The Daily Missoulian., 1912-10-13
This. published statement Of

I
| least. Either the worthy doctor Is
lis making him ungenerous. After the
passage of the food and drugs bill
! in the senate, the friends of pure
food packed their grips and went iris
umphantly home, believing the fight
won-all except DIR. Wiley, who was
stationed in Washington, and Robert
M. Allen, of Frankfort, KY, who vas
at that time secretary of the State
Food and Dairy Commissioners Ma
tional organization.
| If any one worked harder or more
efficiently for a federal food and
! drugs law than Bob Allen, l did not
happen to meet up with him in WASH
ington. Allen knows-if DR.. Wiley
! lforgets-that part MIR. Roosevelt
! played in the pure food fight at this.
/ its most critical stage. And / hap
! pen to know, because at the behest
of Allen and Wiley l was keeping
! tabs on the president. In my pres
enee Mr.. Roosevelt wrote and dis
patched a number of notes to Speaker
! Cannon-an relating to the pure food
! bill. These communications ran the
galnut from Endorsement of the bill
/ to an unconstitutional demand for
its passage in the house. At this time
President Roosevelt was making his
! fight for federal meat inspection, and
the two closely-related Legislative
projects We're linked together by Mr..
/, Roosevelt. He did not say, Give me
one of the two bills" He demanded
! both-e-and he got them. Those fa-
| miliar with the inside play" in the
pure food fight must admit if fair
/ minded, that there would have been
no food and drug law enacted in the
/ long session of 1905-1905 except for
! the persistent efforts of President
/ Roosevelt. And If the bill had failed
at that crucial time it's subsequent
success is merely a matter for idle
/ conjecture
So much for getting the law; now
! for its enforcement. Although DR..
Wiley does not mention his ancient
enemy by name in his political re-
view. he will not controvert the state
ment that at one time he uttered
more harsh words about the National
Wholesale Liquor Dealers association
than about any other set of men who
crossed his official path-and with
reason. This association dhey make
and sell over 80 per cent of the Whs-
ky sold in this country publicly
boasted, on two occasions, that they
had defeated the pure food bill in
congress. Certainly no other special
| interest gave us so much trouble in
the contest for pure food legislation
and afterward. Selfish. greedy and
arrogant The National Wholesale
/ Liquor Dealers association was the
cial privilege when the pure food law
was on the statute books. The act
contained a clause defining blend
It was a general clause relating as
much to coffee and tea as to whisky
I and mark this fact--if the loose con-
A struction asked by the fake whisky
.ipeople were adopted, then a dealer
could mix tea and willow leaves and
cali it blended tea" or coffee and
! chicory and call 1t offended coffee
No wonder DR. Wiley was indig-
nant. One might say that he was
warm under the official collar You
see his chief Secretary Wilson. had
backed down and surrendered to the
fake whisky interests Certainly DIR.
Wiley was hard pressed. He came to
: me at this time and asked if ] We're in
a position to go to the president with
the matteu--to President Roosevelt.
He said that honest and efficient ad-
minstration of the food and drugs
act was involved. He said that he
would be humiiated and forced to re-
sign if beaten by the National Whole
sale Liquor Dealers association, and
much more to the same effect.
Nc one sincerely interested in the
a deaf ear to DR.. Wiley's plea. So 1t
was that l went to Secretary Loci
and explained the matter and Bill
Loeb, able citizen. got busy In q
) short time we had President Roose-
| welt more than interested. He sent
for DR.. Wiley, who came laden with a
basket of bottles. In the presidents
office the doctor gave a demonstra-
4 ton of true blended whisky on the
one hand and of ethyl alcohol plus
! prune juice--in the discard Mr.
t Roosevelt took his cue from DR. Wiley
and the fight was on.
1t is doubtful if ever more pressure
$ was brought to bear in an official
I controversy than in the whisky fight
e certainly never in my experience as
a Washington reporter. Arrayed on the
= Slue OF lne lake WHISKY interest Vert
5 two members of the Presidents cab
i met, Taft and Wilson: Mr.. Roose-
$ velt's close and personal friend. SEN
s ator Lodge; Speaker Cannon and a
4 score more of prominent men. Or
e the side of DR.. Wiley We're Attorney
t General Bonaparte and Secretary Loeb
In the face of all of the pressure oi
j close advisers and personal friends
: president Roosevelt gave the verdict
). in DR. Wiley's favor
Il Was it not uncandid of the goof
: doctor to omit all reference to this
: service? In his political speech at In
). danarolis he declares that President
# Taft stopped from his high office tc
t, do favor to the worst lot of aduter
e ators in Christendom"-in Other
y words. that Mr. Taft reversed ths
whisky ruling of his predecessors. But
e according to the reports of his speech
il printed in the Philadelphia papers. DR.
e Wiley ignores President Roosevet's
II services to the cause of pure food
s and his assistance to the doctor him
/ self. Why?
40 In 1,ts