NOVEMBEE 6, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



639 



local and seldom as eomprehensive as could 

 be desired. The analytical control of cer- 

 tain building materials may not be imprac- 

 ticable. 



The last class of commodities which we 

 will consider is one which, next to foods 

 and drugs, is perhaps most in need of in- 

 spection. I refer to textiles and other ma- 

 terials for wearing apparel. 



The frauds in woolens have been notori- 

 ous. Sixty years ago when my father 

 started in business as a country merchant, 

 he learned the value of the match test for 

 cotton, and throughout his life whenever 

 purchasing woolens for personal use he 

 never failed to draw out threads and 

 apply this test, often to the chagrin of the 

 seller. Twenty years ago in this very city 

 I purchased a suit of clothes of splendid 

 appearance at a price which was almost, if 

 not quite, beyond my means. In a few 

 weeks the so-called "all wool" material of 

 the suit showed the characteristic faded 

 appearance of cotton, and was hardly fit 

 for the garb of even a struggling chemist. 

 During the past year one of my friends 

 made a similar purchase in the heart of the 

 shopping district of Chicago. At his re- 

 quest I examined the goods and reported 

 that the warp was all cotton and the woof 

 a mixture of cotton and shoddy. Need- 

 less to say there was no redress for this 

 gross imposition. 



Frauds in other textiles are not uncom- 

 mon. So-called linen often contains cot- 

 ton, hemp and tow; "all silk" often has 

 a cotton back, and much that appears like 

 silk is so-called artificial silk or even mer- 

 cerized cotton. 



There are also glaring frauds in shoes, 

 gloves and other leather goods, felts and 

 furs. Split leather is sold for calf skin, 

 lamb and other inferior leather for kid, 

 wool felt for fur felt, imitation furs for the 

 genuine, and so on. 



The more the subject is investigated, the 

 more wide-spread and ingenious appear to 

 be the frauds practised. 



Opponents of paternalism will doubtless 

 find cause for alarm in the mere suggestion 

 of the further extension of inspection. 

 They will feel that the rights of the mer- 

 chant class are threatened and that the 

 dangers from indiscreet and corrupt offi- 

 cials are greater than those from adultera- 

 tion. 



It can not be denied that there are diffi- 

 culties in the way, and great care should 

 be exercised in framing new laws, but if 

 the present inspection of commodities is, on 

 the whole, an advantage to the public, it 

 seems but logical to extend the system so as 

 to cover other necessities of life liable to 

 adulteration. The inspection should be 

 primarily in the interest of the consumer. 



The manufacturer and dealer can usually 

 take care of themselves, as their knowledge 

 of the trade enables them to buy wisely, 

 and in case of doubt submit samples to the 

 chemist for analysis. For years sugar re- 

 finers, packing houses, iron and steel works, 

 fertilizer manufacturers, cement works and 

 other manufacturing industries have main- 

 tained laboratories for the examination of 

 their raw material, and have proved them- 

 selves quite able to look after their own 

 interests. 



With the consumer the case is different. 

 He is usually ignorant of trade practises 

 and of the steps necessary to secure 

 chemical evidence of adulteration and re- 

 dress in the courts. Even if he can afford 

 to seek the advice of the chemist and the 

 lawyer, he is at a disadvantage in fighting 

 large houses with their array of profes- 

 sional advisers. He needs the protection 

 of a system of legal inspection which fol- 

 lows up and punishes a fraud in a five-cent 

 purchase with as much care as a thousand- 

 dollar swindle. 



Incidentally, the honest producer is the 



