84 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



borough and city grocers' associations are working together with the State 

 association as a harmonious whole, and their power and influence are felt and 

 appreciated. 



The Dairy and Food authorities recognize in these associations a potent ally 

 for good, as in a majority of cases, the officers are always anxious to assist 

 in the enforcement of the pure food laws, and opposed to the selling of impure, 

 adulterated or deleterious food products. They have also learned that the 

 public are discriminating, and that to-day, the average housekeeper is more 

 interested in learning about the good qualities of the goods she may purchase, 

 than in knowing^ how cheaply she can buy inferior, adulterated goods. It is a 

 question not as to how cheap, but as to how good the article can be produced 

 and sold to the fastidious consumer. 



The program arranged for tliese gatherings of live, progressive and inde- 

 pendent grocers include the best talent and most progressive ideas that have 

 been evolved by long years of fruitful experience. Some of the addresses and 

 papers read at the York meeting attracted National attention, having been 

 reprinted in all of the leading and influential trade journals in Pennsylvania 

 and other states. The intellectual and social features of these meetings are 

 most edifying and beneficial, and each succeeding meeting will be awaited with 

 pleasant anticipations. By their concerted action and an expressed willing- 

 ness to co-operate in the enforcement of the pure food laws, the influence 

 exerted has been helpful in an extraordinary degree to all members and partici- 

 pants. 



HELfPFUL, TRADE ORGANIZATIONS APPRECIATED. 



The Pure Butter Protective Association, of Philadelphia, the Retail Grocers' 

 Association, of the same city, and the Pittsburg Retailers' Association, have 

 again merited the praise and thanks of the Dairy and Food officials for their 

 hearty support of the dairy and food laws. The educational propaganda in- 

 augurated by these strong organizations has been particularly valuable and 

 helpful. It was found in the first place, that to secure an observance of the 

 laws, an educational campaign was necessary. This was carried on largely 

 through the influence and appreciated help of various trade officials and their 

 asaociations. The results of their work are everywhere encouraging, and it 

 seems reasonable to expect that in the future our labors will be better under- 

 stood and aims more readily accomplished than in the past experimental stage 

 when grave doubts and misgivings were too often retarding factors. 



The new National Food and Drugs Act is still in the crucible, while the 

 Tustin Pure Food Act of Pennsylvania is also being tried, but there is no 

 evidence that these laws will not be accorded a careful and proper adminis- 

 tration on the part of the officials concerned. On the other hand, with the 

 promised co-operation of such leading and prominent organizations, there is 

 no question as to the mutually beneficial results that will naturally follow. 



Oleomargarine and renovated butter are legalized by commerce through Na- 

 tional legislation, but states have the right to place certain restrictions regu- 

 lating their manufacture and sale within their respective borders. Inter-state 

 commerce will in a degree affect certain food products, but as the improve- 

 ments contemplated by legislation are generally regarded with favor by the 

 honest and scrupulous manufacturer and jobber, there can no longer be any 

 doubt as to the final triumph for pure food and dairy products. 



HOW GROCERS HAVE ORGANIZED. 



One of the beneficial effects of the crusade against adulterated food has 

 been the hearty response that was made in the effort to unite grocers in 

 active organizations for the promotion of their mutual interests. 



The Philadelphia Retail Grocers' Association is one of the best examples of 

 such organization, and with a membership comprising over 700 of the leading 

 retail grocers of that city, it has become an influential and powerful auxiliary 

 in the gigantic grocery trade and commercial interests of Philadelphia. 



Their Secretary, William H. Smedley, a conservative but very efficient execu- 

 tive officer, is responsible for the success which has characterized every move- 

 ment of this large organization. The system of co-operative buying instituted 

 by the advice and help of Secretary Smedley commenced on a small scale, and 

 after it was once inaugurated, it soon developed into an actual necessity. There 

 is no doubt that this movement is a very popular one, and the membersliip 

 are loud in their praise of the success of the experiment, because, as one of 

 many advantages, it has in a great measure, already eliminated the fierce 

 competition of cutters. 



CONFECTIONERS' SUPPORT PURE FOOD LEGISLATION. 



With the National Confectioners' Association subjecting its members to con- 

 trol, and the United States Brewers' Association pledging its hearty support 

 to the pure food movement, there is much encouragement for those advocating 

 and enforcing the statutes, whether of National or State legislation. Both of 

 these organizations have stood by the laws since their enactment, and they 



