Poisoned Foods by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 3, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 39.

Poisoned Foods.

By Editor

Rutledge Rutherford, food expert and editor of a food magazine, declares that 250,000 children were killed last year by poisoned foods, and that more are killed that way in one year than the number engaged in the Spanish-American War, and the babies alone number more, by 60,000, than the total number of all the soldiers that were killed in all the battles of the four years of the Civil War. In the mad race to increase profits through cheapening the cost of production, recognized poisons are inserted in foods, in order to make use of poor grades of raw products. These poisons are especially numerous in candies, soda-fountain beverages, ice-cream products, bakery goods, and other cheap dainties devised to attract pennies from children. He declares that three million persons were ill in the United States last year, and charges the greatest responsibility to chemicals. Appendicitis, he declares, frequently results from consuming boracic acid, ptomaine poisoning from partially decomposed foods, especially milk and milk products, fish, and meat. When the signs of decomposition appear, they have been concealed by benzoate of soda, formaldehyde, sulfites, and other chemicals. Dyspepsia and indigestion are caused by the consumption of saccharin, saccharin being 550 times sweeter than sugar, and therefore much cheaper. Typhoid fever, Bright’s disease, headache, drowsiness, nausea, and other ailments, are charged to decomposed food, saccharin, salicylic acid, and benzoate of soda. The vilest, most malodorous factory refuse, we are told, may be made pleasant to the sight, taste, and smell, through magical effects of benzoate of soda, saccharin, and coal-tar dye. The coal-tar dye gives a clear, translucent appearance to the product, the saccharin sweetens it, and the benzoate of soda embalms it, so that it will keep for a decade without spoiling. These warnings are worthy of consideration.

Class Government Evil.

The San Francisco News Letter of September 16, referring to the probable election of Mr. Rolph as mayor, congratulates itself that class government is nearing its end. It declares that “class rule of the very sort and description that McCarthy vainly seeks to perpetuate has ruined some men, killed some, and put upon the city commercial, industrial, and in the civic sense the worst blight in all our history.” It well declares that when “one class rules a city, it is bad for all classes. It is destructive to peace, ruinous to prosperity.” Class government is always bad; class legislation is bad; class privileges, class prerogatives, are bad, granted by any government on the face of the earth. It matters not what the class is, or of whom it is composed. Every civil government on the face of the earth ought to be equally for all. Jefferson well expressed it in “Equal and exact justice to all, of every State and persuasion, religious and political.”

M. Marcel Roland, member of the French Institute of Science, has written a startling book of prediction concerning the future of this earth, beginning that awful future with the autumn of 1911, in which there will come a second deluge upon the earth. A little more faith in the divine revelation would have saved him the effort, and would have taken from thousands of people a fear which his book will arouse that there may come just such a thing as that. The promise of God is that the earth shall never be covered again with water. It is reserved unto fire and perdition of ungodly men.

An air-ship capable of lifting 26,000 pounds of air, having four huge motors, named the “Akron,” is built to cross the Atlantic.

Oklahoma will not build up her reputation for a law-abiding State if many more such exhibitions as have been recently witnessed there are allowed. Within two weeks, recently, two persons have been burned at the stake by mobs. Granting that both of these victims were criminals, still there is no excuse for the mob violence. If both of them had been innocent and the mob thought them criminals, they would have been burned just the same. Mob law is unreasoning madness. Whatever the color of a man’s skin, he ought to have a fair trial; and we believe that to be the sentiment of the best people in the South, as well as in the North.

A strange crime has been committed by the Shakers in Kissimmee, Florida. One of their community was a great sufferer, dying from tuberculosis; and to ease her final agonies, she pleaded that they should put her to death, and she was consequently chloroformed. Two of the community are under arrest, but have been admitted to bail. They admit that they did it, and tell the reasons why. It is a matter of curiosity now as to what will be the decision of the court. Suicide is not unlawful in Florida, and this has been called “assisted suicide.” It will be dangerous, however, if the court terms it that.

Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, now making a tour of the West in the interest of labor unions

The governor of Oklahoma has adopted a strange attitude. The prohibition law is in force in that State; and now, utterly regardless of civil officers, he has placed the enforcement of that law upon the Prohibitionists, who must act without salary and without cost to the State. This brings them, to some extent, in conflict with the regular civil officers, and works hardship on many of them, who can not take their time for such purposes as that. It would naturally seem that a law placed on the statute-books of the State should be enforced by the regular officers of the State.

Reports from Portugal indicate that political matters are far from stable. Royalists are still working to put King Manuel back on his throne. Constantly there are evidences of great activity just without the republic. Recently a large quantity of guns and ammunition was seized by the Republican forces on the frontier. Portugal’s experience of the last half millennium has not been favorable to self-government now.

At the present writing, the great labor troubles of America are seemingly as far from settlement as ever. There is hope, of course, on both sides that settlement may be accomplished to the satisfaction of both parties involved. And surely the public, which in case of an extended strike would suffer more than either of the other parties, confidently hopes that this may be the case.

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson has been invited to preside at the International Brewers’ Congress in Chicago, and Secretary Knox has invited foreign nations to participate in the exhibit. Ministers of various denominations are strongly protesting against both.

The strike situation in the Old World is not over yet, while there is a prospect of settlement in England favorable to the workers. The results which English working men have secured have stirred up the labor element in Germany, and the authorities fear a general labor uprising all over the country—an uprising very difficult to deal with there, because they feel that the workers will not resort to any kind of violence, giving the government no opportunity to step in; and secondly, it is feared that the German troops, strong as they might be in facing a foreign foe, are greatly affected by Socialistic doctrines, and could not be relied upon to fire on their own countrymen and brothers. Already in the metal trades in Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg, thousands of men are on strike or locked out. There is difficulty with the employees of the Berlin street-car system.

It is marvelous what men are doing nowadays in the great iron structures of the country. Just recently an immense bridge has been opened across the Connecticut River, connecting the towns of Saybrook and Old Lynn in the State of Connecticut—1,800 feet long, and the draw span is 282 feet. The draw is opened by what is called the “Scherzer rolling lift,” which operates very quickly. 2,200 tons of steel were used in its construction. It is estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 automobiles will pass over the bridge in a year.

September 19 all Spain was declared by King Alfonso to be under martial law, the result of the general railroad strike. The government believes that this railway strike is part of a plot to dethrone the king and to declare a republic, and it will meet it sharp and short. The country teems with revolt and disorder. In the alleged plot several officials were marked for death, among whom is General Weyler. The situation is critical. And that is the condition in many countries.

A writer in the San Francisco Examiner declares that the Royal Arch, a liquor organization, is not fighting the suffragist cause, and it has no funds for that purpose. He says, “We long ago made a thoro investigation in the States where woman suffrage has been tried, and we learn that the liquor business has not been hurt the least by the woman’s vote.”

Germany has her Jingoes, as well as other countries. The organ of a German society of inactive officers of the German army declares that now is the time for Germany to strike, to draw the sword to punish French and English impudence. The Christian has one hope regarding this,—that the war spirit will be controlled until God has done His work.

A despatch from Washington, D. C., of September 16, says that official returns sent from China declare that the floods of the great Yang-tse River extend 1,000 miles, from Hankow to Shanghai, and the area devastated is much larger than that of the year before, affecting between three million and four million people. Because of the awful devastation famine is again threatened.

It is not a hopeful sign in Spain when ladies of the nobility are acting as judges at bull-fights, and actually fighting bulls in the arena themselves, and are asking on such occasions as that, if the contest is not fierce enough, “Is this the ancient sport of Spain, or an American parlor game?”

The second oldest firm of stock-brokers in the country, members of the Wall Street Exchange, failed recently for $3,500,000. It is said that enough is owing the firm, if it can be collected, to pay dollar for dollar and resume business.

A despatch from South Norwalk, Connecticut, dated September 12, declares that there were a score of toadstool poisonings in that vicinity during the week past. One woman died as the result, and several others are in a critical condition.

Judge Harvey M. Trimble, of Illinois, was elected to the post of commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic at the recent meeting in Rochester.