The Washington herald., 1911-07-21

1t is predicted that the charges against
DIR. Harvey w. Wiley, chief Of the
Bureau Of Chemistry, in connection with
the salary of DIR. II. n. Rusby will prove
a boomerang and recoil upon the doped
food interests, which have handicapped
his administration Of the pure food laws
and have sought to oust him.
1t seems probable that the Remsen
board will be abolished, and some MEM
bers of Congress are limiting that Secre-
tary Wilson, of the Department Of Agri-
culture, Will find it convenient to resign.
The House Committee on Expenditures In
the Department of Agriculture, Of which
Representative Moss, Of Indiana, Is
chairman, will go to the bottom Of the
efforts to get wiley's scalp. and inter-
esting developments are scheduled.
Attacks in Congress-.
Some time ago the attacks in Congress
on the legal status of the board became
so violent 1t was thought well to have
an opinion from Attorney General Wick
ersham One was made public In which
Mr.. Wickersham held the board was
legally appointed. It now develops he
torney General, who prepared an opinion
that the board was illegal and had been
appointed without authority of law.
1t was quickly recognized that such an
opinion would place Secretary Wilson
and former President Roosevelt, under
whose administration the Remsen board
was created, in a bad hole, especially as
the board had expended 100000 in inves-
tigating benzoate of soda. Consequently,
the opinion of the Assistant Attorney
General was suppressed, and the ques-
ton was referred to Solicitor George P.
McCabe, who has no connection with the
Department of Justice. He wrote an
opinion sustaining his chief, Secretary
Wilson. The McCabe opinion was sent
to the Department of Justice and there
promulgated as the opinion of the At
torney General.
A copy of the original opinion declar-
ing the board illegal. which was sup
pressed in favor of the McCabe opinion, is
in existence, and will be produced before
the committee If called foN as 1t doubt
less will be.
1t is not improbable former President
Roosevelt will be summoned by the COM
mittee to tell of the circumstances lead
ing to the appointment of the Remsen
board 1t is reported on good authority
that he indicated to a prominent member
of the American Medical Association that
he had been misled in creating the
board. ..N
An Expensive Board.
While SO much fuss has been raised
over the salary Of s1,6Oo set aside for DR..
H. H Rusby, 1t is interesting to note
some of the sums paid the members of
the Remsen board, which in the three
and one-half years OF its existence has
cost the government several hundred
thousand dollars. and has given two
decisions-one reversing Wiley on ben
zoate Of soda and the other sustaining
him on saccharin. From March l. 1908.
to December 81 1909. this hoard drew
$50, 7s3, which was divided among Its
members as follows: DIR. Ira Remsen.
of Johns Hopkins. president, s11.s3l. SAL
ary and 5000 expenses, total, sl5, ,6S2; DR..
Russell H. Chittenden, Yale University.
s13,7O9 salary and S5,7e9 expenses, total
s19,4 ,479; DR.. Christian A. Herter, Column
bia University. S9,s22 salary and S3,5lS
expenses, total, s1S, $40; Dr. John A. Long,
Northwestern University, s15,6S5 salary
and sS473 expenses, total, s24, ,15S; DE- A.
E Taylor, University of California, ss,-
732 salary and 81. 419 expenses Since then
$50, 900 yearly has been set aside for sal
aries and expenses. -[