Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1910-06-17
WASHINGTON LETTER
From Our Regular Cores
pOndent.

ROssN$aass
Hon. E. G. Stanley a member. of con-
gress from Kentucky, has presented a
unique bill in congress. 1t is to pro-
vide government cold storage plant
inl Washington. He insists that such
a plant will moress than pay for itself
in saving the government thousands
of dollars yearly. Mr.. Wiley, the
distinguished government chemist and
advocate Of the pure food laws, ex-
presses his approval of the Stanley
bill. He says government ice
mouse will result in better provisions
for the army and navy and cut off the
enormous profits of the meat trnsts.
A cold storage plant built by the gov
eminent according to the statement
of this bill, will cost a million and
a half and it is provided that the Sc
cretary of the treasury shall buy a
site and proceed at once to build a
model storage house for meats, butter,
vegetables and such other foods as
are issued to the army and naval
forces of the United States.
The bill has another purpose in that
it will give the government chance
to study and learn the cost of keeping
perishable foods in a healtnful- condi-
tion without taking the evidence of
interested and preJudiced men in the
employ of tine trusts. Moreover, it
will save thousands yearly by supply
ing food to the army and navy and to
the Soldiers Home, situated in Wash
ington and to other soldiers homes
in diffeent parts of the country. in
his argument in favor of the bill,
Representative Stanley says that the
most odious and oppressive of all
trusts is the food trust, and he points
out that although the cold storage
men protest that charges of exorbi.
tant prices with which they are in
dicted have been disproved, it is uni
versally believed that cold storage in
the hands of the trusts is one of the
main causes of high price of foods.
Representative Stanley and Dr..
Wiley have been i'll correspondence
In recent letter to DR.. Wiley, Mr..
Stanley asked his opinion with refer
ence of the feasibility and advantages
of the cold storage plant. In thil
letter he said: cit is certain thai
cold storage men are in the habit O.
keeping meat and other foods lonl
after they cease to be wholesome.
The government experiences grea
difficulty in obtaining accurate infOr
nation and must necessarily depend
upon ,pert statements of intereste.
parties. In replying to this letter
Dr. Wiley said: 'sIn regari to tn,
subject Of a cold storage plant il
Washington, in SO far as facilitating
our Investigations on the storage O
food is concerned, am free to say i
would be of the greatest advantage
A government warehouse whicl
could collaborate with-us in securing
definite degrees Of refrigeration woul'
be advantageous. - DR.. Wiley de
clared that cattle are sold from hi
farm near Washington aud bought b,
the consumers at less than half tn
prices charged in Washington or an
other city where it is necessary t
buy cold storage meat. Mr.. Stanle,
argues that if DR.. Wiley is correc
the government will quickly be re
paid for the money invested in coll
storage plant, and moreover, that tn
military and naval forces of the coun
try will be supplied with a bette
quality of eatables. Mr.. Stanley say
that the plant could be operated b.
| the government at a minimum cos
anu that inasmuch as the government
has refused to buy tobacco from tn
tobacco trust or powder from tn
nOWder trust, there is no reason VIII,
/ 4 may uot make every effort to oh
,..in its supply of meat independent o
the meat trust, which has been tim
and time again indicted and convict
ed. He says that it is not intendet
to have the government go into thu
meat business, but that inasmuch a.
the government is the largest pur
chaser of meats and other like pro
ducts, it is its duty to the tax page
to secure provisions in the most econ
omical way.
During the last year more thai
million of dollars was expended
for meats for: soldiers homes alone.
The army expended over two millions
of dollars for fresh meats, to say moth
ing of bacon and lard. The navy
bill for butter was $500, 600 at the
rate of 33c per pound. The fresh
meat for the navy was fifteen mill
ions. Besides, we purchased thous-
ands of pounds of poultry. Swift,
Armour, Cudahey and other like con-
Germs furnished this food at exorbitant
cost to the government and at i'm
mense profit to themselves.
Miss Annie Hilleary left yesterday,
after spending about two weeks
with Mr.. and Mrs. w. M. Hilleary.
Often The Kidneys Are