Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-27
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT Is DOING

upon us that almost an dissaseA both
Of the body and Of the soul. are wholly
and entirely preventable. In all cases
when ministers have requested from me
advice on how they may take 2 part N
the movement for the betterment Of
Dpon Them sh.. !, 81. eo.s
souls. The great ana lasting cure for
the sick soul and tbs sick body 10 to be
to ' the g. Occurrences s Of. the eject. Thus
there has been created q demand for .
preventive of soul sickness az well as
z prophylsctic against body disease :
the body as temple Of the soul frequently
harbors a very sicltly spirit when broken
by the inroads of disease. and the
domination OF an ailing spirit frequently
wrecks what might otherwise be strong
I'VE have found that most disease is
enyironmental. no matter whether It oe
disease Of the soul or OF the nocy' an. ana
in which We now live, but also that
which surrounded our ancestors In re,
mote generations. Prenatal or ancestral
environment must be controlled X we
learned on studying the public health
problem that preventive measures
should have begun several generations aoas
back. From this knoWie0ge the SCIENCE
piicstscn Of the principles Of this science
Goodness and wellness Of the race, and
the church is doing more in this direc,
ton than all t othe and fanb,e reaop
which the church bears to the pubic
health-something which lies almost en-
tirely within her prov1nce-sometnlne
which she can condT 1s , WIN simost i'm
mediate results, which VIII increase IA
geometric ratio. The refusal to admins
ter the sacrament OF marriage TO the
diseased. to the mentally and morally
sad heritage il q bad hered.ty makes
more for healthy body and healthy mind
for posterity than any other single meas
..The fact should be generally realized
that at the present time We are actually
breeding q race Of defectives-in fact
they compose something like per cent
Of the total population dsa is pro pSpmb
epileptics. dipsomaniacs ana &c crmna an
They bring us unhappiness ana sorroW,
yet in the fuinsss Of sn nms %e can Of tbs
principles Of eugenics rid ourselves OF
them almost entirely. The church has
great opportunity to take part In me
eugenics movement S,r. ana the Setter human
race. 1t IL hers to determine wnether ~
shall be q race Of detectives or race
OF good, strong-b bodied. happy people Tne
They must lead, but 1t il for the church
men and the churchwomen OF this nation
to follow them into tho land OF promise;
a land where sickness of the mind, soul
and body are rarities."
4 4
-n~~1r~ II foc,and nv fhe
government on the dangers Of posons IN
foods there are many per-
aNafuyal" sons who write in to the
United States bureau OF
fOlSOns. chemistry and volunteer the
information that the same poison 10 con-
tanned In some fruit or vegetable IN its
natural state when growing on the tree or
plant. Such Letters usually suggest tnat
there is little need to worry ABOUT small
amounts OF poisons used either IN pre-
serving or In the artificial coloring OF
foods. since natures own products con-
tain slight traces Of various chemicals
which scientists consider dangerous to
health.
A few weeks ago a warning was issued
on the danger In the salts Of copper found
on celery which had been sprayed with
Bordeaux mixture while growing. House.
wives were advised to wash their celery
thoroughly before allowing 1t to go on the
table so that all traces OF copper mifht De
dissolved. This Information mad naraty.
began to write In to the bureau to voiun-
teer the Information that some oysters
and certain vegetables contained copper IN
their natural state, and asked why. there
fore, should slight traces Of copper on
celery be considered deleterious to health.
At the time when the agitation against
the use of benzoate of soda and benzoic
acid In the preservation of food was at its
height a number of persons wrote and
asked the government chemists why small
quantities Of benzoic acid should be
feared so very much when the same
chemical is contained in cranberr1es IN
their natural state Peaches nave also
hydrocyanic acid dangerous substance,
and traces Of borax have been found In
grapes. Stories have also been circulated
that grapes contain arsenic. but govern
the poison has been found that 1t had
been sprayed on the grapes while growing.
There is only one answer to letters put
ting forth such information. Poisons
such as benzoic acid, copper, borax or
arsenic II found in fruits or vegetables
as they grow are natural to these foods
and are only present in such infinitesimal
quantities that they are harmless. Pure
food advocates say that even IN the rev
cases where there Ia an accidental pres
ence of q trace of some poison In 1000
this fact offers no justification for the
addition of varying quantities or poi
sons thereto for the purpose or arunciai
coloring or preserving the product.
The government chemists urge the
thoroughly washing OF all foods which
have been sprayed with poisonous nuids
during their period Of growth. The stray
Ing Of celery with Bordeaux mixture,
which contains salts OF copper, Is nee
essary in many sections of the country,
especially In Florida. II the mixture
is sprayed in q machine under high
pressure there Is little danger OF appre-
ciab BILE quantities of poison being left on
the growing plants. and experts In the
Department Of Agriculture have advised
farmers on the proper methods OF spray
ing and also have urged the thorough
washing of celery before It goes on the
table, so that no dangerous traces OF
copper may remain. The Importation OF
canned fruits and canned vegetables.
such as peas, which have been "greened
with copper has been stopped because or
the danger Of the poison.
Arsenic is found in many or the coal
tar dyes which have been used by un.
scrupulous manufacturers In the United
States in coloring fancy foods and con-
fectionery soda water and Ice cream
Another dangerous use OF arsenic ID IN
decorating work. In the manufacture OF
no federal law to prevent the use OF the
poison for these purposes. and only one
or two states have legislated AGAINST II.
In Germany and several other European
countries strict laws are In force to pro-
feet the people against arsenic poisoning