Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-07
M|LLERS CONVICTED.
Federal Jury Finds Them
Guilty of Bleaching Flour
CASE REGARDED AS TEST.
Puts Ban of the Government on the
Alsop Process.
CASE WILL BE APPEALED
Defendants Declare They Were Led
to Believe Trial Would Be
Before a Referee.

| Before a Referee.
the bleached flour case yesterday after
noon returned q verdict that the -four
seized was adulterated and misbranded.
| The government charged that certain
flour shipped by the Lexington Mill and
| Elevator Company of Lexington. Neb.. to
| B. o. Terry. a grocer at Castle, Mo-, had
| been treated by the Alsop process of
bleaching. which, the government de-
clared. adultered the -four in violation Of
| the pure food statute, and that the ship
ment was misbranded.
The verdicts were returned in the fed
eral court after seven hours elaboration
by the Jury that for more than five weeks
had listened to testimony for and against
the charge of the government that 625
sacks of -four. bleached and sold by the
Lexington Mill and Elevator Company
government while in the possession OF the
purchaser, a grocer at Castle. Mo, were
adulterated and. misbranded.
Victory for Government.
The verdicts of adulterating and mis-
branding were a complete victory for the
government, which prosecuted the suit
under the pure food and drug act The
government charged that the flour was
adulterated in that it was bleached by the
A1sop process. which makes use Of nitrogen
peroxide in bleaching flour. Misbrarding
was charged in that the flour was labeled
Of first grade hard winter wheat.
Bruce Elliott, chief counsel for the mill
ers, made the following statement after
the jury had reported:
This case was not one that should
have been tried by a jury. / calleu per-
sonally on President Taft and assured
him that all the millers desired was a fair
test case.
Assured of Fair Test.
The President assured me that the
millers would not be harried. and that a
fair test would be had Immediately
thereafter. under orders of the Attorney
General. these seizures began in differ
ent parts Of the country. We started out
to defend the cases on the assumption
that the government would permit them
to be tried before a referee.
President Roosevelt appointed a
board Of scientific men for just such q
purpose, and the board has settled many
cases that came up under the pure food
law. such, for instance, as the benzoate
Of soda case. But, when this case came
to trial, the Attorney General refused to
let this board act, and insisted on a jury
trial"
Attorneys for he millers will hle mo-
ton for a new trial within twenty days,
If the motion is overruled, the case will
be carried to the circuit court of APP
peals.
Means Loss of Millions.
Millers say that the bleached -four de-
cision will handicap farmers of the south
west $16.O0O.O0O a year. They say the
old differential of ) cents a bushel In
vogue in Chicago and ST. Louis mar
kets before bleached -four came in will
soon reappear.
They further say that farmers of Mis-
souri,, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska
will lose cents a bushel on their pres
ent crop, and that flour made from hard
winter wheat soon will be selling at %
cents a barrel less than at present. Mill
ers are considering the establishment of
bleaching stations in states, where the
use of bleached fiour Is not prohibited.
Thus they say they may avoid the in
terstate commerce law.