The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-09-21

Sioux City. Iowa, Sept. 17.-Firm
support for Dr. Harvey w. Wiley in
his controversy over the enforcement
of the pure food laws stood out prom
inently in speech hy Governor
Woodrow Wilson at the Interstate
Fair today.
He drew attention to what he con-
ceived to be the ineffectuality of
boards Of experts established under
the administration of President
Roosevelt He used it as an illustra-
ton of his objections to a commission
or board of experts to handle either
the tariff or the trust problems.
Governor Wilson voiced for the first
time his objection to the tariff board
idea, declaring it 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
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 a great many things
are permitted,to be done which nulli-
fy the pure food laws.
1 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 We're sold to you. particu-
larly in cans for foods. Now a very
nice thing occurred. The gentlemen
who wanted to use benzoate Of soda
persuaded the President, Mr.. Roose-
welt, that this was a scientific question
and, therefore. ought to have a board
OF chemists TO determine it, And Mr..
Roosevelt picked out some of the most
eminent and honest chemists in this
country, headed by a personal friend
OF mine. the President of Johns Hop
kins University. and submitted to
them this question:
is benzoate Of soda hurtful to the
human stomach or to the human di-
gestion when taken internally?' OBJ
serve that that was the only question
submitted to them and that was eX-
actly what the people who wanted to
use benzoate Of soda for wrong purpos-
es 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 I believe il is
not. But they were not asked this
question: Can benzoate Of soda
used to conceal putiification? Can II
be used in things that have gone bad
to conceal the fact that they have
gone bad and TO induce people to put
them In their stomachs after they
have gone bad?'
They were not asked that ques-
ton, because If they had been they
would have said: Yes
Il want TO warn the people of tt.is
country to beware Of commissions of
experts. | have lived with experts all
OF my life and | know that experts
don't see anything except what is un-
der their microscope, under their eve.
Iney don't even perceive what is un-
In honor bound TO confine himself to
the particular question which YOU
have asked him.
suppose you wanted TO settle the
liquor question by asking a body of
experts whether alcohol was poison
or not. | believe they would have to
tell you that it isn't"
But does that settle the liouor oues
tion. there are a great many things
mat you can't take into your stom-
ach that are not poison that will
make YOU crazy"
urhihE to trusts, the speaker dis
tlnguishcd between big business''
and trusts. He referred to the suc-
cess OF Andrew Carnegie in the steel
business and declared that when Mr..
Carnegie's competitors found they
could not undersell because he had
more brains in running the business
thcy bought him out at four or five
umcs the value Of his property and
thcn hy what they charged after
wards for their products they made
Us pay interest on the four or five
times the amount Of the value'of the
property which they had paid him.
There is a difference between a big
business and trust. \ trust Is q big
business that has an ar,angcment to
E'' tld OF competitor and Il big bus
mess survives competition hy con