ANNUAL, MEETING. Ill 



About twelve years ago the people of Ohio had a pure food law passed, 

 and they were wiser thau we, for a laboratory was established and an 

 appropriation furnished for its use. You can not test this matter without 

 a laboratory. In Ohio they established this laboratory and had food in- 

 spectors. They sent them out over the State gathering in foods of all 

 kinds, cheese, butter, canned foods, dried beef, and those articles went 

 into the laboratory all numbered and labeled. The chemists did not know 

 where they came from, but they made their analysis, and 30 per cent, of 

 all the foods were found either adulterated or short of standard. Two 

 years subsequent to that Michigan passed a law like that. Michigan also 

 established a laboratory and gave them an appropriation of $18,000 for 

 the enforcement of the law. They went to work to find out what foods 

 were being adulterated, and they stopped it. Michigan found, too, that a 

 little over 30 per cent, of the food Avas adulterated. Now I ask you if 30 

 per cent, of all the prepared foods of Ohio, and 30 per cent, in Michigan, 

 were adulterated before they passed their laws, what state of affairs 

 exists in Indiana? Surely as much. 



Question. Have yon examined any of the ground spices ? 



Dr. Hurty: Yes, and nearly all of them are adulterated. I 

 have even discovered that grain cciffee is being adulterated The 

 preparation is called pressed coffee grains. 



I will give you an instance to illustrate how these pure food laws work 

 when there is money to enforce them. In November I was in New York, 

 and on my return trip I went to the dining-car on the train one morning 

 to get my breakfast. Sitting opposite me was a pleasant-looking gentle- 

 man, with whom I entered into a conversation. My cream was brought 

 to me, and it looked rich and nice, but I discovered something strange in 

 the taste. When I poured some into my coffee a lump of something 

 flopped into it. I fished it out with a fork, dipped it into my glass of 

 water, and then tasted it and found out it was gelatine. The gentleman 

 was interested and asked my name. I then learned that he was Dr. John 

 Hamilton, Secretary of Agriculture of Pennsylvania, and also Food Com- 

 missioner for that State. So you see there were two State Food Commis- 

 sioners there. We took all our data together. Then we called the con- 

 ductor of the car and asked him about the cream. He said the railroad 

 company bought seven gallons of cream every day from a man at Cov- 

 ington, Ky., and gave us the man's name. He told us that he had for 

 some time suspected that there was something wrong about the cream. 

 I wrote to Dr. J. N. McCormick, of Kentucky, about the matter. They 

 have a Food Commissioner in Kentucky. He was informed of this case 

 and went to Covington and examined the cream and found it loaded with 

 gelatine. The man was fined $80 and costs, in all something like $112. 



