The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-11-24
FOOD AND
DRUGS NOW SOLD
Effects Of Legislation Have Been
Most Salutary Declares
DR.. Wiley
GREAT TRIUMPH FOR PEOPLE
Expert Points Out Difficulties Met
With in Securing Laws
Against Adulteration.

Philadelphia, Pa, Nov. 2l.-"'rhe ef-
fects of the pure food and drugs act
haYe been most salutary," declared DIR.
Harvey w. Wiley chief chemist of the
! Department of Agriculture. principal
advocate OF that measure i'm an address
before the American Academy of Po-
litical and Social Science here last
night.
mot only has it inspired neW code
Of ethics i'm the trade of pure foods"
continued DIR. Wiley, but 1t has made
it possible for honest dealers to con-
duct a business without the ruinous
competition of adulterators and de-
basers."
The theme of DIR. Wileys address
was the pure food and drugs act which
he strived for many years to have en-
acted by Congress. He told of how the
special interests" got together and
blocked the enactment of the bill,
which sometimes passed one house OF
Congress only to be killed in the other.
/ Friends of the legislation, he declared.
had waited for the education of a pub
lie opinion. which would emphasize so
strongly the necessity for it's passage
that even its opponents could no longer
obstruct.
This great fight" he said. went on
for more than quarter of century
before the passage of the act of June
80, 1906"
Big Improvement Brought About.
DIR. Wiley epitomized the result that
the pure food and drugs act has had on
the business world. The unethical spirit
of commerce i'm foods and drugs, he as
serted, had been wholly reformed and
the character of foods and drugs Of
fcred for consumption had been i'm
mcnsely improved
These effects have extended not on
ly to foods and drugs" he averred,
"but TO correlated business interests
and now the people are crying for en-
actment of pure food laws for all
forms of merchandise The hope is
not idle that ere many years all forms
OF business will be controlled by the
and drugs act"
DIR. Wiley opened his address with
the assertion that the primary cause !
of the pure food law was the cupidity |
of commerce.
THE keen competition Of trade" he
said, led men to debasc the wares
which they hoped to sell at the price of
Al ffn,I, a
debase the genuine article they made |
an imitation of it which they offered |
under the name of the genuine article.
If they did neither they misrepresent- |
cd the qualities of the article, ascrib- !
ing to it virtues of all kinds which ii !
did not possess"
a symposium of methods which were
used by these adulterators was then
given by Dr. Wiley. He said the maxi
ers of these goods were not prejudlced |
against humanity, or bore any enmity |
to man as an animal.
"The conscience of the people," he
declared "was scared as with a hot
iron and these practices were boldly /
conducted by men who would have
spurned any imputation of dishonesty
or crooked dealing and yet every one
of them was getting money under false
pretenscs and was as much a thief as
If he had gone upon the highway in
the good old-fashioned Robin Hood
These then were the evils to
be corrected.
Had to Fight Strong Lobby.
"The fight for pure food was a fight
against the communism of greed. All
the interests stood together. They felt
that if one was sacrificed all might go,
hence every movement which was
made to correct this condition of af-
fairs by legislation was met with the
united and thoroughly controlled lobby
the interests of every de-
scription which were thriving on the
sale of adulteratcd and misbranded
foods and drugs These interests did
not fight i'm the open except on rare
occasions. They tried to conceal their
identity and their purpose and usually
as friends of pure food and
drug legislation and thus urged certain
or verbiage. which If
adopted would have let out the Offend
ers one and all.
IF they could not succeed i'm this
they brought substitute bills with
show of honesty and yet full of flaws
favorable To corrupt practices. They
never for n moment ceased their active
opposition and to the legislator who
did not look under the surface their ar
and were for many years effective"
"A bill is pending for a pure food
law for paint" said Dr. Wiley in con-
"and so It extends from one
realm of commerce 20 another" |,