IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 209 



slow to declare against the man who robs your food of its 

 nutritious qualities. The man who steals your purse is 

 punished by the law; the man who steals your health is 

 protected by the law; the man who counterfeits your 

 money is imprisoned; the man who counterfeits your food 

 is not molested in his nefarious practice. As Congress- 

 man Cousins has said: "It is about time in this country 

 when it should not be necessary to hold a coroner's inquest 

 or have a chemical analysis before asking a blessing." 



All the state food laws that have thus far been enacted 

 are of a similar character, and are based on the laws of 

 Massachusetts or upon the laws of Ohio, which are the 

 same as those of Massachusetts made more specific. The 

 National food law proposed and known as the " Brosius 

 Bill," affects only interstate commerce and the territories 

 of the United States. It is similar to the laws of Massa- 

 chusetts, but has been greatly weakened by the insertions 

 that manufacturers have smuggled in. 



As far as I can ascertain the pure food laws are well in 

 force in some of the states, while in others, aside from the 

 dairy laws, they are a dead-letter. 



In New York, and Massachusetts, and Indiana, the 

 enforcement of the food laws has been delegated to the 

 the State Board of Health, and not to special commis- 

 sioners whose sole duty is to see that the laws are enforced, 

 and if necessary, prosecute the offenders. The result has 

 been that the State Board of Health in each instance has 

 been exceedingly lax. 



In Connecticut the Food Commissioner has charge of the 

 enforcement of the laws, the analytical work being done 

 at the State Agricultural Experiment Station, and the 

 result has been that the laws have been well enforced. 



In Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, the laws have been 

 quite well enforced by a somewhat similar arrangement, 

 but in each instance the battle is fought along one or both 

 of two lines, viz.: First, the definition and application of 

 the words "mixture" or "compounds"; second, proving 

 guilty knowledge on the part of the vendor. 



