The Washington herald., 1912-11-05
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II anyone who b at al familiar With
Ithe wrstchsd ocganisatjon q the Bureau
Iof Chemistry and Its unseientinc meth0o6
cherished the Illusion that . nsw and
Ibrightsr era was to dawn with the ap-
pointmsnt Of IN energetic. competent man
| to All Dr.. wiley's place. and that the IN.
tvestigntion Of sthe bureau we're heuce-
forth to be % conducted that II. would b
Unnecessary to maintain at grest expeuse
| . referee hoard to check, UP the work Of
the bureau. be p doomed to cissppoint'
ment.
The pure food ana, drugs act. AZ fins .
piece Of leOlslasiQn - Congress ever enact
Cd. u declined TO remain ineffective b.
cause the head Of the Bureau OF Chemistry
| u either unable or unwilling to gathsr SCI
entinc evidence OF frauds and to present
that evidence In legal FORM Il Ii highly
probable that the real scasndsts In the
bureau. the men who have conscientious
ly sndeavorsd by rigorously conducted ex-
perimsnts to ascertain the actual and not
the supposed eRects Of drugs and pre-
servatives in foods and beverages. will re-
sign. leaving behind them Heterogeneous
collection OF alleged analysts and OF
|pseudo-chemists. Not until incompetent
omcials now in positions Of authority have
been relegated to places which they are
really able to Ill. and are prevented from
ministration Of the pure food and drugs
act will the Bureau Of Chemistry be In q
fair way to redeeming its shattered scien-
tific reputation.
1t IL astonishing to us that the press
throughout the country has failed to real
ize how farcical II IL to have . Bureau
Of Chemistry and q referee board engaged
hemently proclaiming its guardianship OF
the public stomach. the other critically
examining the facts by the rigorous meth
DDS Of scientific reasoning and expert
ment- In no other branch Of the gov
ernment service, certainly in no branch in
which scientific work is conducted, is this
anomaly to be found. The Bureau Of
Chemistry has the unenviable distinction
Of requiring supervision from an extrane-
Gus body Of experts Like the sophomore
class at college. 1t needs the correction Of
q faculty: and, a. might be expected. con-
ducts itself In q sophomore way.
The situation must be intolerable to
every man Of real scientific instincts. Men
who have conscientiously endeavored to
ascertain whether or not certain ingredi-
ents in food and drugs sold to the public
bold enough to voice their convictions in
reports recommending that manufactur-
ers be permitted to use these ingredients
because Of their harmless effect. have
been treated a. rascals. Men with little or
no laboratory experience. who have pre-
pared what may be called cooked-up evil
dence Of fraud and toxicity have been
praised and advanced. even though the
courts have ultimately decided against
them.
The daily press has hailed with euthu-
siasm the appointment as head Of the
Bureau Of Chemistry of q man whose past
career holds out no promise for future
reform in the methods Of administering
the pure food and drugs act. A graduate
Of an agricultural college in the Middle
West. he has never published any scien-
tiffic work Of importance; nor has he pur-
sued any graduate stucies. The relation
Of physiology to the pure food law Is q
sealed book to him. Far better would II
have been II an intelligent civilian with an
open mind had been appointed.
Alas. for the pure food laws! Manufsc-
turers who have money enough to fight In
the courts and to engage experts at high
market prices will continue to toy with II.
and the Door public will continue to allie
viate the pains Of indigestion. contracted
because Of the bureaus ineptitude, with
medicines whose sale the bureau ought to
prevent. II Undertaking" were stin Jour-
nalistically fashionable what q sensation
the exposure Of the conditions In the Bu-
reau Of Chemistry would create!