Imperial Valley press. (El Centro, Calif.) 1907-current, 1913-12-31
Uncle Sam Hires
A Hard Drinker
By Burton X. Standish
Written for the United Press)


written for the United Press)
Washington, Dec. 31.-Secretary OF
the Treasury McAdoo has in his EN-
ploy a young man who is a hare
drinker. Moreover, the secretary
knows that this young man imbibes
freely, and strange as - may seem
pays him because he is good drinker
! The young man in question is
George F. Mitchell of Washington
But before you form an opinion OF
this young man and his employer, you
should know that he drinks nothing
stronger than tea-and that his posi-
ton is Supervising tea examiner" OF
the treasury department.
Up to date he has never been known
to test less than four gallons of tea
a day. He could tell in his sleep the
difference between a cup of Ping Suey
green, scented Oriental Pekoe, or Foo
chow Oolong. He can recognize by
second nature whether the brand
which miladye serves at 5 p. m. is
going to fill her with cheer immor-
talized in literature or with indigo
blue, tale, gypsum or barium sui
phate.
Mitchell has seven men in his
charge located in New York, Boston,
Chicago, st. Paul, Tacoma, San Fran
cisco and Honolulu. Like Mitchell,
these men must test several gallons
of tea a day to determine whether
or not the importations from the far
off tea fields measure up to the off,
cial standards set by Mitchell's office
Tea is the one article of food which
is measured according to set stand
ard. Twelve grades are selected year
ly. Then every chest of tea that en-
tiers the United States must conform
to these standards-or farewell The
tea drinking determines the quality
and fitness for consumption.
The test for coloring and chemical
facing" is the simple device of DR..
E. Alberta Read of the department
of agriculture's bureau of chemistry.
She discovered quite by accident one
day while testing some teas that the
sediment from her samples left a blue
mark on paper. She rubbed the tea
with a knife. 1t left blue smudge.
This was further tested, and found
to indicate invariably the presence of
indigo coloring.
Then she investigated further and
found that a black paper would lndl-
cate the presence of such facing" or
adulterants as tale, gypsum, barium
sulphate. Now the "Read test" is Of
ficially recognized by the supervising
tea examiner as the best and simplest
method of determining the presence
of impurities. All that is really left
for the examiners is to taste for
quality. :,
Moreover, tea buyers abroad learned
that they could test the product quite
simply by the Read test, and they be-
gan to sample the goods before they
ordered them shipped to this country:
Consequently since the middle OF
this year there has been practically
no reflections of teas at American
ports. They have all been pure and
in entire conformity with the federal
regulations.
Mitchell shows that at the close
of the fiscal year, ending June 30,
$3.50 ,667 pounds of tea were import
ed, as against 94,077,880 the previous
year. Of this quantity 1,461,787
pounds were rejected either because
it contained coloring or facing mat
ter. But the simple but effective sys-
tenn of the woman chemist is chang
ing that, and next year Mitchell ex-
poets his report to be almost free OF
reflections for authorizations.
Here's a new story they're telling
on Senator 81. Ham" Lewis of Hi
nois, who refuses to testify to its ac-
curacy. Lewis was in the members
gallery of the senate the other day
with some constituents. With typical
Lewisesaue politeness he was point
ing out the celebrities to his friends.
On a row of seats behind Lewis a
group of young women tourists were
drinking in the senator's remarks. FL
nally one of the evedroppers broke
into Lewis's exposition with the ques-
ton:
as Senator Lewis there? I've
heard so much about him and his fam
Gus whiskers that Pm anxious to see
him" "No, madam" Lewis is said to
have replied. 1.-THE senator from ILL
nois and his whiskers are not on the
floor today. Both are probably enter
tanning visitors somewhere else"
SO popular is statistics gathering in
the interstate commerce commission
that even the negro elevator men have
adopted it. They figured that their
cars carry more than 1000 passengers
day and that at 2 cents mile the
gross operating revenue would be
1920 day if each passenger rode
as many miles as the conductors.
Holtpiiie Fiesta
e ~ In1{ la