The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-01-21
DIR. ATKINS SHOWS
WILEY IDEA WRONG
Experiments With. Health
Squad Demonstrate Health
fuIness of State Products

The gauntlet had been thrown down
to DR.. Wiley Of the United States de-
partment of agriculture, who an
nounced some time ago that he would
make the matter of the use of sulphur
in California dried fruit the fight Of
his life,' and who by combating the
fruit interests of the state has already
caused a financial damage not to be
estimated in tens Of thousands of dol
lars. The man who will fight DR..
Wiley on his own ground is DR.. Albert
J. Atkins Of this city, a scientist Of in
ternational reputation. who, with his
health squad" has already refuted
the scientific arguments deduced by
Wiley from experiments with his IA
nous poison squad" at Washington.
DR.. Wiley stated that as the result
of his experiments with California
fruit which had been prepared for
market by the use of sulphur, 1t had
been found that $4,000 of 1 per cent
was the highest proportion of sulphur
which could be used with safety. Under
the proposed uniform pure food law,
which is being introduced into the va
rious legislatures. fruit containing a
greater proportion than this would
not be allowed upon the market.
SULPHURED FRUIT HEALTHFUL
DR.. Atkins has proved by his expert
ments with his health squad" that
fruit containing the maximum per-
centage of sulphur IS a healthful and
flesh forming food.
DR.. Wiley's particular hostility to
the use of sulphur I'm preparing fruit
for market has not been explained, as
high scientific authorities hold that
sulphur, in the quantities used in pre-
serving fruit, is not only harmless but
positively healthful. DIR. Wiley, how
ever, based his arguments on the
series of experiments with the poison
squad and until now these were un-
answerable. He asserted that the per-
centage of sulphur in our fruit was
injurious to health.
DR.. Atkins, for the good Of the state
and without personal interest, other
than that which every good citizen
should have, made up his mind that
official notice Of the protests of Cali
fornia would not be taken until scien-
tific experiments could be made and
DR.. Wiley's contentious disproved.
REPORTS DISREGARDED
DR.. Atkins went to Washington and
secured a personal interview with
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson at the
time that official sent out requests for
expert opinion in regard to the pure
food laws that were being drafted
Wilson at that time asked DR.. Atkins
to send written opinion, and further
experience at the capital convinced the
physician that written opinions from
no matter how high a source were
futile when arrayed against the tabu-
lated reports of DR.. Wiley from his
poison squad experiments.
DR.. Atkins then resolved to conduct
a similar series of experiments. and re-
turned to California, where he sue
ceeded in securing the assistance and
support of other well known physi-
clans.
This course was taken principally
because he wished the experiments to
be carried on along the best lines and
that the whole matter should be abso-
lutely above reproach. DR.. Atkins vol
unteered to bear the entire expense of
the experiments. The physicians who
Regensburger, DIR. H. w. Hunsaker
and DR.. E. A Majors.
wILEY's SUGGESTIONS WRONG
IN choosing elBnt men Tor his eX-
periments DR.. Atkins named them the
heath squad" rather than the moi
son squad" as DR. Wiley calls his sub
jects. He believes that the method of
the government expert in placing his
men in a mental condition which in
terferes with the normal functions of
digestion by introducing the element of
fear is wrong.
The men chosen, all of whom volun-
teerei to take the tests without re-
enumeration, are average specimens of
humanity. They We're fed on a mixed
diet of California dried fruits prepared
in different ways to suit the tastes.
The cooking and preparing was done
under the direct supervision of DR.. At
klns and each man was served with a
minimum quantity of four ounces each
day. The remainder of the diet was
composed of meat, bread and other
essentials-an average mans average
diet The experiments covered a pe-
Rod of 80 days
DIET IMPROVES HEALTH
Seven of the men ate the fruit once
day, at noon, and the other. three
times day. both raw and cooked. This
last man gained two pounds in the 90
days. With one exception the men
all gained weight during the test and
felt better than they had done before.
The one man who lost weight attributed