New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-25

At every meeting of this organization the mem
bers impress upon each other the Importance of
keeping their goods clean, and many dealers have
been able to convince customers that their ice
can be used to cool beverages and foods by direct
contact without the slightest danger. They even
recommend the of melted ice as the purest
and softest drinking water.
Generally speaking, the who is afraid to
pu. ice into his drinking glass quite overlooks the
peril that accounts for ninetenths of ice con
taminaton. | mean careless handling His fears
concentrate upon disease germs supposed to in
habit the water where the ice is cut-bugs frozen
into the ice to be set free, eager and vicious, as
soon as it melts The fact is that Nature safe
guards natural ice in a remarkable degree Water
as il freezes preciptates impurities. organic mat
ter salts and bacteria. Any who has tasted
a piece of frozen water knows that its saline
quality is barely perceptibe. This is because, in
freezing it rejects four-ffths of its salt. In the
same way, when fresh water is solicited by cold
sOrno bacteria remain, but these decrease in num-
Der the longer the ice stays in storage. Having
nothing to feed upon, they literally starve to
death. Experiments made a few years ago during
the height of panic regarding typhoid attributed
to ice showed that the disease germs in water
after freezing numbered from to 10 per cent of
the quantity originally present. OF these surviv-
ing germs 80 per cent died in week, and more
than 90 per cent in three weeks. The experiments
were conducted by Professor c. +. A. Winsow OF
the College OF the City of New York. Professor
W T. Sedgwick of the Massachusetts Institute OF
Technology and DR.. W. H. Park, of the New York
Department of Health. Dr. Sedgwck, upon the
COMPLETION Of these Investigations made the fol-
lowing report:
AS a vehicle of disease ice is plainly less dan
gerous to public health than either water or milk
SCIENTIFIC STATEMENTS LEAVE THE PUBLIC
MIND UNTOUCHED.
Other physicians and chemists, who have looked
into the question of disease bacteria in ice reached
about the same conclusions; but they warned the
ice men that the verdict of science was not sum
Gent at that time TO restore public confidence in
zee They urged the dealers not only to acquant
the public with the facts, but to reform their
methods of handling. "The harvesters of ice
themselves" said John c. Sparks, water expert
for New York City, "are largely TO blame for the
public prejudice. In the past am sorry to say,
sufficient care was not used to harvest and sell
only good quality ice. 1t is of no use TO assure
the public that the process of freezing purifes
the ice and that storage of ice eliminates the few
remaining bacteria, if the ice delivered is full OF
eel grass and suspended matter, or is irregular
in shape and not in first class physical condition
The appearance OF the product, its physical con-
dtion and the method of delivery are large fac
tors and every dealer who sells poor product
hurts not only himself but every one in the bust
ness"
The campaign for cleaner ice has left the midi
vidLa consumer in position where he can make
q personal investigation of the purity of his sup
ply as easily as he can examine the healthfuness
of his milk If he buys artificial ice he should
hat iD,p1
during the process of manufacture or after. Artl-
fetal ice is made by filing with water and
surrounding them with liquid freezing mixture,
which draws the heat from the water and leaves
a cake of clear, solid ice.
PACIFIES CONSUMER.
Tie pioneers in this business found that their
ice was likely to turn out porous and clouded.
This condition was due to the air in the water.
In freezing the water rejected the air and LETT 1t
in the form of tiny bubbles all through the cake
To pet around this difficulty the manufacturers
drove the air out of the water by distllllng II.
Results were satisfactory far as the consumer
was concerned but distlaton added considerably
TO the cost of production However, knowledge
that manufactured ice was made of distilled, ster-
lie water was a telling point in its favor at
time when the public alarmed by reports OF
the mpurity of the natural product
But recently method has been devised where
by ice can be artifcially made from raw or undis-
titled water, and account Of its lower cost raw
water ice is driving the distilled water ice out of
the market. On account of popular prejudice IN
favor of the distilled water product the lcemakers
have not seen fit to advertise their changed
methods and most users of artificial ice still COM
fort themselves with the belief that their supply
is absolutely safe because a product OF distilled
water
Now the fact is that wa.er ice is quite as
nure as ice made of distilled water; many dealers
Insist that it is purer. In the manufacture of raw
water ice the water in the freezing cans Is con-
stantly agitated by jets of air This causes the
AIR in the water instead of forming bubbles i'm
prisoned in the ice cake to be thrown OF from
The constantly changing surface The result is
a clear block of ice The water purlhes itself be-
cause as it freezes impurities, net only visible
dirt, but invisible microbes, thrown toward the
centre or core. Before the freezing process is
completed this OF impure. germ Laden water
is drawn off the vacant space is reflled with pure
water and the cake is frozen solid
WHICH WILL MAKE THE MBIBING OF ICE
WATER AN OCCASION OF JOY.
Analysis made by of the ice companies
showed that water ice contained only two
bacteria per cubic centmetre in the clear portion
of the cake and six bacteria per cubic centlmetre
in the CORE while distilled water ice made by the
same concern contained six bacteria per cube
centimetre in the clear outside portion and l6O,-
900 per centimetre in the centre. The lesson is