The Washington times., 1911-10-02
DR.. WILEY IN FULL CONTROL
AGAIN.

The Washington Times will be par
doned, it is trusted, a modest satisfac-
tion in the complete success of the
effort to save the pure food law from
its enemies, and to restore it to the
exclusive guardianship of DR.. Wiley.
At juncture when it seemed that all
the powers of the Administration were
determined on the undoing of the chief
chemist, The Times took up the cudgels
for him, and it did not relax its eff
forts until complete success crowned
the fight to save the food law.
Secretary Wilson has determined
that the food laws enforcement shall
be in future the exclusive province of
the man who developed the public SEN
timent and secured the Congressional
action that gave the country that
measure. He accepts without hesita-
tion the verdict of the country that
this is the proper course. DR.. Wiley
will boss the job from this day. He
will not be overruled by auxiliary
boards, associates in the executive
work, or anybody else.
DR.. Wiley is particularly to be con-
graduated on the vindication that has
come to him, because it was forced by
an uprising of public opinion. Presi-
dent Taft would have lost no time in
dismissing Wiley, whom he regarded
as a good deal of a nuisance, if the
vigorous demand of the whole people
had not been sent up in his behalf.
The Presidents personal attitude to-
ward Wiley was clearly indicated when
he overruled Wiley and all the other
authorities in the whisky affair and
permitted the Cincinnati rectifiers to
win their case. That was a particu-
larly vicious performance, because from
the very beginning there had been
more than intimations-there had been
circumstantial report and general be-
lief-that the President had in effect
given assurance to the rectifers that,
if the power were vested in him, he
would make sure that they won their
contentious. They did win; and they
won only by the grace of the Presi-
dent, who had to reject the counsels
and rulings of Wiley, the food and
drug board, Attorney General Bona
parte, President Roosevelt, and Solici-
tor General Bowers. 1t has been es-
pecially desirable that the food laws
enforcement and Interpretation in the !
early years of its operation, should be
intrusted to a man in thorough sym !
pathy with its largest, broadest
purposes of usefulness to the people.
Everything indicated Wiley as that
man. He had the record, the scientific |
equipment, the experience, and, more
important than all these together, the |
courage.
From the first the fight against him
was foxy, insidious, indirect. All the
way from the White House down to |
the associate who was put at his side
in his office Wiley was handicapped By
objections, uncertainties, opposition,
Misrepresentation. His powers were
gradually taken away from him and
given to men more than willing to
become part of the plan to break down
the law.
1t must be understood that Secre-
tary Wilson's determination to hand
the law back to Wiley's exclusive
jurisdiction is only a temporary ar
rangement. It's permanence depends
on the Presidents approval. The real
question is for the President.
Whatever plan is proposed must be
watched. Suggestion has been put
forth of creating a new bureau, in
cluding wider sweep of authority over
questions involving the public health,
and placing this bureau. under the
Treasury or the Department of Com
merce and Labor. As to this the man
ner is more important than the form.
The food law must be put where poll |
ticians and plotters cannot get at it.
1t is said that the food law is not |
agriculture. True enough; but cer-
tainly it is not finance, and finance
wants to be kept out of it mighty