PURE FOOD LEGISLATION. SPEECH OF HON. WILLIAM E. MASON UPON THE EVILS ARISING FROM ADULTERATIONS IN IN THE SENATE, Wednesday, May 2, 1900. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1900. 1600 AGIMI 1900 SPEECH OF HON. WILLIAM E. MASON. Mr. Mason addressed the Senate on the subject of food adulteration, the report of the Committee on Manufactures, and the necessary legislation to carry into effect the recommendations of the committee. Mr. MASON. Mr. President, I think the reason will appear before I finish my remarks this morning why I take up the discussion of the adulteration of the food manufactured or prepared in this country at this time. I will state the matter as briefly as I can consistently with my duty as I see it, considering the importance of this question. I recognize the fact that the subject is somewhat tedious to those who have taken no special interest in it; yet it is one of the most important subjects before the present Congress. This is the only civilized country in the world that does not protect the consumer of food products against the adulterations of manufacturers. I think I can say that, civilized or uncivilized, this is almost the only country that does not give to the consumer some protection when he goes into the market to buy prepared food for himself and his family. The committee have had the matter under investigation, and have taken a great deal of evidence in Chicago, in Washington, and in New York, in accordance with the resolution which was passed by this Senate, and which gave that committee authority to find what, if any, food products were adulterated, what of those adulterations were deleterious to the public health, and what, if any, adulterations were mere sophistications and a mere fraud upon consumers. I think, Mr. President, you will understand at once that there are two classes of adulterated food. For instance, and by way of illustration, you buy a jar of honey. The committee find by analysis that it consists of less than 1 per cent of honey, a little honeycomb on top of the glass jar, and the rest of it is filled up with glucose. While glucose is not unhealthy, and is a natural product, undoubtedly, as any other sugar produced from cane or beets, yet one can readily see that that is a sophistication and fraud upon the consumer. The Senate has gone to the expense and trouble of sending us to work on this committee, and there has been no special objection made, so far as I know, and no special lobby here against any part of the bill until after we made a report condemning certain articles which go into human food, and which I propose now to take up, and that is the question of baking powders. We start out with the two propositions: First, that all articles that go into the manufacture of human food that is deleterious to public health ought to be prohibited. For years we have stood on the proposition that alum baking powder ought to be marked for what it is. But as a matter of fact it was found impracticable, and in the States where they compel them to mark alum on the outside they have in 79848 |