Reports of the Industrial Commission ...

it is pointed out that butter containing boracic acid is not admitted into any European country except Great Britain and France, nor into several of the South American countries, and that the use of boracic acid would therefore destroy the sale of American butter in many foreign countries. It is also said to be a poor preservative, and unnecessary in butter.'

A few witnesses consider boron compounds injurious, and one of them submits an extract from a medical journal describing two distinct forms of poisoning from boric or boracic acid, one of which may occur as a result of its continued use in food. The preponderance of evidence, however, is to the effect that boron preservatives are harmless as ordinarily used.3

The principal use of borax as a meat preservative is on meats for export, though it has been found in considerable quantity in sausages, and sometimes in chickens shipped long distances in this country. Hams and other meats intended for export are simply rolled in borax after being cured or partly cured with salt or saltpeter. The borax is said not to penetrate to any great extent into the meat, and to be brushed off after the meat reaches its destination. The application of borax in this manner is regarded as necessary by exporters in order to keep the meat in good condition without the use of an amount of salt which would render it unpalatable.*

Other methods of preserving meat.-The principal other meat preservatives mentioned are sulphur, sodium sulphite, which sometimes masquerades as "freezem or new method meat preserver," salt, and saltpeter. The object of smoking meat is said to be to give it a flavor and color, not to cure it. The use of sulphur is recommended as next in value to treatment with boracic acid, and preferable to the use of either formalin, salicylic acid, carbolic acid, or corrosive sublimate. Sodium sulphite is claimed by a manufacturer of preservatives to be absolutely healthful in small quantities, but other witnesses appear to regard its use as undesirable. Salt is considered salutary in ordinary amounts, but both salt and saltpeter have been found to be injurious and even dangerous to life in excessive amounts. Saltpeter is regarded as more deleterious to health than either common salt, borax, or bicarbonate of soda, having a tendency to produce degeneration of muscle and an injurious effect upon the kidneys. Refrigeration is recommended as an excellent means of preserving meat, when an even temperature can be maintained and the meat consumed as soon as it is taken out of cold storage; but attention is called to the danger of tainting after removal from the refrigerator. Salicylic acid.—Salicylic acid, which is said to be used more than any other antiseptic, is considered by many authorities to be injurious even in small quantitles, at least to some individuals. It is thought to be injurious to the organs of secretion and to the mucous membrane; it is also said to disturb the digestion, depress the heart and the respiration, congest the lungs, and irritate the kidneys. It is considered capable of producing convulsions in infants, and cases are reported in which death was apparently due to the depression of the heart caused by its use. 10 One authority, however, considers it less objectionable than other antisep'North, pp. 476-178; Delafontaine, p. 233.

2 Duncan, pp. 47, 48; Piffard, p. 191; Prescott, p. 200; Adams, p. 209.

3 Delafontaine, p. 233; Stringfield, p. 282; Chittenden, pp. 421, 422; Billings, pp. 244-246, 250; Allport, pp. 256-259, 260; North, p. 477; Henrotin, pp. 264, 265; de Schweinitz, p. 614; James, pp. 267, 268-269, 279; Edwards, pp. 287, 289; Haines, pp. 284, 285.

4 Edwards, pp. 288, 289; Jenkins, p. 450; Lunham, pp. 239-242; Ellsworth, pp. 253-255.

Mitchell, pp. 113, 114; Heller, pp. 179, 180.

6 Allport, p. 260.

7 Heller, p. 178; Mitchell, p. 183; Prescott, p. 200.

Billings, pp. 245, 247; Haines, p. 284; Edwards, pp. 286, 287; Heller, p. 179.

Allport, pp. 260, 261.

10 James, p. 268; Prescott, pp. 195, 196; Chittenden, pp. 421, 425; Edwards, p. 286; Vaughan, p. 204; Stringfield, p. 282; Heller, p. 178; Thurber, pp. 581, 582.

tics, while two or three others think it harmless in the very small quantities ordinarily used.' Salicylic acid is often used in beer, wine, and other beverages, including grape juice and cider; but cider is said to be preserved chiefly with fluoride of ammonia or soda, which on decomposition forms hydrofluoric acid, the only acid which is too powerful to be kept in glass bottles. A compound of salicylic acid, salicylate of soda, and phosphate of soda is made for use in canning fruit, and furnished to owners of orchards, who use it in putting up their fruits without knowing its composition.*

Preservatives in beer.-Many brewers and others testify that antiseptics are not now generally used in beer, having been rendered unnecessary by the use of pasteurization and ice machines.5 Several witnesses, however, testify that salicylic acid, bisulphite of lime, and other preservatives are used in beer for export and for distant shipment. Beer imported from foreign countries is also said to contain preservatives. One importer, however, asserts that the beer he gets from Munich contains nothing but malt and hops, and similar claims are made for certain ales and stouts from England and Ireland. Of 15 samples of beer bought in New York, at least half of which were foreign, 4 only were found to contain salicylic acid, 2 of the 4 being foreign and 2 domestic beers. It is thought that the use of salicylic acid has been largely discontinued since attention was called to its harmfulness in the Agricultural Department's report on beverages.9

DRUGS.

The committee took very little testimony on the subject of drugs, but some testimony was given to the effect that the adulteration of drugs had been carried on to a great extent in this country. This seems usually to have been done for the purpose of cheapening them by reducing the strength; but even this kind of adulteration is condemned as dangerous in the case of drugs. Others are said to be not properly purified. Such commonly used articles as household ammonia, root beer, so-called cherry phosphate, etc., are said to be the kind of drugs most adulterated. Powdered coal dust is said to be sold for black antimony almost exclusively. Bromo seltzer is said to be made with acetanilide, a poisonous substance, in place of bromide of potassium.10

Two witnesses remark that the Government has already done a great deal to prevent the importation of adulterated drugs," and the hope is expressed that something will be done in the case of drugs of home manufacture. It is suggested that when proprietary articles contain substances which are poisonous in an overdose purchasers should be warned.12

GENERAL DESIRE FOR A NATIONAL FOOD LAW.

Many of the witnesses are convinced of the insufficiency of State legislation to regulate the purity of food. The chief objection, especially from the standpoint

1 Tucker, p. 435; Delafontaine, p. 232; Billings, p. 248; Schwartz, pp. 369, 372, 373.

2 Wiley, pp. 44, 45; Billings, p. 248.

3 Hallberg, p. 85.

4 Mitchell, pp. 115, 116.

5 Thomann, pp. 356-359; Pabst, p, 312; Oehne, pp. 294, 296; Fecker, p. 298; Plautz, pp. 300, 301; La Touche, pp. 544-546; Busch, pp. 488, 489; Evans, p. 417; Hachemeister, p. 415; Roche, p. 414; Wyatt, pp. 406, 407; Bauer, p. 390; Lippe, pp. 381, 384, 385; Kruesler, pp. 377, 378; Hupfel, p. 379.

6 Wigan, pp. 375, 376; Brown, p. 386; Wackenhuth, p. 412; Mitchell, p. 116; Schwartz, pp. 367, BCS, 269, 372; Zeltner, p. 456.

7 Wyatt, p. 407; Plautz, p. 300; Thomann, p. 358.

8 Eitel, p. 290; La Touche, pp. 544-516; Roche, p. 414.

9 Wiley, pp. 45, 584.

10 Hallberg, pp. 84-86; Piffard, pp. 194, 195; Mitchell, p. 124.

11 Hallberg, p. 83; Piffard, p. 93.

12 Frear, p. 484.

of the manufacturer, to leaving the matter in the hands of State governments is the lack of uniformity in State laws, which makes necessary different kinds of labels according to the State to which the goods are to be shipped. It is also urged that the State laws are insufficient from the lack of the appropriations necessary to enforce them, and through the lack of sufficient knowledge and efficiency on the part of the officials charged with their enforcement. Moreover, it is pointed out that the State laws are enforced mainly against the retailers, who may themselves be victims of deception, and that goods brought from another State and sold in the original packages can not be reached by State legislation.'

There seems, therefore, to be a general agreement both among the manufacturers and among others who express any opinion on the subject that national regulation is necessary or desirable. In the most common form which the proposals for legislation take, the principal thing sought for is the requirement that foods shall be honestly labeled and sold for what they really are. Manufacturers would apparently be willing to label their goods properly if their competitors were required to do the same. In the case of injurious substances, however, and in the case of compounds containing materials no one would knowingly use, correct labeling is considered insufficient and prohibition necessary. A number of authorities favor the establishment of a national commission or board of health, with power to fix regular standards for food products, and perhaps guarantee the quality of products coming up to the standard required, though two witnesses consider it undesirable for the Government to guarantee the purity or quality of particular food products. It is suggested that the proposed commission should be either under a department of commerce or under the existing Department of Agriculture. The Brosius bill, which is patterned after the English law and is said to be essentially the plan approved by the agricultural chemists in 1897 and in a modified form by the National Pure Food and Drug Congress in 1898, is advocated by one witness on the grounds that it avoids the tax feature and places the administration in offices already established, and that general legislation is preferable to piecemeal regulations.“

It is doubtful how far the National Government has power to go in regulating food products, but it is pointed out that it can at least do much toward preserving the reputation of American goods abroad, prevent the importation of misbranded and adulterated goods, legislate generally so far as concerns the Territories, the District of Columbia, and foods sent from one State to another, and thus establish a basis or model for more uniform State legislation."

1 Stewart, p. 73; Scully, pp. 93, 94; Piffard, pp. 193, 194; Tucker, p. 433: Frear, p. 529; Mitchell, p. 123.

2 Wiley, pp. 53, 587, 588; Monred, p. 65; Hanney, pp. 59, 60; Furbay, p. 62; Wise, p. 627; Delafontaine, p. 231; Berry, p. 97; Mitchell, p. 111; Hobbs, p. 496; Piffard, pp. 187, 192; Stewart, p. 79; Rossati, p. 448; Scully, pp. 93, 94.

3 Thurber, pp. 581,582; Piffard, p. 191; Mitchell, pp, 118, 124.

4 Lewis, pp. 36-39; Hallberg, pp. 80, 81, 87; Chittenden, pp. 418, 419, 422, 426; Tucker, pp. 436, 438, 439: Piffard, pp. 187, 188; Vaughan, pp. 206, 207; Wiley, p. 39; Billings, p. 247.

Mitchell, pp. 124, 131, 132; Tucker, p. 137.

Frear, pp. 526, 527.

7 Mitchell, p. 122; Adams, p. 207; Frear, pp. 529, 530.