The Washington herald., 1913-02-02
BY JAMES II. MORROW.


makers and Gamers of food within tn
great law OF 1906. The immense deb
of the people to DR.. Harvey W. Vile!
can never be computed in dollars ant
cents, say the captains and the col
onels who were with him in the lont
and savage fight.
But a state of mind, others remark
can become petrified. DR.. Wiley, they
assert, held every pickler and preserves
TO be obnoxiously reprehensible unit
they convinced his obstinate and skep
tical inner conscience that they were
guiltless Of wrong. either by act or in
tent. He sat, they complain. on ty'
rants throne of his own construction
infallible and inexorable. and his thun-
ders and his punishments disturbed the
orderly procedure of a respectable and
purified business.
So. finally. the war having been
fought and won, and the Gamers pen
allied out of chemicals and adultera-
tions, a more benevolent administra-
tion was required. Civil government
so the argument ran, closed In behind
Cen Sherman as he shot and burned
his way from Atlanta to the ocean. In
a word DR.. Wiley. still rampant and
breathing vengeance on an humbled
and suffering industry, should have
sheathed his dripping sword. and,
closely following the words of Gen.
Grant. addressed his surrendered enc
mics. and said: Keep your horses,
gentlemen. You will want them to
plow with in the spring"
While Dr. Wiley was not actually
removed from office. ii is acknowledged
that his position was made unbearable
to a free-spoken and free-actinE man.
The I4illiputians. IL that be a proper
name for them. were tying the giant
into utter helplessness. as he saw and
felt his fast developing prediCament.
Therefore. he arose from the ground.
put his curt remuneration into writing.
and fed t" the eager hospitality Of the
Chautauqua Circuie
Il DIR. AisberI n PoIicemnr.
After months of reflection and invcsti-
cation. though his critics lump tho two
words into one and call it dilatOriness.
President Taft chose Carl Lucas Ais
berg. A NJ. NJ. D.. to be DR. Wilcy's
Successor intellectually and profession
ali. Dr. AshcrE meets every possible
requirement of the very important place
he is now occupying. He is young
enough to have Or. Wiley for father.
hut he ranks high among biological
chemists. Whether he has the per
sunality TO make 4 successful chief of
tho Bureau of Chemistry. Department of
agriculture. IS not KNOWN at TINS Unlc
even to himself. He is a great scientist
Is he also an administrator and a
policeman?
Food is much better than il used to be;
il is cleaner and purcr. The bludgeon of
the law in Or. Wilcys rough and willing
hands changed the behavior Of a good
many manufacturers. Heads were
whaCked. and some may require the
same heroic treatment in the future.
Up to the call that brought him from
among his TASKS, filters, and retorts.
to the public. Science, here and in
Europe, had been enriched by his
patient and original work. He had
Travelled in this and other countries. He
Vas talented. aimable. shrewd. adapt
able, modest and industrious. His
his culture, and his char
a acterstics make him an ideal head
chemist over the food Of the American
public. but has he the pluck TO pillOry
an sdulteratur. and keep his head and
hands in the holes of the frame until he
meckly promises to walk in the WAYS
Of righteousness? There will be such
tasks TO perform Undoubtedly. Gamers
reformed by CompulsiOn under Wiley |
will experiment with Alsberg. Men who |
linn say that all such VEN
lures will fail.
Dark of skin, with Crimpy black hair |
and friendly and handsome face, DIR. |
Alsberg also is pleasing in manner and |
He is unaSsuming and un- |
technical. not depending on the jargon |
Df science to oVerawe his callers and to
parade his own vocabulary and knowI-
edge. A reCluSe among bottles and eIe-
ments. he might have lost his human
qualities and emerged a prematurely
wise old man. a pedantic or a dry old |
man. But it is not so.
Not an Enemy of PIe.
is pic menace to civilization" I
asked him. purposeIy to see if the friv-
Olity of the question would outrage his
and arouse his official
scorn.
NO. if it is good pie: yes possibly.
il the pie is bad" he replied. New
England eats a great deal Of pie. Emer-
son was fond of it. The transcendental-
lists substituted it for the ambrosia of
the gods
With such an answer as a bracer-
Wiley himself might have given it-I
felt that the interview would be a sue
loss. The elder AlsberS was also a
'hcmlst. He was born in Germany was
4 university man and became a teacher
after getting his degree. He comes into
his story logically because there is some
fldlDil btNN'tH MIN, lnTbuSu the peCul- !
ar training he gave his son. and the food
question of the United States. Univer-
'ity instructors in Germany must starve
heir slow way and 20 threadbare into
'emOte professorships, after which their
1ay is sufficient for the rest of their
ives. Alsberg, the father. emigrated
rom Germany. being unwilling to wait
until he was thirty-five for the reward
hat could be obtained sooner elsewhere.
te came to New York, where his uncle
vas physician. and taught chemistry
Il Columbia University for a time
But" as his son told me, he wanted
o earn money and take a wife. Neces-
ty sets men to thinking So does mat
lmony. My father invented a process
or the manufacture OF vermilion That
ioon led him into the paint business
FOR many years he was a partner in a !
ompany that made vermiliOn. ultrama-
inc and paris green. Such was his bust
less at the time of his death
therefore. answering your question
cannot say that | was a poor boy.
financial perplexities have never wor-
led me. ] am far from being a wealthy
nan. but there is money enough in the
amily to keep me from going hungry
'ere il necessary for me to look for an
ther job. l was born and grew up in
'ew York. My father believed in the
ierman idea OF educating boys and girls.
Consequently. I did not begin going TO
'hool until I was nine years old.
\ PoIyEIot When Child.
Il cannot remember when learned TO
lad. Ny brothers and myself had gov
rnesses and tutors and were early
H.