The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-10-10
! How 10 \ R COS D / Ve'It { I Back cd
Wiley l|||l|Ml |eM Made Public
heaSh Asels Miek to r. r.
the Btterest

This published statement Of y DR..
Wiley's is surprising to say the least.
Either tbs worthy doctor is. growing
forgetful or political speak ing is lnalt>
Ing him nngensTous. After the passage
Eof the food and drugs bill'in the senate
the friends Of pure food packed their
grips and went triu1nphantly home, be-
lieying the fight won-all except Dr.
Wiley, who was stationed;i jim Washing-
ton, and Robert M. Allen, of Frank
fort, Ky, who was at that time secre-
tary of the State Food and Dairy Com
missionefs national organization. Il
II anyone worked harder or, more ef-
ficiently for a federal food and drugs
law than, Bob Allen, 7 did not happen
to mset up with him in Washington.
Allen knows---tf DR. Wiley. fogets--
what part Mr., Roosevelt played in the
pure food fight at this, its most critt-
cal stage. And Tshappened to know,
because at the behest ofeAllen AMI
Wiley I was keeping tabs ON the prest-
dent. In my. presence Mr.. Roosevelt
wrote and dispatched a number of.
notes to Speaker Cannon-all relating,
to the pure food bill. These communf-
cations ran the gamut from indorse-
ment of the bill to an .'pnconstitu-
tionai' demand for It's passage in the
house. At this time President Roose-
welt was making his fight fors federal
meat inspection, and the two> closely
related legislative projects were linked
together by Mr. Roosevelt. He did not
say, give me one Of the TWO bills" He
demanded both--and he got them.
Those familiar with the tinside play.
in the pure food fight must admit, II
fairminded, that there would have been
no food and drug law enacted lin the
long session OF 199541a06 sxeept fer the.
persistent efforts Of President Roose
yeH. And If the bill had failed at that
crucial time its subsequent success is
merely. matter for idle conjecture =.
r So much for getting the law; now
for its enforcement Although DR..
Wiley does not mention his ancient
enemy by name in his political review,
he VIII not controvert the statement
that at one time he uttere 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 (they make and sell over
80 per cent of the whiskey sold in this
country, publicly boasted, on two oc-
casions; 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 afteI&ard. Selfish
greedy and arrogant. The, National
Wholesale Liquor Dealers Association
was the first to demand consideration
and special privilege when the pure
food law was on the statute books. The
act contained g. clause defining
blend" 1t was a general clause relat-
ing as much to coffee and tea asu TO
whiskey, and mark this fact-if the
loose construction asked by the fake
whiskey people were adopted, then Il
dealer could mix tea anI willow leaves
and call 1T blended tea," or coffee and
chicory and call it offended coffee.''
No wonder DR.. Wiley was indignant.
One might say that he was warm un-
der the official collar. You see his
chief, Secretay Wilson, has backed
down and surrendered to the fake
whiskey interests. Certainly Dr..
Wiley was hard pressed. He came to
me at this time and asked If / were
in a position to go to the president
with the matter---to President Roose-
velt. He said that honest and efficient
administration Of the food and drugs
act was involved. He said that he
would be ,humtliated and forced to re-.
sigh, II beaten by the National Wholes
sale Dealers Association, and much
more to the same effect. 49,.
No one sincerely interested in the
cause Of pure food could have turned
O. deaf ear to. Or. Wiley's plea. SO, It
was that went to Secretary Loeb and
explained the matter, and Bill Loeb,
able citizen, got busy, In q short time
we had President Roosevelt more than
interested. He sent for DR.. Wiley, VINO
came laden with basket of bottles.
In the Presidents office the doctor
gave demonstration Of true blended
whiskey ON the one hand and of ethyl
alcohol plus prune juice-in the dis
card. Mr.. Roosevelt took his cue from
DR.. Wiley and the fight was on.