The Washington herald., 1911-08-19

food commission of Prussia had pub
lished statement only two months age
in which 1t declared that 1t had studied
the experiments of both DIR. Wiley and
that 1t did not consider the experiments of
the Remsen board as having been thor
oughly conducted, and it fully indorsed
the conclusions by DIR. Wiley that the
use of these substances in the preser-
walton of food is harmful, and caused an
order to be passed prohibiting their use
in the manufacture and preservation OF
foods admitted within its jurisdiction.
| DR.. Wiley told of how he had used
every means to induce other members
of the board to agree to allow prosecu-
| ton under the pure food act in all
cases where the Remsen board had these
| and similar questions under consideration
and pending their decision. He told how
he had offered to vote with the mem
| bers of the board to suit them in some
cases IL they would only agree to fol-
low this course, but they refused to dc
| so.
Advantage Due Consumer.
i "The reason / ant this DONE" ex-
planned DIR. Wiley with some show OF
earnestness, rs because in all cases of
doubt as to the safety.-of the use of a
chemical agent In foods, I believe in
giving the consumer the benefit of the
doubt. Preservation of public health is
| the first great duty of my Office, and ]
believe I am best discharging that duty
by taking such course
/ The principle upon which DR.. Wiley
proceeded in his experiments with borax.
salicylic acid, saltpeter, benzoate of soda,
| and other substances on the twelve
healthy young men for eight months at
| a time for six or seven years interested
the members of the committee greatly.
| Special interest was taken in DIR. Wiley S
declaration that his objection to the use
Of preservat!ves, was founded on a notion
| that he had held that any substance
| which would kill the living germ, as all
preservatives must do in order to be pre-
servatives at all, was a highly dangerous
| substance to be taken into the human
body and to come in contact with the
| living germs there.
egeerof' sbev tasoe etaoi shr emf vbg
st. Louis, Mo-, Aug. 1s.-'Iong Tom"
On cross-examination by Representa-
| tive Sloan on preservatives, the doctor
was asked regarding alcohol, when he
checked the question with the reply:
II am not advocating the use Of al
cohol in any case"
But" persisted his questioner, al
cohol is a preservative.''
| all right"
Classified Drugs in Book.
One of the best instances Of the thwart-
ing Of the work DR.. Wiley is doing IS
the case in which DR.. Dunlap told Sec
retary Wilson that DR.. Wiley and his
department were doing outside work on
the revision of the United States Pharma-
copoeia and was engaging the time Of the
Bureau of Chemistry to do this work. In
describing this instance and its results
DR.. Wiley told how he had been unex-
pectedly elected president Of the phar-
macopoeial convention in 1910 to hold
office for ten years, and. If he lives, will
preside at the meetings of the convention
in 1920. He is ex officio member of the
committee to revise the Pharmacopoeia
for its next edition. He is also chairman
Of the committee to revise the essential
oils.
By the pure foods and drugs act the
United States Pharmacopoeia is the recog-
niz6d standard of the drugs. This is the
standard that the Bureau of Chemistry
must follow in deciding whether a drug
is up to the standard of strength or
purity required by law, and this is the
basis that fixes whether or not prose-
cution shall be made in many cases. It
committee, apparently, that the Bureau
of Chemistry could not do its work
unless it knew what those standards
are.
DR.. Wiley regarded this book as one
of the workink tools of the Bureau of
Chemistry which the law ordered II to
use. 1t was therefore the object Of the
bureau in its work OF securing pure
drugs for the use OF the people to see
ttot
should be as high as possible.
Entire Work Cost Only S55.
He was engaged upon this work when
DR.. Dunlap told on him. Secretary Will
son Immediately asked for a report upon
the work that was being done on this
line. A letter from DIR. Wiley to the
Secretary was read. in which it ap-
peared that the total time that had been
spent on the work, done at odd times.
by the clerical and other force was not
more than sixteen hours, and that the
total expense in salaries, materials used
and in all directions would not exceed
SIS
On this work being referred to Solicitor
McCabe. he promptly declared the work
Illegal" and II was ordered stopped
This order, DR.. Wiley said, was instantly
cheyed. The impression which the COM
mittee got was that it was decided to be
illegal for the bureau to aid in setting
the standard which the law required II
to use and upon which prosecutions were
to be made in the future.
= Representative French returned to his
efforts to find some plan whereby the
efficiency Of the work of the board of
foods and drugs could be increased, and
he was rather surprised by the alacrity
with which DR.. Wiley approved e sug-
gestion by which Solicitor McCabe should
limit his activities to the other bureaus
over which, he operates, and that DR..
Wiley should have law officer of his
own to give him the legal advice he re-
quired The doctors willingness to dis
pense with Solicitor McCabe's aid in his
work excited some laughter.
Better without McCabe.
But continued the doctor earnestly,
with one law officer and one good ste
nographer 1 can do more work than is
now done. and do 1t, at one one-hun-
dredth part of the present COST
Members of the committee were set
to wondering when 1t was brought out
that Solicitor McCabe would not let Dr.
Wiley publish a bulletin telling about
the pure food laws In the States of the
United States, and only this month al
lowed DR.. Dunlap to publish one tell
ing about the pure food laws of Great
Britain. DR.. Wiley showed that there
was great demand for q compilation of
pure food regulations in the United
States. and that there was no such off,
cial compilation published.