Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1912-10-09
DR.. WILEY'S DEBUT
AS CAMPAIGN ORATOR
Is Severe In His Arrangement of
Two Presidents
ROOSEVELT CLAIMED CREDIT
President Taft Also Insincere in
Professions of Interest


istry and government pure food ex-
pert, made his debut as a Demo
CT attic campaign speaker few days
ago. His speech was devoted large
ly to an attack upon Colonel Roose-
veit, who, be said. was falsely claim
ing credit for the passage of the
pure food and drug act. He an
nounced he would support Wilson
and Marshall. In his Indiana speech
he said in part:
Read the high-sounding morali-
ties OF the Progressive PLATFORM"
said the doctor, and compare them
with the actual performances of it's
ma ter builder. They don't seem
to consist / cannot conceive Of
any more wicked and law breaking
performance. A benefcent Law
passed in good faith by Congress-
was mercilessly eviscerated and the
olsen boweled corpse was turned
over to the Secretary OF Agriculture
for dissection. The Secretary OF
Agriculture, inspired by his trus-
ties in crime, Solicitor McCabe and
Associate Dunlap, attacked the car
cass with aridity of feasting buz-
yards, and soon only the whitening
bones OF the poor Food Law remain
ed as mute witnesses Of its exist
ence."
Declaring that he had renal ned
loyal to the Republican party for
many years in spite OF his convic-
ton that it was yearly becoming a
worshipper at the shrine Of the dol
lar and less mindful of honesty n
business and the public health and
welfare" DR.. Wiley said: Il now
believe that the Republican party,
as at present constituted, is so CON-
pletely subjugated by the dollar, so
permeated by the c.nker of big bus
mess as its only god, that only dis
astrous defeat can ever restore it to
health.
In my own case the chief cause
of breaking away from my life long
political affiliations is directly due
to the attitude of two Repub lcan
administrations, viz those of Roose-
welt and Taft, to the Food and Drugs
Act
"Arrayed against this salutary
statute had been formed the very
worst elements of commercialism
that this or any other country could
produce. Debasers and misbrand-
ers Of food and drugs, seeking to
poison the foods that keep us well
and debase the drugs that are given
us when i'll, for years had succeeded
in blocking Legislation. Stan ding
together were those drugging our
foods to preserve them from decay
and cOloring them with poisonous
dyes to make them seem fresh, those
mixing substitutes with foods and
drugs to keep up their weight and
volume and deceive and threaten the
purchaser, those who, with cheap
alcohol, stimulated the old and fra
grant products of the vineyard and
its distilling, who made beer of
cheap sugars and wine of coal tar
dyes, tannin and saccharin, and
those who preyed on the imagina-
tions Of the laymen and sold them
worthless and harmful remedies.
Full-bellied and sleek faced lobby
lists filed the hotels of Washington
and used the columns OF our news
papers, eminent professors in our
colleges and universities were
brought to Washington to tell the
of Congress that all
these disreputable practices were
harmless and required by the exig
encies Of trade.
During all this time no Presi-
dent Of the United States and no
Cabinet officer ever said favoring
word for the enactment Of this law
except on one or two occasions in a
most perfunctory way. Mr.. Roose-
welt. in one OF his messages, alluded
to the matter in a short paragraph |
without accentuation. The Secre- |
tary Of Agriculture, on few occa-
sions in his recommendations to the