Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1910-04-02

, to puff his goods: it is also a maxim
of law: Let the buyer beware"
! e'Caveat emptor'' I believe is the law
yer's Latin phrase. He wants to swap
| his products for our money: it is up
| to US to see that we get our money $
| worth.
| That is lust what such frank and
! informative reports as this I'm talk
| ing about help the busiest of us and
those least versed On technical chem
that these breakfast food preparations
are unwholesome or even adulterated-
Nobody questions but that they are,
at times, mighty convenient things to
have on the pantry shelf. When
oversleep and get up late. and the old
| kitchen stove won't draw and the
horses are whicxering and the sheep
bla-ating and the cows mooing for
to grab a carton of somebody's pre-
pared food, sprinkle on some sugar,
pour on some thick, sweet country
cream, and get down a very tolerable
meal before the fire would have
warmed up enough to cook me q single
grfddlecake. And there are other cir
cumstances in which it's handy to
have something from the bakery or
| the cereal factory on a shelf to meet
an emergency with.
But there are people who seem to
think that there's something mysterl-
Gus done to these factory made foods
which renders them 1ntrinsically bet
ter than the home cook can make
things from similar raw materials.
The manufacturers can't be expected
to deny or controvert any such idea;
it would not be business for them to
do so. That's where such unbiased
and impartial statements of the actual
facts as those I've alluded to, from
state servants speaking in the inter-
ests of the public and not the manu-
fActur0rS Immense
There are also people who can i'll af-
ford to spend hard earned money
merely to save trouble or crafty
taste. They want the best nourish-
ment obtainaIble at the least cost.
When they learn that the staple f1ours
and meals which cost less than three
cents a pound contain about the same
nourfShment, in about the same forms,
and in about the same state of digesti-
bi1fty as these fancy boxed prepare
tons which cost ten or fifteen cents
pound-when they learn this, they
ought to be able to see where they can
save money and still live wholesomely
and well.
incidentally, some occasional state
ments in this 1909 report suggest how
valuable its previous Investigations
have been to the consumers of the
state in protecting them from adul-
terated or misbranded goods. For ex-
ample. in 1896 out of 100 samples Of
terated; in 1909 not q single adulterated
sample was found. Again. in 1897, out
of 60 samples of olive oil bought from
grocers, % were found to be adul-
terated; in 1909, out Of A samples
similarly bought from grocers, not a
single one was found adulterated. Any
one who has carefully followed the
work of the station and its results
could doubtless add other equally
striking examples of the benefit to the
public from these disinterested exam
inations of food products, made by
public servants in the public's behalf.
| don't know a single soul in that
station, and have no wires to pun or
pipes to lay for anybody or anything
My only interest is in the public good.
L think we consumers have the right
to know what were asked to buy;
what it's made of, what it's good for,
and whether the sellers claims are
perfectly straight or whether they've
got warped between him and US.
think the getting and publishing such
information-not to hurt a few manu-
facturers and sellers, but to protect the
vast army of buyers and consumers
is legitimate function of the state.
which is only the organized servant of
the people, anyway. And when [ see
state station doing this service to the
people zealOusly and dnte1ligently and
with an eye single to the public ser
vice-as I think 1 do see it in this case
why, then, as one of the crowd, L
want. at least, to indicate my <appre-
citation.
It's important that we should keep
an eye on our officials, and be fear
Iessly ready with stern rebuke when
we see them f1inching or failing in
their duties. Its quite as important
that we he also ready with our com
mendation when they stand right UP
to the mark. No farmer has the moral
right to scold his hired man for 1azi-
ness or blundering unless he is just as
ready to say a good word when the
man does extra work or does work
extra well. Most of us work for wages
of some sort, but I've known cases
where frank and generous apprecia-
tion of good work has won future ser
vice that increased pay couldn't have
bought.
THE FARMER.