Rock Island Argus., October 04, 1906, Page 11, Image 11

About Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920

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THE ARGUS, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1900.
11
Champion of
ure food
Side Lights on Dr. Harvey W. Wiley and His
Tireless Crusade
Ccmmflcder of the "Poison Squad" Is Somewhat of a Humorist,
Says Americans Have the Worst Cooks and Get the Least Out
of Their Foods Has Ridden His Hobby For
Twenty Years, Not to Death, but to
a New Lease of Life
Who
I
F In the course of human events
:tnd iimlcr the benign iutlueuce of
tbe new pure food l:iw tin- people
of t!ie I'niled Stales may eat ami
drink and Im- merry, giving no thought
to the horrible i1 : 1 1 i I i t " ot having
taken' into their sysicms various poi
sonous substances in I heir food aud
drink, the one man ehietly to 1 thank
ed fur that delightful eotisiiinuiatiou is
Ir. Harvey Washington Wiley. Oill
cially lr. Wiley is chief of the bureau
of chemistry in the department ol" ag
riculture; unofficially he may he called
tuuiuiaudor in chief of the allied aud
amalgamated armies of the pure food
crusade in America.
t-'or twenty years lr. Wiley has had
a hubby and ridden it hard. At times
this Pegasus of his has !e;:j;ed over ap
palling precipices of human prejudice
and tracked wearily through marshes
of inisutidet standing, but the doctor
lias ridden his hubby to a new lease of
life rather than to death, for today he
PIears to have arrived very near the
shining iortals of success the preven
tion by federal law of the use of poi
sonous substances as preservatives or
colorings fur food nnd drink, that is
Jr. Wiley's h;bby. Ily the passage of
the measure known as the pure fo.nl
law last June congress tiually approved
the efforts of Jr. Wiley and the thou
sands of other earnest workers in the
cause of preserving the human stom
ach from premature decline.
Somewhat of a Humorist.
Dr. Wiley takes ;reai joy in hi
work. Why imt": It is something
Worth while to devote one's life t; the
Jirutcrctiuu of the health of Ml.u m.niil
That remarkable experiment of Dr,
iley s is no louder n yarded as a
joke. even ny tne niosr nopeiessi.v jocu
lar person. Hy years of patient, tire-It-ss
observation the devoted chemist
has proved what he set out to prove
that the use of substances sitcu as
borucic acid, salicylic acid and for
maldehyde as preservatives for food
or drink are positively injurious to the
human svstem. lv feeding his class
of young men various kinds of food
preserved or colons! with the drugs
ciniiloved bv manufacturers he deduc
ed scientific facts which, embodied in
his otlicial reHrts. had much weight
in securing the pure f.od law.
Incidents of Food Reform.
Since lr. Wilev first made himself
a popular national figure by thus test
ing the actual results of the eating
of drugged food and boiling those re
sults down to a scientific certainty
many events of importance in the mat
ter of food reform have taken place
in the rnibil States. Ouite recently
we have had I pton Sinclair s expjse
of packing house horrors in '"The Jim
gl" followed by the passage of the
meat iusectiou law. which requires
that after Oct. 1 the manufacturers
of canned meats, hams anil other pack
ing house products on their labels
must call a spade a spade and not de
ceive the public by sending out canned
veal or pork with a picture or a spring
chicken on the label.
Ir. Wiley's work has dissipated sev
eral misconceptions. For instance, he
has shown that it is not necessarily the
food adulterants, but the preservatives
and colorings, which do the damage to
fee 4-ywfflMW
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teople. It is provocative of joy to suc
ceed in inducing the enactment of legal
measures calculated to tone up the mul
titudinous American stomach, casting
out Mich devils as dyspepsia, indiges
tion, typhoid aud other ills too numer
ous to mention. Among his intimate
friends the good Dr. Wiley Is known
as something of a humorist, and this
quality sometimes displays itself upon
public occasions when he discusses his
hobby. Once Ir. Wiley was dispens
ing his chemical wisdom before the
committee on agriculture of the house
of representatives when a rural con
gressman scornfully asked tbe distin
guished chemist to denne a "scientific
agriculturist."
"A scientific agriculturist," replied
the doctor, "is a gentleman in the em
ploy of the government who can make
f'2 grow on an appropriation bill where
only ?1 grew lefore."
Had not Dr. Wiley possessed a keen
appreciation of humor lie could not
have run the gantlet of the joke mak
ers duriug the four years of his "poison
Squad" boarding house In Washington
aud come forth fat and jolly, his use
fulness unimpaired. If he had leen
one of those solemn nnd serious sa
vants of the story books who fly into
a rage or grind their teeth when any
lody happens to take a jocular view
of a highly important proosition the
good Dr. Wiley long ere this must
have succumbed to nervous prostra
tion. As it was. he seemed thorough
ly to enjoy tbe jests made at the ex
jense of his unique gastronomic ox
Ierimut. though he never permitted
his sense of humor to interfere with
his strict scientific observation of the
results produced by tbe consumption
of a certain quantity of "doped" food
or drink by a certain member of his
free boarding squad.
. - . .JMilJ. i' .
the human stomach. The fact that fre
quently we buy and eat something sold
under a certain name which is realty
something else in whole or in part be
cause that somethiug else is cheaper
for tbe manufacturer than tbe thing he
pretouds to sell is disgusting, to be
sure, but unless it looks like what we
intend to buy we do not buy it, ami
right there is where the wily manufac
turer gets in his devilish work. He
col rs it with aniline or coal tar dyes
to make it look iike the real thing, aud
that coloring matter does tbe damage.
For a like purpose of deception certain
drugs called preservatives are used.
These serve to impress the innocent
purchaser with the notion that he is
buying wholesome meat, for instance,
when as a matter of fact the stuff
would Ik. putrid but for the "embalm
ing fluid" it contains.
Whisky la Five Minutes.
Dr.
t hose
drink
Wiley has Ftirred up not only
who eat food, but those who
alcoholic liquors. One evening
in AVasbington he was entertaining a
party of friends, who began to discuss
their favorite brands of whisky. Scotch
whisky seemed to be the most popular.
"I never drink anything but the real
Scotch." said two or three of the
guests.
"Do you drink over liars?" asked the
doctor, and they said they did.
"Then you never drink Scotch whis
ky at all. Not a bottle of Scotch whis
ky is to be had in this country except
in clubs and private houses. Scotch is
made of barley malt cured over a peat
fire. In Great ISritain I have seen so
called Scotch made of Indian corn al
cohol with a little dash of Scotch,
which is sold to American dealers as
real Scotch whisky by well luown distillers."
The conversation turned to good old
fourteen-year-old whisky, American
brand.
"Humph!" said Dr. Wiley. "I'll make
you some fourteen-year-old whisky iu
five minutes."
Turning to his chemical apparatus,
the doctor took a bottle of alcDhol.
some burned sugar and other things
and five minutes later liad concocted a
beautiful red liquor, which he passed
around. All pronounced it tine old
whisky.
"It Isn't whisky at all." said Dr. Wi
ley. "It's the stuff that is often called
whisky. By the use of what is known
as 'ageing oil" the greater portion of
the stun" labeled 'fourteen-year old
whisky' is made in less than fourteen
minutes."
Hams Smoked While You Wait.
As a member of the government's
pure food law commission, sitting at
New York during the latter part of
September, Dr. Wiley adduced the fact
that hams may be smoked while you
wait. One witness testified that his
house used a "patent smoke" for mak
ing smoked hams. This is a sort of
paint, with which the ham is smeared,
giving it the appearance of having
been cured in the dear old smoke
house at home, as your grandmother
used to do it.
Directly as a result of Dr. Wiley's
investigations some very astounding
facts regarding the true identity of the
stutf we put into our stomachs from
lay to day have ieen brought to light, j
Just one item will suffice here. Your
stomach may be too weak to stand
more. The patient and long suffering
mule that pulls the garbage cart past
your door is more important than he
looks. Do not scorn him. Next year he
may be silent, alas, in death, and you
may be eating his hoofs metamorphos
ed stupendous change! into "pure ap
ple jelly" or "pure ptyieh marmalade.'
Hut the fact that you are eating the
hoofs of the defunct mule is not the
most serious part of the proposition.
The coloring matter used to deceive
you into mistaking prepared mule hoof
for a peach or apple product is the se
rious thing. That is what does the
damage.
Dr. Wiley has estimated and declar
ed that about '.hi per cent of the man
ufactured fods sold In America con
tain deleterious substances introduced
for the purpose of deceiving the public
as to the true character of the product.
I 'ain u in made a colossal fortune," re
marked Dr. Wiley on a recent occasion,
"by acting on the principle that the
American people like to be humbugged.
To be cheated, fooled, ha mboozlcd. ca
joled, deceived. pettifogged. dema-
jugued. hypnotized, manicured and
chiropidized are privileges dear to us
all."
Kven the operation of the new food
law. if rigidly enforced, will not rob
the American people of their cherished
privilege of being humbugged if they
continue to U-Iieve the statements ol
some manufacturers that certain drugs
are good for their health, but the law
will reduce the bunibuggery very ap
preciably by insisting upon the proper
labeling of all product, so that if one
wants pure apple jelly he may buy a
jar so labeled and if lie prefers mule
hoof he may go around looking for a
label to indicate the animal.
It should be remembered that the
new law relates not only to toou. iuc
to liquors and medicines, so that there
must be government inspection of ev
cry thing that goes down the human
gullet provided that it is sold from
state to state and thereby conies un
der the head of interstate commerce.
Uniform Food Law.
Dr. Wiley worked as hard for this
uniform food law as many estimable
clergymen tire working for a uniform
divorce law. As a matter of fact, the
situation regarding food is pretty much
the same as that regarding divorce.
Kach state has its own laws relating to
food and to divorce. There are forty-
six states aud forty-six variations iu
divorce possibilities. Until the passage
of tbe federal foixl law the manufac
turers of some food products were
compelled to place a different label on
their goods for ever' state to which
shipment was made. When the na
tional law gets into active working or
der one label will serve for each state,
and that label, if the government iu
spectors do their duty, will tell exactly
Avhat the package contains.
The fight for a pure food law in con
Kress lasted nearly twenty years. Dr.
Wiley saj'9 the consumers started it.
aided by tbe grangers. Then some of
the honest manufacturers took it up
and finally some state officials, who
urcred a federal law. Of course the
proposed legislation was bitterly op
posed by unscrupulous manufacturers
of embalmed foods, doped medicines
and nrematurolv a ted whiskies, but the
"awakened conscience" of the people
along various lines at Inst brought
about the enactment of the present law
which elves excellent promise of food
reform after it goes into effect Jan. 3.
Dr. Wiley, who is a native of In
diana. in his sixty-second year, has
never found time to get married. His
life since early manhood has been de
voted undividedly to chemistry. As a
bachelor his remarks concerning cnioks
may be of Interest to married people.
Rays Dr. Wiley: "We have the most
abundant nnd best foods of the world,
but we live more poorly than any oth
er civilized nation. We have the worst
cooks and know least how to got the
most out of our foods. Cooking is look
ed down upon here. It should lie con
sidered one of the fine arts, and a cook
should command a high salary. I know
families in Washington who live at the
rate of $,000 or $10,000 a year and
who nevertheless will get some Ig
norant woman to spoil their victuals.
They will spend thousands of dollars
on their tables and waste It all by
Bklmping on the -ook."
ROBERTTJS LOVE,
Mr
.4
hi
t4
' Li
fc-J
31
r"
Mueller's "fil. L." Coal
Produces more IIP: AT and
contains LESS ASHES thnn
other coals at same prices.
Shed Protected Coal
Veins less than rain
soaked eial, a savintr of :Je
per bushel, 7.r! per ton, at
least. Our coal is forked,
free from dust and dirt.
iMmi r
C-OPVUIW..'
An Honest Ton of Coal
For your money is what
you want when you luy
from a reliable and consci
entious dealer
Oii'"''.!'.
On the Safe Side
Of coal in buying here. We
have just the best coal
mined, we clean it rifrht,
.sdl it rit?ht and deliver it
ditto. You're taking no
chances on quality or. cost
when you order coal from
us.
WHY
YOU
MUELLER'S
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G. Edwin Schmid,
Manager.
ami
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E
DC
IN COLLEGE AT ELEVEN
Prodigy at Tufts Head Darwin
When Eight Years Old.
EESTS HIMSELr WITH HIS IBSEN
"h'tttlier of 'rler Wriner S Ml
Sou Is Far Krom Iloinif "('riiiniiieil'
and Playn All Tliat !! Wlaliea Will
Slop Ilia Unnira Any Time to Talk
I'liilonopliy and Metupliyalon llaa m
IHarvclona Memory.
The ioor,.ovorlurdonod lazy bug, on
which the sins of omission of hoyn uud
"boys grown tall"' liavi Iwu laid since
the race was youii, has its grip even
upon Xorhert Wcincr, the prodigy ot
eleven years, who has been admitted
tu the freshman class at Tufts college,
says a ltostou special tlispalch to th
New York World.
"ile doesn't study too much; Le Is
even lazy at times. declared Pro
fessor Leo Weiner, the . Harvard in
structor whose small son's accomnHsh-
ments have made him the cynosure of
the educational world. This was In de
feuse of his letting his mou undertake
college work when most boys are well
down in the grammar grades.
'"What else can I do?" asked the
father when told people remarked that
the boy's lather Is a Harvard pro
fessor aud should know better." "He
has not been 'crammed. He plays like
other.. boxs .when he .wants ,tu nr
doesn't study much. I'.ut he will stop
playing any time to talk philosophy or
metaphysics.
"His mind is analytical, but while
his learning is deep he is not sutlii-ient-ly
advanced, of course, to apply the
principles. He has had half a year In
n kindergarten, one year iu an ele
mentary school and two years In a
high school. Yet he appears well tit
ted for a collegiate course. I shall
not press hini to study, but will permit
him to follow his own course.
"When he was eight years old he
was familiar with Darwin, Haeckcl.
Itibot and Huxley, while he had a
smattering of the reasonings of many
other philosophers. Ills memory Is
marvelous in Its retentiveness."
"I don't see wiy any one is inter
ested Iu me simply because I like to
study when I feel like it. Philosophy
i3 more interesting than fairy tales.
In fact, philosophy is fairyland." said
the infant collegian, who was rather
put out at being interrupted iu his
perusal of Ibsen and was disinclined
to be interviewed.
Childlike in form as he Is in age. the
child's luminous eyes contain some
thing in
ideas of the
for his years" Is written in every line
of his small but Intellectual counte
nance. The marks of Hussian enforced
now. to Htsen. To yon not think hTm
expansive V I get suggestions from him
which till my mind with a thirst for
greater things. I don't like occultism.
r tirnfor til n-jkt-1 tli.w. iLiLlitnia
my lather tells me I will have to face"
In after life.
"Iiut. there. V don't want to talk
now. I am to begin to work hard at
Tufts and want to rest myself with my
Ibsen."
Norbert arises promptly at 7 a. iu.,
dresses himself and turns his first
thoughts to his books. lie has to be
drawn from them to his breakfast. An
hour's play with neighboring children
satisfies him. and he then wants to re
turn to study. Physically he is strong
for a boy of his age, and his health I
Indeed remarkable considering the
close confinement to which he subject!
bjjnself.
.Te's'aj-s he has not yet marked out
a career for himself. "I am too young
for that. I want to learn all I can be
fore I choose a profession, and I guess
I can leam."
Norbert Weiner was bom In Colum
bia. .Mo., Nov. ';, IS'.M. His mother
was a Missouri girl, his father a Hus-
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A. GARRETT, CCH'L MGR.,
W. C. BINEARSON, G. P. A.,
GUiciutiaU.
Flan student who came to America to
their expression that recalls! seek his fortune. When ten years old'
supernatural. "Too old the Imv passed the examinations for
Is written iu every line admission to Harvard, but was barred
because of his age. This year Tufts'
college, at the solicitation of his father,
reticence aud sorrow are oddly blended i admitted him as a freshman upon his
with those of American energy, cour
age and carelessness.
"I like to play, but I much prefer to
read." said he. "The boys' pranks
amuse me, but when I have seen their
games and participated iu them I want
real, and I turn to my Huxley or, as
passing the entrance examinations with
higher rank than any other student
matriculating. His Knglish grammar
Is perfect, his Ijtln and German are
high, but he Knows practically nothing
of Slavonic, which hla father teacbe j
in Harvard. ... ... . I
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I kat ant-claM riUnMW ft 4 d f all! pwrmat.