Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1934-05-13
CIVIC EXECUTIVE
URGESSUPPORT0F
PURE FOOD BILL
J. N. Schaffer Makes Radio
Appeal to Cite Safety
Measures Afforded.

Outlining the CONSUMERS point OF
view" on the proposed food, drugs
and cosmetic bill now before Congress
j. M. Schaffer. president of the
Southwest Citizens Association and
delegate to the Federation of Citizens
Associations, represented the latter
body In making an address over
station WMAL recently. The address
follows, in part:
"On April 7, 1884, the delegates to
the Federation of Citizens Associa-
tons unanimously Endorsed a bill
introduced by Senator Copeland
to prevent the manufacture and sale
of adulterated and misbranded foods,
drugs and cosmetics, and to prevent
the false advertising of such products.
ITO us as consumers of foods, drugs
and cosmetics, this bill is one of the
most important pieces of legislation
presented to the Congress at this
session. 1t affects the welfare of
every man, woman and child in the
United States. Fortunately it has
been in the charge of man rated as
one of the greatest health commits
sioners in the history of the country.
oCAldIOI SOPCldllO lldS 1Ou6llG 1Ol Illlo
bill against the bittereSt opposition.
Now he has brought it out of COM
mittee onto the floor of the Senate,
where it will soon be voted on.
Support Is Urged.
Eve believe the Copeland bill
marks a great advance in consumer
protection. We believe it is worth
fighting for. Consumers all over the
country are aroused to the need for
this legislation. An awakened public
is ready to get back of Senator Cope
land as it got back of DIR. Wiley in
1906, to demand the enactment of
his bill.
81 am not going to recite the abuses
that exist in the industries affected
by the proposed new law. We all
know pretty we'll what they are. We
know, too, that the food and drug
administration-one of the most
socially-minded and efficient bureaus
in the Federal Governments doing
the best it can to protect us under
an insufficient appropriation and an
inadequate outworn law. That is why
We, as consumers, demand the pas
sage OF Lue Copeland DILL.
For one thing, the Copeland bill
gives the Federal Government con-
troll over cosmetics. outlawing those
which are dangerous to health and
requiring all of them to be sold on
an honest basis.
False advertising of foods, drugs
and cosmetics through any medium is
absolutely prohibited. This means,
for one thing, that horse liniments
can no longer be sold as effective
cures for human tuberculosis nor
horsetail weed for diabetes.
THE proposed new law goes long
way to insure the safety and efficiency
of Standardization. Recognizing that
people will always treat their own
ailments, it gives the individual an
opportunity of knowing something
about the medicine he prescribes for
himself Directions must be explicit,
and they must take into account the
possibility of overdosage and other
unsafe use.
Another group of products which
have gone scot free up to now, but
which are brought within the juris-
dictior of the proposed new law, and
the widely advertised reducing"
agents. These include the highly dan
gerous thyroid preparations which
should never be taken except under
the eye of doctor, various purgative
salts and herb teas, and perfumed
Epson salts for the bath put out under
fancy names-all worthless or po-
tentially harmful, and all sold at
prices as fancy as their names.
In the case of foods, the informa-
tive labels required under the Cope
land bill would give the woman who
does her own marketing more infor-
nation than she has ever had before
to do her shopping wisely. And she
can be more certain than ever before
that the food she buys will not be
dangerous to health because of HARM
full ingredients, whether those ingredi-
ents are added or natural.
The proposed law also does away
with good many of those petty
chiseling practices the housewife finds
SO irritating.
Certain Provisions Wanted.
ION the other hand, there are certain
provisions that we want put back in.
We want the law to require the labels
of patent medicines to show what is