No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 65 



An act of Assembly passed and approved in 1863 provides: "That it shall 

 be unlawful for any person or persons to make use of any active poison or other 

 deleterious drugs, in any quantity or quantities, in the manufacture or prepar- 

 ation, b5' process or rectifying, or otherwise, of any intoxicating malt or 

 alcoholic liquors, or for any person or persons to knowingly sell such poisoned 

 or drugged liquors in any quantity or quantities; and any person or persons 

 so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor." 



A feature of the act that makes it doubly difficult of enforcement would be 

 the question of proving a guilty knowledge of the existence of such adulterant, 

 when samples were secured from a retail or wholesale liquor dealer. When a 

 manufacturer was charged with such offence, the proof would depend mainly 

 on the analyst who examined the sample upon which the prosecution was 

 based. 



It is for these reasons that the Dairy and Food Commissioner is firmly in 

 favor of additional liquor legislation. 



A RATIONAL AND EFFECTIVE LIQUOR LAW NEEDED. 



While the legislative session of 1907 produced some important and valuable 

 legislation, it failed to enact the much needed liquor law that had been antici- 

 pated, and which seemed like a coming certain reality until during the last 

 night of the session, when the worthy measuie collapsed and failed of final 

 passage. As the Supreme Court decided that the Dairy and Food laws did not 

 provide for protection against the sale of impure, adulterated and poisonous 

 articles of drink, the Commissioner has no jurisdiction whatever over such 

 sales, and consumers use such stimulants at their own risk. Their only safety 

 or guaranty lies in the standing and integrity of the dealer from whom they 

 may secure their supplies; and even the reliable firm or individual may be 

 imposed upon by the unscrupulous manufacturer or manipulator of liquor. 

 Under these conditions, notwithstanding the National law now in force, 

 "Compound Whiskey" is being sold without any special restriction, while other 

 artificial and counterfeit liquor is also commanding a wider patronage than 

 ever before, to the detriment of the health of the consumer. 



The past year's renewed investigations of the quality of the soft drinks that 

 are sold in such immense quantities in the larger cities has again proven their 

 frequent unwholesomeness and adulteration. Saccharin, salicylic acid, coal- 

 tar dyes, etc., are common constituent parts of such drinks. The miserable 

 stuff that was sold by vendors at some military encampments as "lemonade," 

 "orangeade,' etc., should also be driven out of the market because of its dan- 

 gerous composition. The raids made upon such vendors at encampments had 

 a salutary effect. 



A rational and effective liquor law is an absolute necessity, and it can be 

 truthfully asserted that no one will welcome it more heartily than the legiti- 

 mate distiller, brewer and dispensing agent. 



ALCOHOLIC "PATENT MEDICINES." 



Commissioner Capers, of the Internal Revenue Bureau, Washington, D. C, 

 has recently promulgated lengthy lists of certain alcoholic medicinal prepara- 

 tions which were analyzed by that Department, and because of their high alco- 

 holic contents, classed as compound liquors under a special ruling. Because of 

 this fact, druggists and others selling such compounds, must procure special 

 stamps from the Revenue Agents. The Commissioner states that even though 

 such sales may be made in good faith for medicinal purposes, the druggist 

 must comply with the ruling and pay the special revenue tax. 



In view of the strict ruling of the revenue officers, a number of so-called 

 "medicines" have been withdrawn from the markets by the manufacturers, 

 while in other instances the formulas were so modified that the classification 

 was changed, thus making them comply with the law. 



While the Dairy and Food Bureau of Pennsylvania has no jurisdiction over 

 medicines and drugs, frequent complaints are received, alleging harmfulness, 

 impurity, etc. The examinations made several years ago clearly proved that 

 even some of the most common drugs fell short of the standard prescribed 

 by the United States Pharmacopoeia, and there was a surprising lack of uni- 

 formity of quality and strength. A singular revelation was the fact that cer- 

 tain drugs were just as likely to largely exceed as fall below the required 

 strength, thus making them doubly dangerous for the patient for whom the 

 questionable drug had been prescribed by the physician. More thorough and 

 complete control is demanded for the safety and protection of the public. 



PHYSICIAN'S VIEWS ON ADULTERATED LIQUOR. 



"And what is it that the masses of our people are drinking?" asks Dr. John 

 D. Quackenbos, of New York, in a diatribe on tlie drink habit, especially 

 among women. "Anything and everything but pure whiskey, pure wine, pure 

 beer. It is a poison far deadlier and more rapid in its action than the genuine 



5—6—1907. 



