The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-03
THE DAY OF THE OYSTER
By Henry c. Rowe, President of The Oyster Growers and Dealers As
 sociation of North America.


 prophesy," but in response to a spe-
 cia1 request for an article on oysters, I feel justified in departing from this rule to say that the day of the oyster is at hand.
 This is my opinion for several req sons, and among them I would men tion the fact that the prejudice ere ated by certain sensationalists against oysters during the past few years, has been exploded by the authoritative statements of Dr. Carl L. Alsberg, Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of United States Department of Agricul- ture, and of Prof. Julius Nelson, pro- lessor of biology, Rutgers College, New Jersey State Agricultural College, Experiment Station; Professor Fred erick P. Gorhan, professor of biology, Brown University; Prof. Earle B. Phelps and Prof. Sedgwick, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy; Dr. Herbert D. Pease of Lederle Laboratories and many other scientific men of unquestionable authority.
 The prejudice which I refer to has never extended to those persons who are well informed concerning the oys- ter industry, but it affected a con siderable number of tinid persons and those who are readily impressed by sensational statements by food demagogues looking for notoriety, and by the Iurid headlines of the yellow press.
 Dr. Alsberg, who is now the official scientific authority on such subject in the United States, has publicly said, ''1 could wish that the number of dangerous sources of milk supply was as small and that the percentage of pure, wholesome milk was as great as the proportion of wholesome, safe oys- ters that reach our tables
 People do not discontinue drinking milk and water because it is alleged that they have occasionally caused disease What the reasonable con sunner requires is that care shall be observed that the milk and the water shall be pure, and shall be kept pure for their use. And that is all that is necessary in the case of the oysters There have been thousand times as many cases of illness traced to the use of water, and milk, as ever have been traced to the use of oysters, and as far as statistics show, it is infinitely more dangerous to ride dn automo- bile or on a railroad train, or even to walk in the streets where automob piles abound. than it is to eat oysters every day in the year.
 The prejudice which was commenc- ed by certain constituencies years ago has gone on until the Oyster Growers and DealersI Association of North America. has placed before the people of the country the real facts, ana the presentation or the IaCLS WIl1Cn was made by this organization during the last season will have a great effect during the coming season and in fu- ture years, and this work will be con- tinued this year through many ave- nues of public information.
 These efforts to educate the people to the true facts concerning oysters recede, and it will decrease until the accusations against oysters will be re- garded as they deserve, as an attempt to acquire notoriety on the part of food demagogues.
 Last winter when presented the facts concerning the oyster industry to Dr. Alsberg, I also had the privil- ege of an interview with the presi- dent-e1ect (then Governor) Wilson. To both of these gentlemen I presented the facts concerning the oyster i'm dustry and it is gratifying to say that I never had conferences with two men who grasped the subject in it's various bearings, any more promptly than they. And it was obvious also that they would apply the test of reason 1 and the light of a broad intelligence l to every question which they consid- 1 cred. After these interviews felt confident that the authority of the | United States Government would pc l hereafter employed in the preserva- ton of the purity of food products | and to the protection of the consum- CT against all impure and adu1terated food, but that it would not permit any employe of the United States to ex- ploit himself and secure a prominent | place in the yellow press by indiscrirn- | mate and unjustifiable attacks upon any food product.
 The prejudice against oysters has had it's day, and is now regarded by | scientific men and by thinking men in | general, as having very little founda- tion in fact This incident in the life l of the oyster industry is only one of the many examples of the mutaibi1ity | of human opinion and notion. It is l easy to recall hundreds of instances in which the opinions and beliefs of | years ago, are completely changed and | exploded. Many of us can remem- | Der when one-fourth of the people of | the United States approved of human slavery; when the deductions of Oar win as to the origin of species was re- the medical profession forbade cold drinks and cold applications in fever, and when they declared that night air was the cause of malaria.
 All observers of human events can cite a multitude of instances in which the opinions of mankind have in a short period completely changed, and it is easy to see that the SO called pub lie sentiment moves in tides and waves so that it is necessary for thinking men to apply the test of reason to all opinions and prejudices, which yearly spring into existence.
 The prejudice against oysters as food has been, with many people, a thousand times greater than the very slight evidence has ever warranted and that wave of prejudice is now be- ing rapidly overcome by the campaign cd on by the Oyster Growers and Deal CTS Association of North America.
 It is hard to tell whether the cur rency question editorials are done by the baseball editor or the one who