Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-01-20
SUSTAINED.
DR.. Harvey ". Wiley Is
Given a Clean Bill
By House Committee Which In
vestigated Charges.
Report Sustains Him Except on Un-
important Technical Points.

| Washington, Jan. 19.-Dr Harvey
| w Wiley, chief of the chemistry
bureau of the department Of agrieuf-
| ture, the storm center of the food adj
! ADMINISTRATION controversy last summer,
| is given a clean bill of health in the
report of the House committee which
| investigated the charges and counter
charges. In its report, which will be
presented to the House. neXt Monday,
! the committee sustains DR. Wiley all
along the line. except on technical I'M
important details.
The evidence taken in the case was
voluminious and it is not repeated in
the report except by brief references
The document is confined to the actual
conclusions of the committee. The
Republican members of the committee
Joined with the Democrats in making
the report unanimous. The report of
the sub committee was amended in a
number of particulars including its
references to the Remsen board which
and passed expert judge
|ment on the greater food problems.
There is no politics in the report"
said Chairman Moss of the committee
This fact, together with compromises
on some of the matters about which
the members of the committee had
differences of view, permitted a full
agreement. The report pays much at
tention to the Remsen board and to
the activity of Solicitor MeCabe, who
was the principal opponent of DIR
Wiley in the department. and in gen
cral recommends that Or Wiley be
;,,t &.
of the pure food and drug law, thus
limiting very largely the power for
merry exercised by Solicitor McCabe.
This limitation already has been put
into effect under the action taken by
President Taft shortly after the az
journment of the extra session.
brought the active congressional in
vestigation to a close. The final stamp
of approval of the conclusions reached
after the months of investigation was
affixed by all the members of the
committee, today. The committee i'm
mediately ordered the report printed
confidentialfy and declined to an
neunee the recommendation until the
report is made public, next Monday.
The investigation was made by the
House committee on expenditures in
the department of agriculture and its
hearings during the recent extra Ses-
sion of Congress awakened wide ma
tional interest. Sec. Wilson, DIR. Wiley.
Solicitor McCabe and host of other
witnesses contributed to the reVela-
tions regarding the demoralized con-
ditions surrounding the administra-
ton of the pure food law.
In the course of these hearings, DR..
Wiley said most of his rulings were
arbitrarily overruled and that few
prosecutions for violations of the drug
law were prepared because many lines
of inquiry were taken out of his hands
and turned over to the Remsen referee
board for investigation. He said his
hands were thus absolutely paralyz-
ed" His decisions confiicted with the
Remsen board and he said that the
least that could be done for the pub
lies protection was to prohibit the use
of foods or drugs until the board had
decided in favor of their use. He add
ed that this policy had not been car
ried out The biggest controversy be-
tween him and the Remsen board was
over the chemistry bureaus finding
that benzoate of soda was harmful.
Virtually the only dissent from the
sweeping verdict for Dr. Wiley is bas-
ed upon the irregular employment of
DR.. H. Fl. Rusby, of New York as a
$50 a day expert, a compensation
which was not the aggregate over
$500 in any one year, the amount au-
thorized under the law. 1t was for
this employment at that rate to get
around the official limitation of pay
for such services 10 $1,000 that the
personnel board of the department
first. and then Attorney General Wick
CONTINUED on Page Twelve.)