Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-06-16

BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

The charge that disease is contracted
only by fools !" assumes that all mes
have equal advantages for guarding
against germs. and that public servant
public against germs, are performing
their duties with ideal efficiency.
Sanitation is much farther adj
vanced in America than In any 9TH
er country in the world. Yet people
do become infected with disease
germs, even with the best of pre-
cautions. DIR. William c. Fowler.
health officer of the District. an
nounces that measures are redoubling
to protect health through extra care
in inspecting food during the hot
weather. All establishments han
ding meats or other foods are being
closely inspected Restaurants, bak-
cries. ice cream and soda stands are
spections are made weekly. Intel
ligent cittzens-not "fools'-have a
special duty to perform in co-operat-
ing with the Health Department by
ever they see fools" careless as TO
cleanliness and other forms of SAM
tation. This is everybody's duty.
X X X X
Pasteur demonstrated that there
is no such thing as spontaneous de-
velopment of germs in foods that
Germs float in the air and quickly
find their way into open milk bottles
or other food containers. There they
quickly multiply and fermentation
results. If the germs are barred out
of sealed vessels fermentation is i'm
possible, provided none have been In
closed before the sealing.
ch hot
price of pork has fallen so low that
it is back to pre-war basis. Seven
teen Piggy Wiggly stores In vir-
ginia were sold last week without
a squeal from the buyer any loud
err than what one pig under gat"
would have made year or TWO ago.
Congress passes all federal laws.
Such laws require a majority OF both
branches of Congress. and the ap
prevail Of the President. The Presi-
dent by, and with the consent OF the
Senate (without the House), makes
treaties with foreign nations, and
these treaties become the supreme
law Of our land, so far as they go.
AS such they are above the laws
passed by the whole Congress. That
becomes interesting under some cir
cum st ances. in case the treaty cir
cunvents the laws Of Congress. based
upon an amendment adopted by more
than three fourths of the states. The
combination of circumstances Is with
out precedent. 1t makes precedent.
The statement that men have been
burned at the stake for saying that
the earth is round and revolved about
the sun" Is not historically and liter
ally exact. 1t is substantially true
that men have been prosecuted severe
~ for SO saying, and the persecution
has been sanctioned by clerical tnffu-
ences, actuated by the belief that onlE
by suppressing such progressive
science could the truths OF religion be
maintained. This was doubtless the
case when Calico was hailed before the
inquisition (see Encyclopaedia Brltanni-
ca, volume x), threatened with the tor
ture unless he recanted, and finally
sentenced to prison and required 10
! recite certain penitenttal psalms every
week for three years. Later ne was
paroled. under restrictions continuing
the rest of his life. No one today
questions the scientific truth for which
he was thus prosecuted. Calico was
condemned Is vehemently suspected
of heresy," and although he submitted
to recantation, he was sentenced by
the inquisition to prison during the
pleasure of the tribunal. The essential
point is that charges Of heresy made
against advanced science did not begin
with Mr.. Bryan's skeptcism of evolu-
ton. Men have been burned at the
stake for heresy, but probably not for
the alleged heresy of science seem
! ingly contradictory of the Bible. I'm
prisonment and persecution have been
! the extreme penalty of advanced
/ science.
! Copyright. 1923. by P v collins)