Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-01
WILEY on PURE FOOD LAW
SPEAKS TO THE SCIENTIFIC
MEN AT BALTIMORE.
Raised Morals of Business, Quality
of Food and Drugs and Restricted
Patent Medicines.

BALTIMORE, Md. January 1.-The IN
fuence of the leading scientists In the
country will be concentrated upon an Of
fort TO establish a national organization,
with regulations and rules of its own,
for the conservation of pubic heaith anu
the prevention of disease generally. 50
much appeared from the discussion on
public health by the American Assocla-
ton for the Advancement of Science mere
yesterday afternoon.
Particular interest attached to the meet
ing because President Roosevelt in his
message to Congress of December made
the program Of the committee OF one num-
dred on national health his administra-
ton policy for the reorganization OF the
government executive departments.
DR.. Wiley's Address.
First must be mentioned the effect
which the foods and drugs act has mad
upon the ethics of trade said DR.. wiley.
cit is the universal consensus of opinion
of all high-grade manufacturers ana
merchants in food and drug products that
the morality Of the trade has been dis
tinctly improved. When low-grade or de-
based articles have to be named and speci-
fed and authorizations excluded there is no
longer the necessity which existed before
Of really high grade manufacturers stoop-
ing to the debaSeInent Of their food prod
uctS to meet competition. In other
words the success Of business now does
not depend upon meeting low-grade COM
petition, but high-srade competition. and
thus the merit and excellence OF the prod
uct other things being equal VIII set
the pace for success of the business.
The second good which has been ac-
complished by the food and drugs act is
the judicial determination in many cases
of the principles involved in the law itself
Judge Smith Mcpherson of the United
States district court. western district of
Missouri, Kansas City, in decision
which he rendered on the food and drugs
act, stated: This statute Is to protect
consumers and not producers 1t Is a
most beneficent and righteous statute,
and within the powers Of Congress to
legislate concerning. and should be en-
forced Here we have the Judicial state
ment showing the substantially of the
act and its benehcent purpose and the
purpose for which it should be enforced
The consumer in all cases is the party to
be protected, but in protecting the con-
sumner the rights of the manufacturers
are also protected.
Improvement in Quality.
THE third good which has been accom-
plished by the law is the Improvement In
the quality of the food and drug supplies.
This has been apparent in both food and
drugs. Cold-storage foods are no longer
sold, or at least not SO extensively as
fresh products. and greater care is exer-
cised in the sanitary preparation of foods
than ever before. so that the foods which
the people of this country are eating to-
day are wholesome. and consequently more
palatable and nutritious than ever before
The Improvement in the quality of drugs
is not less marked. A rigid inspection OF
imported drugs keeps out of the country
all that are not up to the pharmaceutical
standard, and the careful control, al
though not complete, Of interstate COM
merce tends to produce the same effect
on drugs passing from state to state
The making and sale of deleterious patent
medicines las been greatly restricted, es-
pecially in those productions which re-
late to the introduction of habit forming
drugs into patent medicines and Of alco-
hol The statement on the labels of these
products respecting the presence of these
bodies has served to warn a great many
persons of the danger of their use, and
thus restricted their sale. While perhaps
there is much left to be desired in this