The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1914-06-12
WeekIy chats With consumers.


Weekly Chats With Consumers.
By LUcrus P BROWN. state Food and Dru
Inspector.
This is the initial number of a week.,
contribution to the press Of thestate b!
the Pure Food and Drugs Department
Of Tennessee. We expect to publish
under the head. Weekly Chats Will
Consumers" as given above. commentl
on foods, on drugs, on short weights
and on every other subject this Depart,
ment handles. These should be Of in
terest to every man and woman in the
State. incidentally, there will be lit
tie on the side" for the children. We
do not expect everything to be original;
shall take what is most interesting from
any source we can find it, sometimes
with and sometimes without acknowl-
edgment of the source. We trust this
statement will serve as apology to an
other, who may have said the same
thing. Nor do We intend to confne
ourselves to the scientific aspect of such
subjects. We shall try to make these
articles of general interest, instructive,
and, above all, readable.
ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT AND
THE LAW TT ENFORCEs.
The Food and Drugs Department OF
Tennessee was organized in pursuance
to Chapter 297, Acts of 1907, which
took effect January /, 1908. At that
time the appropriation was very meagre
indeed. There was small appropria-
ton for the laboratory and for running
expenses, besides the salary OF the In
spector. For twelve months the Depart
ment was run in room set apart in the
private laboratory of the Commissioner,
who had been for some years practic-
ing chemist in Nashville. The Legisla-
ture of 1909 added to the Department
another chemist, who was badly needed
it also added to its duties the enforce
ment Of the sanitary food law. In 1911
there were certain much needed amend
ments made to the Food and Drugs Act
and more duties put on the Department
in the shape Of the law governing the
fire protection and sanitation OF hotels.
Two field inspectors were added to its
force. The Legislature of 1918 was lib
eral to the Department in giving four
additional field inspectors and an Office
force of two persons, but they were al
most as liberal with duties, because they
put upon the Department the enforce
ment OF the very important Weights
md Measures Law. The appropriation
now is at figure at which the Depart
nent can do considerable work and |
make its influence more than ever felt. |,
In this work we want to ask the coop
,ration OF every citizen of the State who
ralues his health and comfort and that
II his family. When anything is mo-
iced which it is our duty to correct.
write us. We can't be everywhere at
,nce, though we do our best to that
md. So we sometimes need our friends
o tell us Of troubles. Ii
HE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT OF TENNESSEE.
The Food and Drugs Act OF this State
adding to the food and drugs
onsumed in the State deleterious in
Rodents, and likewise enforces the sale
4 such materials for what they are. In
ther words, it prevents the addition to I
hem not only OF materials which are
armful but OF those which are useless
nd the addition OF which unduly cheap
MS the product without notice to the {
1t conserves public health
y insuring the purity Of foods, con- q
sryes public morality by making man
facturers tell the truth about their 9
oods and helps to keep down the cost .
living by insuring to all foods the y
utritive effect which properly belongs q
, them. The consumers pocket is pro- 81
cited by it because it prevents the sale 81
adulterated stuff at the price of pure y
,ods. Although not its primary OBJ
ct, it has afforded to the honest mer- o
lant the greatest protection Of any re- y
mt legislation, because it has brought q
1t from under cover the rottenness Of tc
shonest goods so that merchants now &c
low the exact character Of goods sold :
: competitors. In this way it has given =
ability to the food trades, preventing
legitimate competition and minimiz-
g the effects of trickery. Finally, it
e henn ono of the most nofant ~ the III