Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-04-27
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Bill 10 Regulate Cold Stor-
ageWou|d AffeciThatSum.
Father Of Pure Food Law Work
ing in Interest of Consumer.
Dangers of AduIteration-- Method OF
Rejuvenating Shad Discovered.

Washington, April Ex-senator Well
don L. Hepburn of Idaho is hopeful of
Igetting his cold storage bill through
the Sixty second Congress. This is a
measure of great Importance to the
consumer and to the health of the
community 1t aims to protect the
lpublic against decomposed meats.
poultry. fish. eggs and butter and, in
view Of its antecedents, is not to be
Regarded as a visionary proposition.
Senator Hepburn drafted and press
ed to it's final passage the food and
ldrugs act, commonly known as the
1pure food law He was beaten in two
congresses but won in the third with
la measure which makes it crime for
any dealer to sell or even transport in
Interstate commerce articles of@zfoed
land drugs which are adulterated or
/ misrepresented. This was one of the
greatest pieces of national legislation
lever enacted and only a man of the
force of Senator Hepburn could have
carried it through.
The present proposition had its
genesis in a bin introduced by Senator
/
keeping in cold storage for more than
a year of certain food articles. The
lbin which was intended only as a
| tentative suggestion, was referred to
the Committee on Manufactures and it
was indicated in this correspondence
at the time that it had fallen into the
welcoming hands of the father of the
pure food law Chairman Hepburn at
| \ 4. l, eli of
investigation with all his powers of in
dustry and application. Hearings were
given and promptly on the converting
| OF the Sixty second Congress Senator
| Hepburn introduced his bill. accom-
panied with a comprehensive report.
| The trades to which it would apply are
| taking the bill seriously and already
/ have requested further hearings. which
/ probably will be granted. now that
concrete proposition has been present
1 ed.
The jurisdiction of the bill neees-
sarily is confined To the District of
| Columbia and other possessions of the
United States. for of course Congress
i cannot regulate the wholesale and re-
tail trade of any state. 1t can and
would By this bill prohibit the trans
! portation between states of any Of the
articles included within the prohibi-
tons but it could not, of courses~reach
i local dealers by law. Hence in
measure the Hepburn bill will serve
rather as a model for the states to
copy than an instrument of direct
regulation.
1t provides first that any OF the fol-
lowing named articles the manufac-
lures or products slereof, shall be
deemed to be "adultcrated" if held in
cold storage for more than the periods
designated. as follows;
/ Beef. seven months.
4 Veal, four months
i Pork, four months
Il Sheep, four months.
i Lambs, three months.
| Poultry. three months.
/ Game. three months
| Fish. three months.
| Eggs. three months.
Butter, three months.
/ Hits Thanksgiving Turkey.
| Included also in the prohibition is
any article of food which. having been
held in cold storage for any period, has
been removed therefrom and returned
again TO cold storage. This provision
| would apply, especially to the Thanks
giving turkey, which is placed in re-
| frigerators perhaps in October, taken
out and exposed for sale (and con-
tamination) about Thanksgiving time.
then held by the local dealer until af-
ter Christmas and then (what is left
over) is again returned to the great
l fnt " q ~ IN N M
especially applies TO the great storage
| plants rather than the refrigerators of
the retailers. 1t defines the term
| cold storage as meaning the deposit
| of food products in warehouses, build
| ings or other receptacles where for a
longer period than ten days the tenn
perature is artlficially kept at forty de-
grees Fahrenheit or below. except
when the products are actually in
| transit and have not previous to such
transit been in cold storage.
OF direct interest to the consumer l,
! the labelling provision. The bill requires
the original package. say barrel. to be
labelled plainly wRh the date of produc
ton. killing, packing or manufacturing
and the period during which the article
| has been held in cold storage. It adds
| translating into popular terms-that wher
| a customer goes TO a dealer and buys q
| turkey the seller shall if so requested By
the purchaser tag the turkey with a labe
bearing the exact information to be found
on the original package
Il want TO place some of the response
bility on the purchaser" explained Sena-
tor Hepburn, 'If this bill becomes Jaw
| the consumer can protect himself through
this provision if he is interested enough
to do so. If he is not, of course, he can
not complain at what he receives"
While the hearings We're in process the
dealers protested strongly against the
| labelling provision. but Senator Heyburn
| conducted a little investigation of his
own and COMPOUNDED them all with the
| discovery that il was the trade practice
now to label meats and poultry and other
articles TO which The raw would apply.
! The only difference was that the labels
We're in cipher and of course meant moth
ing TO the purchaser. The Senator