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Show Oil. WILEY TALKS IP! FOOD AND DRUGACT SETS FORTH THE GOOD ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED. Improvement in the Quality of Food and Drugs Public Opinion Back of the Law. l ' Baltimore, Jan. 1. Dr. II. D. Wiley, chief of the bureau of chemistry. In his address before the Scientists convention con-vention today said: "First must be mentioned the effect ef-fect which the Food and Drugs Act has hud upon the ethics of trade. It is the universal consensus of opinion opin-ion of all high grade manufacturers end merchants in food and drug products pro-ducts that the morality of the trad nas been distinctly Improved. When low grade or debased articles have to be named and specified and adulterations adulter-ations excluded there Is no longer the necessity which existed before of really high-grade manufacturers stooping to the debasement of their food products to meet competition. In other words, the success of business uow does not depend upon meeting low grade competition, but hign p.rado competition, and thus the merit mer-it and excellence of the product, other oth-er things being equal, will set the pace for success of the business. "Tho second good which-has been accomplished by the Food'nnd DrugJ Act is the judicial determination in many cases of the principles Involve! in tho law itself. "Judge Smith McPherson, of tho United States district court. Western District of Missouri, Kansas City, in a decision which he rendered on the Food and Drugs Act, stated: 'This statute is to protect consumers, and not producers. It is a most beneficent and righteous statute, and within th powers ot congre3 to legislate concerning, con-cerning, anvl should be enforced.' Here we have the judicial statement showing the substantiality of the act nnd its heneficient purpose and the I-urpose' for which it should be enforced. en-forced. The consumer In .ill cases is the party to be protoctod, but in pro- tectlng the consumer the rights of thj manufacturers are also protected. "The third good which has been ac complished by the law Is the improvement improve-ment In the quality of the rood and drug supplies. This has been apparent ap-parent in both food and drugs. Cold storage goods are no. longer sold, or at least not. so extensively as fresh products, and greater care is exercised la the sanitary preparation of food than over before, so that the foods which the people of this country are eating today are more wholesome.and consequently more palatable and more nutritious than ever before. The im- provement in the quality of drugs is not less marked. A rigid inspection of Imported drugs keeps out of the country all that are not up to tho Pharmaceutical- standard, and the careful control, although not com-1-lete, of interstate commerce tends to produce the same effect on drugs passing from state to state. The making mak-ing and sale of deleterious patent medicines med-icines has been greatly restricted, especially es-pecially in those productions which relate to the Introduction of habit forming drugs into patent medicines nud of alcohol. The statement on the labels of these products respecting the presence of these bodies has serv- ed to warn a great many- persons of the danger of their U6e and thus restricted re-stricted their salo. Whilo perhaps there is much left to bo desired in this direction, the progress which has byen made Is most encouraging, and tho good which has been accomplished accomplish-ed already Is pronouncod. "Finally, tho general attitude of the. public has been strengthened respecting respect-ing thla law so that It has the sup-lort sup-lort of a more unified and enthuslastio lubllc opinion. Add to this tho almost al-most unanimous support of tho courts iu all cases which have come befool them and we seo that tho Food and Drugs Act hus been firmly established establish-ed and will continue the good worn it. which bo much has already been accomplished." |
