The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-10-26

! save for heating, and as many cans
of pork and beans rolled out in end
. less procession from the canneries.
To this total Of few staple articles
must be added innumerable sorts of
! fruits, vegetables, fish, meats and
such condiments as <the delectable
salad dressings sauces and universal
ly used catsups, fully 3o0,O00,000 more.
swelling the grand total of canned
goods to almost 5000, 900 900 tins. But
we are a big country, and We have
learned that canned goods are not
only pleasant to taste, but that they
are nutritious and cheap as well. So
what is million cans of tomatoes q
day to our big family of loo 900, 900
one can to every hundred hungry con-
Sumers?
Sometimes Gamers talk as II they
feared overproduction. Overproduc-
ton is not possible until they are
packing many times the number Of
cans they are now producing. Under
consumption is what embarrasses the
occasional packer, who. taking account
of his stock on the first OF the year,
finds large part of his summers
output still unsoId. The price OF can
ned goods in the fall of 1914 was so
low that splendid brands OF corn and
peas and tomatoes were selling for 10
cents can, and by the dozen they
could be purchased even lower than
that. A can of delicious whole toma-
toes. full OF the flavor impaired to
fruit rspened by the summers sun.
cost no more than single southern
tomato picked unripe and served out
of season.
People look askance at things they
do not understand The cold storage
industry. one of the best and most
ecoonmical means for conserving the
food supply. is still thought by many
to be means of making good food
bad. rather than practice which con-
serves surplus food in good condition
until 1t is needed In a similar way,
canned foods gain no entry into thou
sands of kitchens simply because in
her ignorance the housewife cannot
forget the vicious and wholly untrue
stories of illness caused by eating
food put up in tin. AS a matter CT
fact, there Is no case on record Of III
ness being produced by the eating Of
food taken from sound tin packing
The danger from eating canned foods
is infinitely less than that one has to
face when his dietary is limited to So
called fresh foods Canned goods are
not poisonous, and ptomaine poison
ing is never the result Of eating them.
but rather the fresh folds kept in the
unsanitary refrigerator to milk.
cheese, ice cream and meat salads
AS matter of fact, most canned
vegetables do not contain the ele-
ments necessary to the growth Of the
organisms that cause ,ptomaine poi
sons. nor does contact with tin ever
produce poisons. Wide publicity has
recently been given a story, telling of
the poisoning OF an entire family by
food prepared In rusty tin pail
Such story is absurd. at least SO
far as the attempt to blame the con-
tainer is concerned. There Is nothing
in rusting iron Or tin to produce Ill
ness Another fallacy common to the
kitchen is that as soon as a tin Of
food Is opened the contents should be
poured into some other receptacle.
am not anxious to be known as an
iconoclast, but there are some pre1u-
dices like planting early potatoes in
the dark Of the moon. wearing asafe-
tida bags to avert measles and empty
ing tons of food as soon as opened,
that must be broken down. Plain COM
mon sense should tell the housewife
that il 1t is safe to use tin dishes to
bake pies in, tin pans to put milk in.
tin spoons to eat from. tin in hun
dred forms for all sorts OF purposes
in the kitchen. tin must be harmless.
And so 1t is; there Is no more reason
for pouring out the contents Of tin
OF tomatoes into another tin or enamel
dish or china bowl than there would
be In emptyfng glass package. Can
ned foods will not keep any longer