six healthy young men for periods re-
spaatixyalU Df fyUO month.
DR.. Russell H. Chittenden of New Haven,
Conn. a member of the referee board,
said that three-tenths of a gram was ad-
ministered daily to each subject during
the two months period. In the one
month experiment each man received per
day during the first week, six-tenths
gram, second week, one gram; third
week, two grams; fourth week. four
grams.
Surely this administration when ac-
companied by gain of body weight and
without loss of power to digest and alb
sorb the protein and fat of the daily
food must be taken as evidence that
sodium benzoate in the doses administered
is not seriously detrimental to health
said DIR. Chittenden. II believe the evil
dence warrants the opinion that sodium
benzoate is no more harmful than cor
responding amounts of salt.
Certainly huckleberries, cranberries,
plums, prunes and other retailed fruits
contain appreciable amounts of benzoate.
In other words the eating of small
quantity of huckleberries, raspberries OF
kindred berries is accompanied by the
taking into the system of more benzoate
than In the administration of three-tenths
of a gram of sodium benzoate.
I'm the light of our experiments it is
difficult to say why benzoate in moderate
amounts should be conDidered any more
inimical to health than such salt as
sodium chloride"
Dr.. WiIey's Views.
In discussing the chemistry of bleached
flour, Dr. H. w. Wiley, chief chemist
of the department of agriculture, confined
himself to the technical side of the sub
ject, saying it was not his intention to
give an opinion on the effect of bleached
flour on the human system or its use in
concealing inferiority or promoting fraud.
Exposure to sunlight or air, constituting
what is known laying" produced a GER
tain whitening in flour, he said. BY
chemical means this change of tint could
be produced Immediately, so far as APP
pearance was concerned and a perfectly
new flour made to look like an old one
In the highest grades of flour the inner
or WnlteSt part OF the perry is separdleu
, mechanically.
DIR. Wiley then related the various pro-
oesses used in chemically treating flour,
The atmosphere itself, probably due
to the presence of ozone, produces in a
few months practically the same effect
so far as color is concerned as is pro-
duced by the bleaching process" said DR..
Wiley.
But in addition to the bleaching OF
flour other changes go on which in the
minds of great many consumers i'm
proves its quality, therefore there is a
general impression, probably founded
upon fact that old flour, or at least GER
tain flour ground from old wheat is SUI
perior to new -four or -four made from
freshly grown wheat"
a q n