Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-08-18
WILEY'S HANDS TIED.
Solicitor Of Agricultural Department
Real Boss of Situation.

Real Boss of Situation.
Washington, August 16.-Dr. Harvey
w. Wiley, chief Of the bureau Of
chemistry Of the agricultural depart
ment, testified before the house in
vestigating committee today that he
has surrendered practically all of his
authority for enforcing the pure food
law to DR.. F. L. Dunlap, associate
chemist, and George P. McCabe, solic-
itor of the agricultural department.
Overruled in two thirds of the cases he
has brought before the food and drugs
inspection board, composed Of these
two men and himself, he declared that
he had found it useless to appeal to
Secretary Wilson, and had not even
received an answer to one Of the most
important appeals he had made to the
secretary.
DR.. Wiley, summoned before the
committee to tell of his connection
with the employment of DR.. H. H.
Rusby on an alleged illegal contract,
gave to the committee the most IL
Eliminating information that has been
developed in the investigation now be-
ing made Of the agricultural depart
ment.
He testified he had never received
the letter from DIR. Rusby which was
used by the personnel board to prove
that he knew about the Rusby con-
tract. He said that in using his letter.
the personnel board had omitted its
most essential portion, namely, the
statement Of DR.. Rusby that I'VE have
agreed upon the following arrangement
as fair and satisfactory, If approved
by the department"
DR.. Wiley stated that Solicitor Nc
Cabe held the decisive vote on the
n Of
When DR.. Wiley and DR.. Dunlap dis
agreed on questions Of chemistry, 1t
was Solicitor McCabe who decided
whether a prosecution should be made.
In fully 100 cases said DR.. Wiley, where
he and DIR. Dunlap had voted together
and Solicitor McCabe had disagreed
with them, DR.. Dunlap changed his
vote to agree with Mr.. McCabe.
did you ever appeal from these
decisions?" he was asked.
II found 1t was useless to appeal" I"
said DR.. Wiley, "for the secretary in
variably upheld the decision Of the
board"
In two cases he did appeal, he add
ed, where he thought public health
was seriously menaced." One Of
these involved the labelling Of gluten
-four the food Of diabetes patients.
The boards decision he believed, left
physicians without sufficient informa-
| ton as to the exact contents and
strength Of the -four In this case
the secretary upheld the board.
The other case involved the label
ing Of fruits and fruit products which
contained sulphur dioxide. This SUBJ
ject Is now before the Remsen pure
food referee board. The board COM
posed Of three cabinet members, Sec
retaries MacVeagh, Wilson and Ma
gel, decided that manufacturers could
continue to use the sulphuring pro-
cess, If the fact was made clear on the
label.
DR.. Wiley left the agricultural de-
partment one day at four o'clock to
go to Boston. Between that time and
430 when the department closed, he
said, special meeting Of the board Of
| food and drug inspection was called
| Dr. Dunlap acting as chairman a de-
cision was made overruling the "three
secretaries" board. and permitting
manufacturers to use the sulphuring
process without publishing the fact on
their labels.
AS soon as he returned to Wash
| ington and learned Of the action, said
Dr. Wiley, he wrote to Secretary Will
son, appealing to him from the deci-
| sion and declaring that the health OF
| the public, particularly Of invalids to
whom fruit juices are often prescrib-
ed, was seriously threatened by the de-
cision; and that the board Of food and
drug inspection had no right to over
rule the three secretaries.
What was Secretary Wilson's an
swer?" asked Representative Floyd
Of Arkansas, who had conducted the
questioning for the Moss committee.
DR.. Wiley.
Washington, August II: DR.. Harvey
w. Wiley, chief of the bureau Of
chemistry, created a sensation today
before the house investigating COM
mittee when he charged that three
cabinet officers, sitting as a board Of
review, had reversed the governments
ruling in a corporation case after the
corporation had offered money to
chemists to endorse it's food product
The case was that Of the Corn Pro-
ducts company, whose right to apply
the bureau Of chemistry and the board
Of food and drug inspection had de-
MED.
DR.. Wiley testified that when the
bureau and the board had agreed that
the name was a misapplication, the
corporation had offered money to
chemists to make affidavits that corn
syrup" was a proper description.
Shortly afterwards, he declared, the
board Of three cabinet officers, the Sec
retary of the treasury, Mr.. Cortelyou,
the secretary Of commerce and labor,
Mr.. Starnes, and the secretary of agri-
culture, Mr.. Wilson, set aside the de-
cision and sustained the contention Of
the corporation. That ruling, he add
ed, still stands.
The Corn Products company, said
DR.. Wiley, charged that he had been
very busy" in creating sentiment
against its products. He acknowl-
edged that he had written to every
state chemist whose duty it was to
enforce the pure food laws. He said
he did not receive one answer favor
a hla to "corn avrun" He will resIrne