Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1909-09-11
MORE DOPE m FOODS

The Association OF State and
National Food and Dairy Depart
ments, at Denver, decided By a
vote Of ~ 70 ~ that The use Of
leascale cf soda as q preserva-
live Is not dangerous TO health:
| Thus Dr. Wiley Is overraled, and
ar RooseVelt's Referee Board
of; Consulting Scientific Experts"
is sustained. Only a year ago
this same association denounced
Secretary Wilson for his attitude
on this subject, condemned the
use Of this preservatiye and
warmly commended DR.. Wiley.
We suppose it has no more facts
before it to-day than it had a year
ago, and yet it reverses its YER.
dict. Even as it is, however,
forty.two delegates voted against
4
benzoate of soda "a very respect
able minority.
It seems strange that Secre.
| tary Wilson should have travelled
al the way to Denver TO partici.
pate in any of the work of con-
yention to which he was net q
delegate. We are told that he
captured" the convention. He
laid the members Of the referee
board were all GA hand, and it is
evident that their work was eff
i fective. We do not recall that
/ Mr.. Wilson ever before attended
| one of these gatherings certain
lily he never before used his in
fuence to control their delibera-
tons. It looks as though good
deal of governmental pressure
has been applied, and in a very
effective way. There was a dele
. CATION from the United States De.
partment Of Agriculture, which,
of course, voted in the affirma-
! tive on the resolution sustaining
, the referee board.
1
Of course, when experts differ
the layman ought to speak with
some reserve. It may be that
DIR. Wiley exaggerated the dan
gers incident to the use of ben
zoate of soda. There are men
who are not parties to this con.
troversy who think so. But,
after admitting everything that
can be claimed on this score, we
cannot think that the majority
vote will have any influence with
fair minded and unprecedented
men. In the first place, forty
two delegates voted against the
resolution. These, of course, are
convinced of the rightfulness Of
Dr.. Wiley's stand. Again, the
convention, in order to reach the
result, was forced to repudiate
its own conclusion of a year ago
In the third place. it is clear thai
the influence of Secretary Wilson
and bis delegation, Of which be
was not, however, q member bad
weight; aid they gpt, u
not a vindication for benzoate Of
soda, at least one for the secre.
tary Of agriculture and his ref.
cree board. Such a judgment as
this. pronounced only by o
small majority of the convention,
will not be deemed convincing.
Nor should it be forgotten that,
Ia order to reach its conclusion,
the convention had to upset the
report OF its own committee,
headed By DR.. Robinson, of Michi.
gan, q committee appointed to ex-
anime the report of the referee
board. The com mittee condemn.
ga the report of the board and
found that the use of benzoate of
soda promoted 1.-THE practice of
concealing insanitary methods. .
There was a good deal to be got
over, but the convention did not
hesitate. 1t reversed itself and
repudiated the finding of its own
committee.
There is some reason to fear
that there will now be an attempt
to show that other things used
and other methods followed for
preserving foodstuffs are harm.
Hess. The industries interested
are not likely to stop with this
victory. Rather, it will encour.
| age them toseek still other inter-
pretalivns favorable to them.
We feel that it would have been
mich better to sustain DR.. Wiley,
u man who has done % much to
1 project the health Of the people.
lit is never likely that such laws
Us tie pare food law will be too
Istrictly enforced The danger is
the other way To fail tosus-
,aa even an ovefzealons official
Il aiscfedis bin and also. We
ira, W Reaa Gle lsw which IL
IS SIS business @ enforce. AS for