New-York tribune., 1918-10-01
DIR. Lucius Brown
Quits Job for City
To Join the Army
Director Of Food and Drugs
Bureau Accepts Com
mission as Captain

DR.. Lucius Polk Brown, recently
cleared by the Board of Health of
charges of improperly conducting the
Bureau of Food and Drugs of the
Health Department., was yesterday
granted leave of absence without sal
airy for the period of the war, and viii
shortly enter the army as a captain.
As director Of the Bureau of Food and
Drugs his salary was $4,000 a year
AS captain in the army he will re-
ceive $2,400 year.
Dr. Browns commission as a captain
in the food and nutrition division of
the sanitary corps of the surgeons
generals office was gazetted in Wash
ington on Saturday and yesterday DR..
koyal S. Copeland, the health commits
sloner, was asked for ave of absence.
effective at once. This request DR..
Copeland granted and DR.. Brown, in
the course of the next few Gays, will
report to Washington for duty.
Exonerated of Former Charges
Friends of DR.. Brown said yesterday
that the recent unpleasantness in the
Board of Health in which DR.. Brown
was storm centre had nothing to do
with his entering the army at this : .e
The charges which were prefer d
against him by James Z. Mcbride, u. n
chairman OF the Civil Service Gonna s.
SION, in the course of Mayor IIylaA's
when brought to a hearing before the
full Board of Health, the board finding
that at the worst, he had done noting
but follow the orders OF his superiors
IN the department.
In this fight DR. Brown had the sup
port OF the medical societies of New
York by national associations of medi-
cal men and sanatarians, by high medi-
cal oihcers OF the army and naVy--in
word, by the medical profession gen
orally, as we'll as by the leading civic
socletles and labor organizations. and
the decision of Commissioner Cope
land and his associates in the board ex-
oncrating him met with general COM
mendatson At that time he was tue
recipient of various offers of positions
IN public and private employment, sew
eral of them at larger salaries.
Food Experts Are Scarce
In accepting the offer of a commits
sion in the army medical friends said
last night that he had no choice but to
accept, the scarcity of experts on food
and nutrition making the offer a call
to serve that he could not decline.
Dir. Brown, who is native of Ten
nessee, WAS for years head of the food
and drugs department Of that state
before coming to New York, five wears
ago. to become head of the Bureau of
Food and Drugs, having been first on
the list OF experts from one end of the
country to the other who took the
Civil Service examination for the place.
Previously he had been State Chemis
Of Tennessee and president of Asso-
citation of Dairy, Food and Drug Off
clals of the United States.
Under his management the Health
Departments supervision of the food
and drug markets of the city becam,
the standard for the rest of the coun-
try to follow, while the drug and pat
/ ent medicine takers who had found
New York a happy hunting ground
/ found their occupations largely gone
at least, so far as New York is cor
cerned. Tho bureau was so organized
as to have excellent control of the i'm
mense flow of food supplies into the
city, and many sources through which
bad and adulterated foods found their
way to the consumers tables were
closed.
DR.. Brown last night refused to dis.
cuss the matter of his appointment
referring all inquiries to DR.. Copeland