Evening journal., 1912-10-15
FOOD INSPECTORS
MUST Be SLEUTHS

WASHINGTON, Oct. l5-Uncle sam
has 40 inspectors constantly employ
ed in running down violators of the
pure food and drugs law Walter G.
Campbell, young attorney-scientist
of the Burean of Chemistry. is their
chief. The evidence procured by the in
speetors is presented to the Pure Food
Board. which decides whether or not
suit shall be brought.
A large. element in the enforcement
of the law is the analysis of samples
and examination OF labels. The one
is to determine whether the product
is pure; the other is to ascertain
whether it is misrepresented to the
purchaser.
II the Pure Food Board decides that
the case shall be prosecuted it is
turned over to the Department of JUS
tice. and the local United States Dis
trict Attorney is instructed to pro-
ceed The inspector produces the evil
dence upon which the suit is brought.
Aside from this there is the proceed
ure of seizure and destruction Of unfit
goods that may be resorted to. Here
the violator merely loses the value of
the goods.
Wide Range OF Duties.
These 40 inspectors look after milk
shipped from one State to another,
canned goods, beverages, medicines
all not of local manufacture that goes
into peoples stomechs, excerpts all
meats, which are handled by another
inspection service.
A certain dealer in liquors in Cri-
cago was suspected of counterfeiting
foreign wines. He actually imported
a certain amount, probably s per cent
OF an. he sold. With this as a nucleus
he manufactured the imitation goods
and also duplicated bottles and dupli-
cate labels His customers we're un-
able to distinguish between the i'm
ported and the homemade product
His own product cost him less. and
he was, therefore, able to undersell
his competitors.
An inspector disguised himself and
knowing something Of the business
got employment from the dealer. He
personally Grated some of the wine
that he himself had helped to manu-
facture and personally saw TO It's
shipment into Michigan. He had
marked the bottles. When it was on
its way he resigned his job and start.
ed In pursuit He recovered the ship
ment from the man to whom it was
assigned and his case was complete.
Had Handmade Eggs.
ln a certain Central West city there
was a large dealer who maintained {
high-class establishment that handled
eggs prepared out of the shell fol
food purposes. In another nearb,
city was a man who purported to dea
only in eggs as tanning material HI
bought large quantities OF question
able eggs at reduced prices and sup
posedly converted them into this tan
ming material. The dealer first nameI
never bought anything but high-clas
eggs. There seemed no reason, there
fore, why his product should not b.
all that was expected Of It, The in
spectors were able TO examine tn
eggs he received and knew them T.
be good They were able also to get ac
cess to the material he sold and kney
some of that to be had For a lonI
time they were puzzled. Finally the
discovered that the second man kneN
supposedly, used bad eggs for tanning
purposes. was selling less of this ma
terial than would have been pro
vided by the quantity of eggs that h
was buying. They found also tina
the prices he was paying for the ques
tionable eggs We're higher than woul
have been warranted by the marke
price of the tanning material
The inspectors now suspected tina
the two dealers we're working in col
lusion. They were permitted to in
spect certain eggs that we're con
signd to the dealer in tanning ma
terial. Whenever they went to in
spect consignment of these egg
they did so with much advance PREF
aration. They carried in their pocl
cts substitute eggs which they place
in the squares of certain eggs tina
were 10 lind their way into the deal
er's establishment. These substitute
eggs had previously been treated wit
lithium iodide, valuable because {
the celors il shows in the spectre
scope. If the egg material that ha
gone into the first establishment wer
found coming but of the second th
case would be established. Tn
search was for lithium iodide The
found 1t in the eggs that were bein
used as food, proving that they .wer
coming from the foul produce thf
was being Drepared Ostensihlv for MS