The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-10-03
SELLING BAD MILK
More Than One-Third of Topeka
Restaurants Are TabOOed.
DIR. Babb, City Milk Inspector,
Makes Startling Discovery.
PROFIT 500 PER CENT.
Some Places Buy Skinned Milk
and Water 1t.
Out OF 65 Inspections, % Come
Under the Average.
PROFIT 500 PER CENT.

More than one-third of the 65 bet
ter class restaurants in Topeka sell
either watered or skinned milk ac-4
cording to recent Investigations made
by DR.. George Babb. city milk inspec-
tor. The % of these IS restaurants
which do not come up to the test in
milk sales are not only the establish
ments on lower Kansas avenue and
East Fourth street but right in the
heart of the business district, the eat
ing places patronized by the higher
class people.
The city ordinances provide, that
milk sold over the counter at a res
taurant or hotel must have u per cent
milk solids and "a per cent fat The
average restaurant in Topeka barely
| escaped the fat provision. One res
taurant had as low as no fat at all.
At this place the milk was not only
devoid of fat but it was sour and had
big chunk of ice in it.
DR. Babb made a personal investi-
cation of the milk conditions in the
! city. He spent three days in going to
the So eating places, sitting at the
counter or table, ordering a glass of
milk and then dumping the contents
of his glass in his test tubes and TAX
| ing it to his laboratories at the city
| hall
He kept an accurate account of each
glass sold and made a thorough test
Of the contents. The percentages were
kept on record and the worst places
in the city are given in another place
in this column. That more than one
third of the Topeka eating houses sell
diluted milk is the most sensational
feature dug up since the city has sup
ported the office of city milk inspec-
tor. DR. Babb has been making
speciality of investigating schemes con-
nected with the selling of milk which
| do the public injustice
Preparing to Send Warning.
DR.. Babb is preparing to send a
copy of the city ordinance and let
ter of warning to every restaurant
! keeper. He will warn them of the
| fact that fine of from So to 500 is
customary in such cases and another
/ discovery of this kind will bring many
OF them into the police court
The most amazing fact in connec-
! ton with this recent discovery of DIR.
Babb is that the restaurant keepers
themselves ruin their milk for public
use. The milk dealers in Topeka handle
the white Hquod that goes above an
average of t per cent. This means
that after the restaurants buy their
milk they either water it with plain
water or chunks of ice or skim it for
! other uses and give the remainder to
the public.
And this isn't ALL" said DR.. Babb
\ this afternoon 81 have found that
number of the eating places buy
| skinned milk and sell it for good
For instance they pay 10 cents gall
| lon for skinned milk and sell it at 5
| cents a glass over the counter. This
nets them 80 cents a gallon-a profit
| of 500 per cent. And some of them
are not satisfied with this profit
! they put chunks of ice in the glasses. -
Places Worst Near Railroad Stations.
DR.. Babb has been planning an in
vestigation of this kind for some time
and three days last week he completed
/ his work covering practically all of
! the larger restaurants in the city. He
/ found that the worst places were near
! the railroad stations-a place where
strangers to Topeka are given their on
/ ly impression of the city when they
purchase milk-and it is poor one
! In one instance the Union Pacific hotel
cafe sold milk that averaged only 2
| per cent.
| The hotels were not investigated, but
DR.. Babb has his eyes on them. He
| promises a visit to the hoste1ries some
/ time in the future.
The following places tested below
the required 8 Il per cent fat require
] ments-with their percentages:
Rock Island restaurant, los Kansas
| avenue, "a; Howard cafe, ia Kansas
/ avenue, 80; Dick JohnSon'S restaurant,
| 100 Kansas avenue, 90; Topeka cafe,
112 Kansas avenue, 80; Skaters rest
aurant, 216 Kansas avenue, 2.3; Basho
hotel 221 Kansas avenue, 21; Elite
restaurant 307 Kansas avenue, .08;
Darby's restaurant, 4O71z Kansas ave-
nue., 90; Arcade cafe, 414 Kansas ave-
nue.. rs; N. B. Frisbee, 412 Kansas
Kansas avenue, OF; Mrs. c. H. Trap,
712 Kansas avenue, 81; James Manusos,
sos Kansas avenue, &c; Dads Place, 904
Kansas avenue, 1.9; Shafer, 929 Kansas
avenue, 81; Ladies' Exchange, ia East
Seventh, IL; Owen, 504 East Fourth,
10; Thomas, $40 East Fourth, 80;
Frank Wilson, 421 Holiday. 2.6; Long,
SOP East Fifth, o.; A. Alba. zoos Kan
sas avenue, 90; Vost, 1011 Kansas av-
enue. "a; Bon Ton, 119 West Sixth, OIL;
Sprague, 521 North Kansas avenue, IS;
Thomas Wins. 523 North Kansas ave
nue., %; Union Pacific hotel, 90; J. P.
Johnson. $40 North Kansas avenue,
20; D. z. Leasure, $40 North Kansas
avenue, "a; L. NJ Fort, $40 North
Kansas avenue, IS; n. E. restaurant,
1864 West Fifth, watered; Mission
Tea Room, so. watered; Mrs. Wiley,
Commercial building, IA watered.
The restaurants testing highest were:
| Harris cafe. SO Kansas avenue, II; c.
Z. Bader, lis East Fourth, so; Row
ner & Wehe, 400 East Fourth, 10; Z.
P. Burke, 1907 Kansas avenue, rs.