The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-12-29

that heated air to the moisture of its
natural state to be breathed in the
school room, certainly is a sanitary
feature of par excellence. Our
School Board is to be congratulated
and commended for so valuable a
contribution to the comfort and
health of u school children
Nv. Pure Food and Drug Law.
| think that this law is as closely
observed and complied with in Ply
mouth as in any city in indiana.
Before this law came into operation,
the consumer, although well aware of
the fact tn;, much of his food was
anrlterated! made little or &c p-otest.
tu: iott II at came to inn from IL,
G" CRY stne or market without rom-
planE'. M the passage nf inc Tt c
Foul .v las largely tacr.cd IL.
order of things and now that redress
is possible there is no law on statut.
books that he is more directly inter
ested in.
The State Inspectors are active In
this matter, and during the year end
ing Oct. l, 1910, they inspected TO-,
652 places where table and medicine
supplies were sold to the people.
From these places inspected PAL
prosecutions were instituted, and OF
these prosecutions 217 were found
guilty of the violation of the Pure
Food and Drug Law and fined from
$40 to $25 with cost of suit. But
Plymouth has emerged from that test
fairly we'll. There has been during
the year four prosecutions in Ply
mouth by the State Inspectors. all Of
which were found guilty and fined ac-
cordingly, viz: one for selling dirty
milk; one for selling cider containing
salycilic acid; one for selling watered
oysters; and one for selling. orange
cider containing benzoate of soda.
There is one important article of
food the producer and dealer In
which is practically immune from
prosecution. And so these producers
and dealers IN eggs. unhampered by
law. hold to the old practices of the
trade, and although the frugal farm.
ers wife may have gathered them up
from old nests where the hen has set
upon them Or from the incubator all
eggs are sold as eggs without regard
to their condition. This is due to the
fact that at the time of the passage
of the Pure Food Law, some smart
legislator no doubt thinking he would
confer a great favor to his constitut-
ents, made an amendment to the egg
question, qualifying their sale by the
word knowingly" and this makes
it necessary for the State in prose-
cutting these eases to procure evidence
TO show that the dealer knowingly
violated the law, which is an impossi-
bility in most cases. During the
State Health Officers convention last
spring In Indianapolis a resolution
was introduced and unanimously car
ried that inasmuch as there were
certain condition surrounding every
egg producer, whereby he could not
escape knowing whether eggs were
fresh or not, that the State Board Of
Health would establish a rule that
every egg producer whenever Offering
his eggs for sale should guarantee
the value and condition of his product
and be held responsible to the law
for any misrepresentation. But up
on this resolution the Attorney Gen.
eral of the State decided that while
rules Of the State Board Of Health
we're held as statutory in effect when
not in opposition with any existing
law, they could not alter, amend OF
make extra provisions for the en-
forcement of any law. 1t is to be
hoped that the present law will be
amended at the next session of the
Legislature so as to hold the person
who sells eggs responsible for thei,
character the same way that he is
held responsible for anything else
that he sells.
OF the five diaries that supply the
city with milk four were pronounced
above standard, while the one above
mentioned that was prosecuted was
found 20 per cen below standard.
Our drug stores bear a good record
from these Inspectors as they are all
pronounced good. One of these is
highly commended as dealing in pure
drugs land dispensing them with regu-
larity and ~neatness in a well c%leanly
kept establishment. / am sure that
all the proprieters of our drug houses
are self-conscious of the fact that each
of theirs are kept up to this standard
and all are ready to respond to this
lit of information with the query,
Is it I?
v. Medical Inspection Of Schools
The importance of the medical in
spection of schools, in its relation to
the public health is rapidly becoming
recognized. In many of the higher
oredre of schools it has been adopted
with results so satisfactory that it
would e but a matter Of a short
time when systematic and efficient
school inspection will be made a part
of the school system everywhere. 1t
seems timely that the attention of
pnblic officials might &c directed to
certain conditions that interfere With
the efficiency of the sea ,ols. and
sometimes entirely close iae'p frr q
period. The two essent;i'..y ct:Llrcn's
contagious .~l;sases that :.sc attended
which are rapidlv and rpad,ly com-