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THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1913.
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THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL
A7EANTA, GA., 6 NORTH FORSYTH ST.
Entered at the Atlanta Postoffice as Mall Matter ol
the Second Class.
JAKES X. GRAY,
President and Editor.
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Atlanta. Ga.
An Essential Feature
Of Tax Reform.
For the same reason that there should be a board
of tax equalization in each county, there should be
also a central board for the State as a whole. If a
county board is necessary to assure the just and uni
form payment of taxes by individuals, then certainly a
State board is necessary to assure an equable return
of taxes by counties. There must be equality of tax
ation among communities as well as among citizens,
if the sorely needed reform of Georgia’s fiscal system
is tg be adequate and vital. Otherwise we shall be
attenuating, as it were, to play “Hamlet” with Ham
let left out.
It is regrettable that the Ways and Means com
mittee of the House has not more distinctly recog
nized this principle in the measure of tax revision
which it has recommended for adoption. It has ap
proved the creation of county boards but has re
jected the all-important provision for State-wide
direction and control. Its plan Is admirable so far
as it goes but it leaves the problem only half solved.
Makeshift measures will hot suffice the needs of a
State whose • financial condition is so critical and
confused as Georgia’s is today.
When the same kind of land is returned in some
counties at fifty dollars an acre and in neighboring
counties at only three, when property, real and per
sonal, is returned in one county for sixty per cent
of its valuation and in an adjoining county for only
ten, it is evident that some means of establishing a
fair and uniform basis of tax assessments through
out the State is imperative. And until this Is done,
Georgia’s treasury will remain impoverished and her
public institutions will continue to be stinted in
their needs and checked in their development, de
spite the fact that she is naturally one of the richst
commonwealths in all the Union.
It Is this glaring lack of fairness and uniformity
in the tax returns of counties as well as of indi
viduals that is chiefly responsible for the State’s
present inability to pay its teachers and to support
those Institutions and enterprises which make for
our common progress and prosperity. Let this one
great defect of our governmental machinery be cor
rected, and we shall have ample funds for all the
State’s college as well as its common schools and lor
the development of many other important fields of
endeavor which now must go neglected. ,
Furthermore, an equalization of taxes will reduce
the burden upon the average taxpayer, for, when
all citizens meet their obligations as they should,
then every citizen’s share of government’s expense
will be lighter. Indeed, the policy of equalization
and uniformity is advantageous whether we view it
from the standpoint of the individual, the county or
the State in its entirety. It means justice to all per
sons and all interests concerned, that justice which
is the only guarantee of enduring prosperity.
The members of the present Legislature have
shown so steady a purpose to deal with this question
frankly and efficiently that we may hope for a meas
ure of fiscal reform more thoroughgoing than that
which the committee has recommended.
It seems, indeed, that members of the com
mittee have been convinced on a sober second
thought that the process of tax equalization should
extend to the State as well, as to the separate coun
ties. That is the policy of practical wisdom which
should prevail.
Senator Smith’s Address.
Senator Hoke Smith’s recent address to the Geor
gia Legislature, delivered in response to an invita
tion from both Houses, was an impressive account of
his own stewardship and masterly review of the
great work that national Democracy is accomplishing.
The position of distinctive leadership which the Sen
ator’s colleagues have accorded him enabled him to
speak with rare insight and from abundant observa
tion of the constructive program in which Congress
and the Wilson administration are -so earnestly en
gaged. His message was that of one laboring in the
forerank of those who are building a freer and better
order of American government; and, so, his confident
prediction of the passage of the tariff bill and of the
success of efforts to reshape the currency and banking
system to the country’s business needs were unus
ually significant and cheering.
Senator Smith’s own record of service is so clear
and distinguished as to call for little comment.
Since entering the Senate, he has been notably iden
tified with the larger undertakings of that body. His
advocacy of educational measures, his stalwart re
sistance of pension increases that were unjust to the
South and to the country at large, his bills for agri
cultural extension work and kindred enterprises to
upbuild farming interests, his untiring labor on im
portant committees and his far-sighted counsel both
in the party caucus and on the floor have been not
only a credit to himself but an honor to Georgia and
the South.
The Red Roll of the Balkans.
It is doubtful that in modern times there have
been any battles so tragic in their human sacrifice
as those of the Balkan war. The opposing armies
have fought with savage fierceness, seemingly un
tempered by those common ideals which civilization
is supposed to engender. A writer in the Boston
Transcript calculates that Bulgaria alone, while she
was still in alliance with Greece and Servia, “sus
tained a loss in killed and mortally wounded al
most equal to one-third of the similar losses in
curred by the Union army in the four years of the
Civil war.”
This is but a fragment and the beginning of the
red roll, for, the fighting among the Allies them
selves during the past few weeks has been even
more ruthless than when they were engaged in a
common campaign against Turkey. Reports from
the various fields are naturally : ger and incom
plete but military ...orities reckon that the num
ber of killed and wounded on all sides since the
Greeks and Serbs bpened fire on Bulgaria is not
•less than fifty thousand. Much of this loss is doubt
less due to the barbaric course of the Bulgars in
massacreing defenseless villagers, though a great por
tion has evidently been sustained in actual battle
and it is all chargeable to the spirit of war.
“The magazine rifle and the rapid fire gun,” says
an observer of the Balkan ctrife, "have not hei*3to-
fore wrought the havoc that was expected of them.
It has been found difficult to bring troops into close
action and each side has begun firing at long range.”
But in this war “line has been hurled against line,”
the bayonet has been driven to its mark, the fight
ing has frequently been hand-to-hand with all the
cruelty and terror of which we read in the ancient
historians’ account of the battles between Rome and
Carthage.
In addition to the staggering human loss which
the Balkan wars have entailed, their devastation of
property is beyond calculation. It will require long
years for the peninsula to recover from the crushing
blows of this far-flung conflict. Cities have been
battered into dust, fruitful. regions have been laid
waste and in some instances the very means of liveli
hood have been destroyed.
Had the Allies paused after their victory against
the Turk and devoted their combined genius and
resources to the upbuilding of - -e country they had
won, had they planned and worked together for the
good of the peoples they had emancipated, their war
would have gone —to history as one of the splendid
struggles of civilization against barbarism. But in
turning upon one another, they have largely neg
atived the blessings that might have issued from
their brave campaigns against Turkey. Their fu
ture is today a matter of dismal surmise.
The Greeks Servians have, to he sure, mani
fested a high orde of courage and press dispatches
would indicate -at in the recent battles they have
refrained from such savagery as has stained the Bul
garian course. The part of Greece has been partic
ularly valiant and impressive. Her army and navy
rendered invaluablf service in the earlier campaigns.
Without her vigorous attacks upon Turkey’s flanks,
It is doubtful that the conquest of Adrianople could
have been effected. Her claims to Saloniki seem well
founded and her present resistance of Bulgaria’s
selfish policy is natural and justified.
It is to be hoped that means will be found by the
larger Powers to terminate this wasteful and terrible
war on a basis of justice to all concerned. Diplomacy
could render no greater or more imperative service.
A Prudent Policy Toward Mexico.
Soberly interpreted, the news dispatches of the
past few days in no wise indicate that our Govern
ment should swerve from its well-considered policy
of caution and self-restraint toward Mexico. That
conditions in that unfortunate country are very
grave is undeniable; but so they have been for many
seasons past. Foreign investors naturally long for a
return of orderly government but hasty or violent
action on the part of the United States would ban
ish rather than bring nearer their hopes. Europe is
naturally concerned ever the continuous warfare, but
there is no reason to believe that any Old World na
tion has threatened actually to intervene unless the
United States does so; nor is it likely, as one ob-
j r or remarks, that any of them "have gone beyond
courteous diplomatic sounding” of what our future
attitude toward the Mexican situation will be.
Thus far the United States has shown practical
wisdom In declining to recognize the Huerta govern
ment. That regime has no legal basis. It was es
tablished in a night by means of treason and murder.
It has little or no popular support and only a scant
military support. Far from crushing the rebellion,
Huerta has seen it spread from State to State; and
today he is no stronger but on the contrary weaker
than when he stole into the Presidency through the
.betrayal of Madero.
With the exception of a narrow zone about the
.capital, the Huerta administration commands no
obedience or respect. The masses of the Mexican
people are either indifferent or openly rebellious
toward this makeshift government. Indeed, there Is
today no responsible power in Mexieo which the Uni
ted States could recognize, if it would. President
Wilson shows a purpose to move deliberately and,
before taking any decisive action, to have all the
facts before him; and it is to that end that he has
summoned ou» Mexican ambassador to Washington.
The New York World states the_ case cogently
when it says;
“Bad as conditions are, rashness on our part
might easily make them infinitely tcorse for our
selves and Europe also. Mexico is working out
its own problems in blood, in suffering, in hu
miliation. It will have a sort of election in Oc
tober, the result of which may justify a change
of policy on our part. In the mean time there
is no call for intervention and there is nothing
in the Monroe Doctrine that oblige us to make
war in response to the pressure of anybody.”
President Huerta apparently doesn’t like the
prospect of these recall elections.
The trouble with that Pittsburg bank was that
there were too many waterworks—and probably too
much water.
1 he Teachers, First.
There can be no doubt that the public sentiment
and public judgment of Georgia demand a fair
deal for the teachers of our common schools. In
every part of the State, good citizens and repre
sentative newspapers are insisting that the Legisla
ture devise without further delay some effective
plan whereby the teachers may be paid promptly
instead of being -ipelled, as now, to wait for
their salaries long months after their services havt
been rendered. The people are naturally concerned
over a question that bears so vitally upon their
homes and their common interests. They realize
that the slipshod policy, if continued, will inevitably
undermine the usefulness of the schools and sacri
fice the progress and well-being of the entire common
wealth. They lo<' to their repr sentatives in the
Legislature for protection and relief.
It is evident tnat the permanent remedy for this
grievous injustice to educational affairs lies in a
thorough reform i the State’s fiscal system, and to
that end a well considered plan of tax equalization
must be provided. When the taxes of every prop
erty owner and of every county are returned on a
fair and uniform 1 -sis, there will not only be ample
funds for those public institutions and enterprises
which now are beggarded or forsaken but the aver
age tax burden will be appreciably lighter.
The fruits of such a reform, however, will ripen
rather slowly, whereas the problem of teachers’ sal
aries demands the earliest possible solution. When
we reflect that up to the middle of June, 1913, not
a penny of the tv. - million, five hundred and fifty
thousand dollars appropriated to common schools
had been paid and that this great gap between duty
and performance is growing continually wider, we
must perceive the need of instant action. While
looking to a better fiscal system as the ultimate
cure, we must bestir ourselves to find some imme
diate relief for the Ills that are constantly becom
ing worse.
The most advisable plan yet proposed for this
urgent need is the levy of a special school tax for
a period of two years. A bill providing that a con
stitutional amendment to this effect be submitted
to the people is now before the Legislature, having
been introduced by Mr. McMiehael, of Marion. It
contemplates the assessment of one mill for the
first year and, for the second year, whatever frac
tion of a mill .may then be necessary to meet the
improved situation. We believe the voters of Geor
gia will heartily indorse such a proposition, for,
without imposing any appreciable burden, it will
enable the State to deal. justly with the teachers
and at the same time it will tend to relieve the
pressure in other departments of public need.
Certainly, the G meral Assembly should give the
people a chance to avail themselves of this praise
worthy and feasible plan, if they will. The failure
to pay teachers’ salaries when due has given rise
to problems we dare not longer neglect. The State
must either meet its responsibilities in this regard,
or suffer a woeful decline in its educational inter
ests and, indeed, in every other sphere of its com
mon life.
A Missouri Idea.
The Governor of Missouri has conceived the bril
liant plan of calling out three hundred thousand
patriotic citizens who will give two days’ work to
the construction and improvement of Stale highways.
Thus, he hopes, a vast network of good roads will
spring up in a twinkling and with scarcely a dollar’s
expense.
it would be an inspiring sight for this grand army
of Missourians to sally forth from farms and shops
and office buildings, all in the midsummer sun and in
a ringing crusade of two brief days achieve what
slower and less ingenious States require yeai-s to
accomplish. An inspiring sight indeed! But what of
the quality of the work thus performed?
Some waggish skeptic remarks that when the first
rainstorm comes along, it will be well for the Gov
ernor to call his three hundred thousand citizens back
.into service to hold umbrellas over their new roads
in order that they may not ije washed away. Some
such safeguard would, indeed, bo necessary, for few
tasks require more care in their preparation or more
skill in their execution than that of road building.
Money or labor spent in the hasty or ill-consider
ed construction of roads is wasted. Highway build
ing calls for as much knowledge and supervision as
house building. It must be conducted In accordance
with a farsighted plan and with careful judgment In
the selection of material. Each road, In order that
If may render its due measure of service, must be a
link in some great chain of roads. Hence the need
of engineering skill and oversight in all such under
takings.
The Missouri'Governor’s plan is admirable in re
spect to the enthusiasm It seeks to arouse but other
wise it would prove costly and disappointing. It is
necessary, to be sure, that piibMs sentiment be awak
ened and stirred to the importance of good roads be
fore anything can be accomplished in that great
cause. It is this sentiment which makes possible
the issuance of bonds and the employment of prac
tical means for highway construction and mainte
nance. But after a good roads campaign has been
launched and has stimulated a county or State, it
must be followed by steady, scientific methods if its
fruits are to ripen and continue.
Three hundred thousand citizens, convinced of
the need and the value of good roads, would, how
ever, accomplish marvels by turning their conviction
to account at the polls and through legislative in
fluence.
The New Haven’s Policy.
Attorney General McReynolds expresses the hope
that the resignation of Charles S. Mellen from the
presidency of the New Haven railroad indicates “a
desire on the part of the road to come more closely
within the law than it has.”
Whether this wish is to be realized peacefully
depends upon the interests that have dominated the
New Haven throughout the Mellen administration
and which will continue after he has retired. Close
observers declare that the physical and financial de
cline of this great property was due not to any lack
of ability on the part of President Mellen, for, he is
recognized as one of the country’s really masterful
railroad npbuilders, but to an insatiate desire to
monopolize the field of transportation without re
gard for the rights of independent enterprises and
in defiance of both State and federal law.
Had President Mellen confined his efforts to the
railroad business proper, or had he been permitted
to do so, the road would doubtless have escaped its
present entanglements. The intrusion of over-am
bitious or reckless finance into railroad interests is
as unfortunate for the railroad as for the public
Poisoning the Child’s Min :
BIT DR. CSAITB.
(Copyright, 1913, by Frank Crane.)
One of the recent discoveries in the art of healing
is the therapeutic value of suggestion. That is to say,
the physician, by suggesting to the patient, particu
larly the patient suffering from
nervous disorder, sano and help
ful thoughts about himself, can
work a cure better oftentimes
than by the use of drugs.
The force of mental suggestion
is so great tttat many fads, and
even new religions, have arisen
which ar e based upon it.
If the influence of good sug
gestion be so great, the influence
of bad suggestion is even greater.
I wish to call attention to one
form of character poisoning of
which parents are frequently
guilty. *
Perhaps the worst misfortune
that can happen a person is to b e infested with germs
of fear, to lack decision and self-confidence, to be a
prey to the terrors of morbidity and doubt of self.
Who can tell the mortal pain, shame and self-torture
of the innumerable victims of chronic iear?
Frequently parents are responsible for this. A boy,’
for instance, develops some inborn trait of wayward
ness; he is untruthful, will not apply himself, Is care
less, disobedient, or persists In keeping bad company;
the parent naturally tells him of his fault, and. as it
seems to do no good, drops into a constant practice of
scolding. Over and over the boy is reminded that he is
"bad,” that he will never amount to anything, and so
on- This finally filters in the child’s subconscious
ness, and then the irretrievable damage; for when he
comes to believe in his sub-mind that he is bad, he is
bad.
Why not try to find the CAUSE of your child’s de
fects and remove it. When you KNOW that blame
and reproof do no good, why go on?
We do not realize that it is a CRIME to say to any
child, under any circumstances, that he Is bad, weak
or vicious. When you do that you are planting a seed
of damage in his mind.
Many a woman has been wrecked because her life
was poisoned when she was a child by unceasing men
tal suggestions from her mother that she was naughty,
wicked, unreliable or untruthful.
Many a man Is a weak failure In the struggles of
mature life simply because the cult of failure was
carefully Instilled Into him by his parents.
Dwell upon and encourage the good that is in your
child. Ignore his defects as far as possible. Learn
how to shut your eyes. Above all, do not tell him he
is wicked. Show him his faults, but never in public,
but In sacred intimacy. Show him the consequences
of wrongdoing; but enlist his aid in opposing his bad
traits. Persistently suggest to him that he is good,
brave, strong and truthful. In after life this belief
of yours In him will tone up his self-respect and give
him strength in his hours of crisis.
Nationality and the
Shape of the Head
The study of heads reveals some interesting: facts.
One is that the left side of the head is almost always
larger than the right, due, it is said, to the universal
practice of using the right hand more than the left.
Another curious point is that nationality considerably
affects the shape of the head. It would surely be an
interesting subject for a biologist to explain why it is
that the nearer the equator a race resides the rounder
their heads become. No one needs reminding of the
round, bullet-shaped skull of the negro, but the hatter
will assure us that a Frenchman’s head is rounder
than an Englishman’s, and similarly an Englishman’s
rounder than a Scotsman’s. The average Scot’s head
tapers considerably toward the front, narrows at the
temples, and becomes square and prominent at the fore
head. German heads, on the average, are rounder than
English, and broader at the back. Irish heads, in gen
eral, are long, like the Scotch, but scarecly as narrow.
The Slavonic head is narrow in front and very broad
at the back. When the recent peace conference took
place in London a few months ago, the first thing that
the delegates of the Balkan States did on arrival was
to call on Messrs. Heath with a demand to be imme
diately fitted out with the top hats that their new
position necessitated; and that famous firm was well-
nigh nonplussed to provide, at instant notice, hats of so
totally unusual shape.—From “A Study in-Hats" in the
August Strand.
Clever Men and Big Heads
Many clever men have big heads, says Gertrude Ba
con in the August Strand, but so have many lunatics
and Imbeciles. The weight of the brain Is a surer
guide to Its quality than the size of the head. Other
things being equal brain weight corresponds with Intel
ligence. The average weight for a man Is from forty-
six to fifty-three ounces—of a woman from forty-one
to forty-seven (a bitter fact for advocates of the supe
riority of the fairer sex). The heaviest human brains
known were t>r. Abercrombie’s, which was sixty-two
and a half ounces, and Cuvier’s, the great Franch
naturalist, an ounce and a half heavier. It falls to the
lot of but few geniuses, however to have this test ap
plied to them. The brain of a man, on the whole, la
about one-fortieth of the weight of his body. Of a
dog, but one hundred and twentieth. Only two kinds
of animal, the whale and elephant, have larger brains
than man, but In both these the proportion to the
weight of the body is greatly less.
Dog Days in British Politics.
British politics grow seasonably warm again.
The House of Lords has refused for a second time
to accept the Irish Home hill which the Commons
have passed at two successive sessions; whereupon
the Liberal ministry renews its' threat, and more
definitely than before, to take measures for the abol
ishment of the upper chamber. The Conservatives
on the other hand defy the Government to submit
the Home Rule plan to a popular vote, Insisting that
this is the only fair and reasonable method of set
tling so momentous an issue. The Liberals retort
that this is simply a political strategy, designed not
to test public sentiment on the question of Home
Rule but to provoke a partisan demonstration against
the parliament.
It is only necessary for tfte Liberals to remain
in power a year longer in order that Ireland may
secure her right to local self government. The Home
Rule bill has been adopted in the House twice and,
though rejected by the Lords each time, it will auto
matically become a law if it passes the lower House
once more; for, under the new parliament act the
Lords may suspend but not, as in years gone by, ulti
mately defeat a measure which is passed thrice in
succession.
Keen interest, therefore, attaches to the prospect
of the Liberals’ continued power or overthrow. In
recent by-elections, their majority has been notably
reduced and in some instances converted into a vic
tory for the opposition. Mr. Lloyd George’s compul
sory insurance law seems to have bestirred much
discontent among workingmen as well as employers.
For all that, however, It is considered likely that the
Liberals will retain for a year to come at least a
sufficient majority in the Commons to press the
Home Rule bill to conclusive success. The opposition
is without efficient leadership and has little to the
country’s constructive thought. The Liberals, de
spite errors, still stand as tie party of progress and
action.
POISONS IN FOOD
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
He who gave a stone when asked for bread has
been for ages a type of the heartlessly wicked, but
what shall be said of him who selles poison when an
,would buy food? Many
-v- j**oducts oh the market are
Actually poisonous—they contain,
arsenic, copper, coal tar products
and other drugs that are intro
duced as preservatives or dyea. or
that may be present as « result
of a method of preparation. Even
raw vegetables may be contami
nated by the necessary spraying
that protects them from insect
enemies. The grocer who sells
the food usually is quite inno
cent, the manufacturer often does
not know that his food is poi
soned. The buyer seldom has
any particular knowledge. It is
manifest, therefore, that extreme care is necessary,
'care upon the part of the consumer as well as upon
the part of the producer and distributor.
• * •
The dangers arising from the use of celery which
has been sprayed with a Bordeaux mixture to prevent
its decay have led the department of agriculture to
make a special investigation with the result that a
warning has been issued to ho&sewives recommending
them to wash most thoroughly all celery purchased in
the open market. The Bordeaux mixture is composed
of a solution of lime and copper sulphate, and it is
claimed that its use is absolutely necessary in the cel
ery industry of Florida, as without it the celery can
not be sent to market in an unwilted condition.
• • •
The bureau of plant industry of the department
has made some experiments which indicate that the
spraying apparatus used by many celery growers is
not operated at a sufficiently high pressure to make
a fine spray or mist which should be confined princi
pally to the leaves and non-edible portion of the plant.
Because of faulty apparatus, the Bordeaux mixture is
applied in a number of fine streams and these, instead
of settling upon the leaves as a mist and destroying
the insects which cause the celery to wilt, run down
between the stalks of the plant. In this way the poi
sonous mixture accumulates at the base of the plant
and is not washed out by the rain. Sometimes this
gives the celery a greenish tint which buyers have at
tributed to Paris green, but it is due simply to the
presence of copper stained lime. The department of
agriculture, as a result of this investigation, has is
sued a circular to celery growers requesting that all
spraying of celery plants with Bordeaux mixture
should be done with an appartus working under' pres
sure of a hundred pounds or more and that the spray
ing should be stopped as soon as a mist accumulates
under the leaves, before the moisture has collected
sufficiently to run down the stalks.
• • •
The tests made upon four different samples of
celery purchased by the chemists Indicated that after
washing by hand and with a brush there was only 3.9
to 9 parts of a million in the outside stalk and from
1.4 to 3 parts per million in the inside stalks or heart,
so that if properly washed the danger of eating celery
purchased in the market is infinitesimal. The house
wives can take this necessary care and the efforts made
to induce the growers still further to reduce the dan
ger by a greater care in the spraying system will
doubtless prevent any further poisoning from this
cause.
• • •
The old saying that poison exists in everything we
eat is doubtless true In a certain sense and always will
be. The efforts of the department of agriculture fof
the past few years have been to reduce the quantity of
poison to the minimum. Arsenic is a substance espe
cially apt to be found in all kinds of manufactured!
food products and it has been decided by the depart-'
ment that 1 1-2 parts of arsenic in a miu.on shall be
sufficient to condemn a food. The cases of arsenic
poisoning upon record are of such grave consequence
that stringent regulations are essential regarding this
matter. The famous beer poisoning case at Birming
ham, England, a few years ago was perhaps the trag
edy needed to call public attention to this matter.
Over 1,500 persons were poisoned within a few days,
a large number of whom died as the result of the ar
senic, used in some of the chemical processes of beer
making, having impregnated the liquor to an unusual
degree.
• • •
One of the foods to which attention has recently
been given is gelatine as, owing to the means by which
this substance is procured from bones and other ani
mal matter, the possibilities of arsenic poisoning have
been great. During the past two years eight men,
under the direction of the chemical laboratory of the
department of agriculture, have been giving their at
tention to gelatine and its methods of manufacture,
including the coloring of certain prepared gelatine
products which are sold under various commercial
names. Several of th© articles most widely advertised
were found to contain arsenic in poisonous quantities.
In most cases a little care upon the part of the manu
facturers, when they realized that the pure food regu
lations were to be enforced, was sufficient to absolute
ly eliminate the arsenic, thus making gelatine a de
sirable food product, even when highly colored.
• • •
The increased use of coloring matter in prepared
foods has given opportunity for the use of many poi
sonous substances. Among the tests made in investi
gating highly colored candy sold to school children
was the analysis of a bright colored piece sold for a
penny which contained enough coloring matter to dye
a child’s stocking a bright pink. This color was found
to contain arsenic in sufficient quantity to seriously
menace the health of a normal child. Many of the col
ors used for tinting foods are derived from analine, a
coal tar product, which is in itself a powerful nar
cotic poison. The different tints are secured by com
bining analine with other chemicals, including nitric
acid, bichromate of potash and others.
• * •
While arsenic poisons are the most frequent In
food products, others are often encountered. Lead
poisoning has been known to come from certain kinds
of cans in which prepared food has been stored, and
the introduction of antimony into food may develop
by placing it in cheap enameled ware such as is found
in many kitchens. The possibility of poisoning from
this latter source is almost as worthy of consideration
as is that of copper poisoning which was not infre
quently used as a cooking utensil. While leaden uten
sils are not to be found in many kitchens, the action
of certain acids upon a leaden spoon has been found
in exceptional cases to have produced poisoning.
* * *
The pure food laws have done much to protect the
public from poisoned food, but their enforcement must
of necessity rest largely with the public. The print
ing of the formula upon many food packages is a pro
tection to the buyer who will take the trouble to read
them. The danger from coloring matters has been
largely overcome by the certification of a list of col
ors and dyes which have been tested by the department
of agriculture and found to be absolutely harmless,
The dyes which are not included upon this list may
contain arsenic and other poisonous matter injurious
'•* human health.
minted Paragraphs
Blessings come disguised, but so does ptomaine
poisoning.
* * *
And the less a man is abused the more he doesn’t
amount to.
• * *
A yard of rope is worth half a mile of sympathy
to a drowning man.
...
Honesty is the excuse a layman has for being
poor, but it is worn threadbare now.