Evening star., 1925-07-21
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL J.. COLLINS.

One sometimes, wonders If Hamlet
had the City Of Washington in mind
when he exclaimed:
'Tis the sport to have the engineer
hoist with his own petard.
But, then, Hamlet spoke before the
Depa rtment of Agriculture had made
any reference 70 the fnsanitariness of
permitting meat and other foods to
gather germs by being exposed to the
dust and microbe-laden breezes of the
markets.
The Department of Agriculture is
sued a bulletin which exposed the ter
rors Of the air. 1t showed how many
germs of typhoid, of tuberculosis, of
dysentery and other diseases were
ever present in the air, and how very
dangerous was the practice of eX-
posing meat, berries, bread, pies and
cakes upon the market stands DR..
Fowler, city health officer, took UNI
brage-shade-at that ton by
inference that our markets were not
sa nitary. The charge, he assumed, re-
fiected upon his administration and he
called for a bill of particulars.
Then the Department of Agricul-
ture itself went into the shade to cool
off for several days-while DIR. Fow-
Ter is out OF the city-there has been
no more discussion of the microbes.
In fact, the silence is becoming op-
pressive, like the calm before a
cyclone.
An inspection of any market in the
city discloses that hardly l per cent
of the food offered to the ultimate
consumer" is guarded from flies and
other pests. visible and invisible. by
the protection of refrigerated glass
cases. 1t transpires that that bulle-
! tin of the Department of Agriculture
had accidentally slipped out without
going through official channels. The
Department Of Agriculture is in full
control and responsibility over Center
Market-the largest. market in the
city-and there are no more glass
ca ses therein than there are in other
markets.
The depa rtments market has
leased its stands to the dealers for a
| term of years, with a proyiso in its
leases forbidding the dealers from
putting in any permanent improve
ments. That is meant to prevent any
Objectionable dealer from blocking
the cancellation of his possession on
the ground that his permanent inn
provements give him vested rights.
All such improvements must be put
in by the Department of Agriculture,
and to so equip the Center Market
with refrigerating pipes to all stands
| and with glass showcases would cost
to come from, with Congress six
, months away? A petard is an ex-
plosive to blow UP something.
X 4 X
The bulletin aforesaid was never
intended for the public. 1t was re
port of committee of meat pro
ducers for the benefit of the trade
! and came into print through the
trade papers devoted 10 propa ganda
! in the interest of more meat eating.
Its statements are scientific, but how
will it encourage the public to eat
| more meat by pointing out insani-
| tary market conditions?
The department officials concede
that Government owned and con-
trolled market should comply with
the latest precautions against dis
eases, as shown by it's own depart
ment of chemistry, but what can be
done unless Congress gives the
money? The Bureau of Chemistry
! has recently published a book. by
Drs. Thorn and Hunter, entitled 'Hy-
gienic Fundamentals of Food Han
ding" That book contains even
stronger statements than did the
"petard" bulletin.
In a paper read by DIR. Thom be-
fore a scientific body discussing the
question of food handling, the writer
, said:
THE same regard for the public
! interest justif1es such restriction upon
the whole system of handling perish
able products as will prevent spoil
age from the organisms already pres
| ent or from the activity of organisms
accumulated in transit from the
producer to the consumer. The ex-
perience derived from the food poi
soning outbreaks of recent years
amply warrants the food official i'm
forcing the adoption of satisfactory
| pletlrods of selection. packing. trans
ssportation and storage, which viii in