The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-09-23
EXPERTS ARE INTELLECTUAL
Wilson shows What Humbugs the
Tariff Board and other Repub-
Iican boards are Bound to BE

In recent address at Sioux City, Ia,
Governor Wilson drew attention to
the ineffectuality of boards of experts
established under republican adminis-
trationS He used il as an illustration
of his objection to commission or
board of experts to handle either the
tariff or the trust problem.
Gov. Wilson voiced for the first
time his objection to the tariff board
idea. declaring 1t would mean a post
ponement of tariff legislation.
He turned early in his speech to the
pure food question.
"Everybody now suspects" he said,
land the suspicion is based upon a
great many facts that can be estab-
lished by proof that these pure food
laws are not lived up to, that the in
spectiOn is not always what it ought
to be, and that great many things
are permitted to be done which nullify
the pure food laws.
II suppose that most of you know
that great controversy arose because
DR.. Wiley, who was in charge of the
pure food administration, objected to
the use of benZoate of soda in certain
things that were sold to you, partic-
ularly in cans for food. Now very
nice thing occurred. The gentlemen
who wanted to use the benZoate of
soda, persuaded the president, Mr..
Roosevelt, that this was scientific
question, and therefore he ought to
have a board of chemists to deter
mine 1t. And, Mr. Roosevelt picked
out some of the most eminent and
honest chemists in this country. head
ed by a personal friend of mine, the
/
and submitted to them this question:
is benzoate of soda hurtful to the hu-
man stomach or to the human diges-
tion when taken internally? Observe
that that was the only question sub
mitted to them and that was exactly
what the people who wanted to use
benzoate of soda for wrong purposes
wanted to limit the inquiry to. These
gentlemen had to say that benZoate of
soda in itself was not harmful to the
human system as / believe it is not.
But they were not asked this ques-
ton: Can benzoate of soda be used to
conceal putrificatiOn, can it be used in
things that have gone bad and to in
duce people to put them in their stom-
achs after they have gone bad?'
They were not asked that question.
because if they had been they would
have said Yes
II want to warn the people of this
country to beware of commissions of
experts. l have lived with experts all
my life and l know that experts don't
see anything except what Is under
their microscopes, under their eye.
They don't ever perceive what is under
their noses, and an expert feels in
honor bound to confine himself TO the
particular question which you have
asked.
Suppose you wanted to settle the
| liquor question by asking a body of
experts whether alcohol was poison or
not. 1 believe they would have to tell
you that 1t Is not
but does that settle the liquor
question? There are great many
things that you can take into your
stomach that are not poison that will
| make you crazy"
| Turning to trusts, the speaker dis
| ltinguished between big business and
| trusts. He referred to the success of
! Andrew Carnegie in the steel business
and declared that when Mr.. Carnegie'S
competitors found they could not un-
dersell him because he had more
brains in running the business they
bought him out at four or five times
the value Of his property and then by
what they charged afterwards fol-
their products they made us pay in
| terest on the four or five times the
amount of the value of the property
which they had paid him.
There is difference between a big
business and a trust. y trust is a big
business that has an arrangement tC
get rid of a competitor and a big bust
ness survives competition by conquer
ing in the field of intelligence and
economy. I am for big business and
am against the trusts"