The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-04
CAN WILSON CLEAR
 THE REMSEN BOARD
Dr. Remsen Declares Board Is "Tired of. Endless
 Attack"

Washington, August 3.-Until Secretary of Agriculture Wilson is called to the witness stand before the house commit tee on agricultural expenditures the true purpose for which the Remsen pure food referee board was created promises to be the subject of bitter contention before tE at committee. Whether Secretary Wil- soa. removes the feeling that apparently exists in the committee against the board remains to be seen when he takes the stand which will probably not be for several days
 Official reports of a hearing in the az roultural department, when Secretary Wilson stated to saccharine manufacture CTS that the Remsen board had been ap- pointed to conserve the interests of the manufacturers, were produced before the committee today.
 Accompanying these reports was file of letters from the agricultural department bearing upon the Remsen boards affairs. In one of the letters Secretary Wilson assured Dr. Taylor. now of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, that he had not | made the statements credited to him re- garding the purpose for which the Rem sen board was formed.
 The Remsen pure food referee board would welcome finding that 1t is illegal, declared Dr. Ira w. Remsen, chairman o1 the board before the House commit tee on agricultural department expendi- lures today. This is the tribunal to which Dr. Wiley's pure food decisions are referred, and which reversed pr. Wiley's finding that benzoate of soda was delter- ious to health
 Dr. Remsen, who is president of Johns Hopkins university, said the scientists who compose his board are tired of this endless attack, the motive for which we cannot ascertain. We all agreed when the question of the legality of the board was raised" said Dr. Remsen that it would be a great relief to all of us if our body would be declared illegal
 Dr. Remsen denied that any members of the board had ever tried to influence state courts or state authorities in favor oe benzoate of soda. Representative Moss of Indiana asked why Drs. Crittenden of Yale, and Long of the Northwestern uni versity, members of the board had gone to Indiana to testify in the sluit of h. diana to prohibit the use of benzoate of soda. Dr. Remsen said certain manufac- turers of foods had asked them to go and the members of the board first con- ferred with him. He conferred with Sec retary Wilson, who told him there was no impropriety in testifying to the facts determined by their investigation.
 'Who paid these expenses to Indiana?" asked Representative Floyd.
 T believe they were paid by the de- partment of agriculture
 Representative Higgins asked for what purpose the Remsen board purchased ehiffoniers.
 Those were to fit up the rooms offered by the persons upon whom the experi- ments were being made,' said Dr. Rem sen.
 "The so-called poison squadg
 That is a most objectionable name a most unjust term It prejudged the whole case by using that word poison. We called them the experimental squad"
 Dr. Remsen said that no member of the board would have accepted appoint ment except that the understanding that his work was to be entirely free from influence, and his findings to be based entirely on scientific experiments.