El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-21

"a -'A<Acto CoHN culAOn VI the mlIIerS
! ~ of the United States will con-
vene tomorrow in Minneapo-
+ lis the call for the convention having
/ been sent out by the Millers' National
| Federation Of the United States. 1t is
! expected that this convention will be
the largest body of miliers ever as
SembIed- There will be many serious
: questions considered, among them that
! OF the bleaching of flour, and that of
ways and means of increasing the pro-
duct1on of wheat in the United States
The convention will be addressed by
such notables James j. HILL the
empire builder of the northwest, Prof.
A s Woods, and Prof. NJ A Carlton.
The millers of the country regard
the problem of increasing the produc-
ton of wheat in the United States as
one OF the most pressing questions Of
the uay- Ihey agree entirely with
James j. Hill that unless something is
! uone to build up the acre yield of
wheat, the day is not far distant when
the United States. for so MANY wears
one or the leading wheat exporters of
the world, will become one of the wheat
importing nations. The rapid growth
oI the population of the country has
prevented the farmer from maintaining
the same ratio between production and
consumption that hitherto existed. and
unless somewhat revolutionary methods
are pursued the entire surplus for ex-
port will be wiped out.
Palestine Wheat Plant Discovered
M1IIers are inclined to look UNION a
botanical discovery recently made IN
Palestine as having a very important
bearing on the wheat situation ii, tsH.s
Uniteo states A German scientist has
discovered a plant in Palestine which
ne peheves to be the ancestor of the
modern American wheat plant Under
present day conditions of agriculture
the wheat plant has lost is quality OF
self propagation. and but for the pre-
paration of its seed bed by man. il
might become extinct
The Palestine wheat plant is so bar-
dy that 1t can hold its own in anv COM
bat with weeds. and 1t is hoped that
by cross breeding with the American
wheats, new variety may be built IN
which viii possess all of the produc-
tive qualities of existing varieties. to-
gether with the qualities of hardf-
ness possessed by the new discovered
Asiatic plant
Bleaching to be Considered
Next In Importance to the question
of increased wheat yield is that of the
right Of millers TO bleach their fours
Under the pure food law. this ques-
tlon has been a serious issue, and be-
tween the action of The various pure
food commissions and boards of the
country and the decisions of the courts
the bleached flour milIers have had a
strenuous time in defending their pro-
duct On their behalf, it is claimed
that the bleaching of -four is nothing
but a process of rapid aging This is
accomplished. it is asserted, through
the action of oxygen and electricity in
the air. The bleachers claim that they
Go nothing but create this action I'M
der artificial conditions.
On the other hand, the opponents Of
bleached flour contend that the secret
OF white flour lies mainly in having
the wheat cleaned. They assert that
If 1t is properly washed, the resulting
flour will be perfectly white They con-
tend that no flour can be whittier than
the whiteness Of the inside Of a grain |
of wheat; and that any attempt at /
bleaching is simply an effort TO cover /;
up the presence of insuficientIy /
washed grain. Moreover. the pure food !
experts assert that the bleaching of !
flour interferes with the properties Of
the gluten 1t contains. and adds GER }
tain nitrites which are deleterious TO |
the health of those who use bleached
-four.
Bleached Flour as Rabbit Food
Last year this question was thor
oughly threshed out in the courts Of
North Dakota under the pure food
regulations of that state. In the course
Of the hearings on the subject. the de-
of bleached flour brought into
The court room bleaching machine.
and IN the presence of the judge pro-
ceeded to demonstrate the process Of
bleaching flour. After repeated opera
tons, the bleached flour was subjected
10 laboratory experiments and was
lsed in tests on rabbits brought into
court. It was claimed by the defence.
Ind by the expert witnesses they had
m the stand. that no deleterious eff
ect on the rabbits could be observed.
Flour first was artificially bleached
n 1898 by being treated with "ozonized
lir-" Later, the process was changed
~ the employment of electric dis
harges containing binOxide of nitro
zen in very small quantities. con-
tant stream Of -four is kept passing
through, the bleaching chamber while |
he electric discharges take place 1t
s claimed by the millers that the ONLY
hange which takes place through this {
rocess is that the oils contained in the ,
our are made whittier than thew were .
Then it was unbleached
The millers of the country feel that :
hey are an ill-used lot, so far as their
,