The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-25
Dr. Harvey W. Wiley Says Candy and Sweets Should
 Not Be Given to Children. Wholly Unsuited for Food
ALL CRIME AND SIN TRACED DIRECTLY
 TO POOR HEALTH
Much Knowledge About Feeding Hogs and Cattle, But Little About Feeding Babies"

America is dissipating her greatest as- set, the public health, according to pr. Harvey w. Wiley, the foremost pure food expert of the nation, who spoke at Central high school last night With an intelligent regard for the laws of health and the consumption of proper food, the life of the average American, instead of being only A years, could be extended to SS years, in the opinion of the noted authority on matters of public health.
 Educate the people of this country as to the proper way to live and protect their health,' he said, then pass laws and club the delinquents into obeying the ordinary rules for the protection oi their own health as well as for the pro. lection of the community in which they live. Lack of education in matters of health is the principal trouble with us now. The average father and mother are ignorant of what food should be given baby. They do not understand about ventilation and even the ordinary questions of health such as the temper ature which should prevail in a living room'
 USE OF BENZOATE
 pr. Wiley spoke briefly of the fight which he had made when he was the head of the pure food department of the department of agriculture His ruling against the use of benzoate of soda in catsup was cited as an example of the harmful ingredients which were placed in much of the food consumed by the na- tion. The manufacturers protested against his order, and some were even of the opinion that catsup could not be made without benzoate. The fact that all the catsup manufacturers had now ceased to use that preservative since the war had made the price prohibitive was cited as proof that the manufactur- CTS desired to use benzoate merely be- caus its use formerly gave them larger profits from the business.
 Any selfrespecting citizen should ba ashamed to die from any cause other than old age, declared Dr. Wiley. De- spite the inordinate love of living DOS sessed by the average person, practically all were guilty of recxlessly squandering their health, he said.
 The speaker quoted the vital statistics Tor the nation and showed the exces slvely high mortality rate among infants especially during the first year The lack of proper food was the chief cause assigned for this condition The care lessness and ignorance with which milk was chosen for babies contributed to the large number of deaths among infants and the improper food consumed by chill dren was largely responsible for the foundations resulting in later wears in poor health.
 While pr. Wiley did not declare in favor Of the doctrine of eugenic marriages. he cited the fact that a license to marry Tn the United States was much more easily obtained than was a certificat te to drive an automobile. Peopre wno were not physically fit for marriage should remain single he declared. r-ne stringent regulations in Germany govern ing the issuance of marriage licenses were cited as being desirable in America TOT the betterment of health conditions.
 IS AGAINST SWEETS
 The eating of candy and other sweets oy children in this country was depYored py the speaker, who credited this prac- uce With large part of the ills to winch children are heir. That the appe- tite for these sweets was an acquired one for which the parents were respon- ". bread was declared to be wholly unsuited for food and entirely lacking in soma of the properties necessary for the proper nourishment of the body and the building of certain tissues.
 pr. Wiley declared that all crime and sin could be traced directly to poor health and that perfect physique meant perfect man mentally and morally. The failure of people to take stock of their health was blamed for much of the ill., ness which gradually takes hold of A person and slowly saps his vitality. A regular visit to an expert physician with thorough examination once or twice a year was the best health insurance that could be taken, he said.
 | The speaker scored the custom in | this country of educating men to learn how to feed hogs and cattle, while but little attention was given to the prop CT feeding of babies. Where you find one person studying the question of proper food for an infant you will find l 50 studying the question of feeding hogs and cattle." said Dr. Wiley. 1 Where the government spends one dollar to save the life of it's people, it l spends $50 to save the life of hogs and cattle. The easiest thing to do in Con 1 gress is to get an appropriation to 1 fight hog cholera and the foot and mouth disease. To get money to save
 the life of, people is almost impos- 1 sible."