498 
1912, I wish to state that to the best of my 
knowledge and belief no “ christening ” of the 
machine has yet taken place; if it has, I am 
morally certain that the inventor was not in- 
vited to the ceremony. As the title “The 
Coast and Geodetic Survey Tide Predicting 
Machine” used by Mr. Fischer is not only 
lengthy but includes the Ferrell Machine 
used by the office for many years, the title 
under which I described it is logical in that it 
differentiates the Harris Machine from its 
predecessor, at the same time serving as a 
mark of honor to its inventor. 
I wrote three letters to the Coast Survey 
Office protesting against the injustice done Dr. 
Harris in Mr. Fischer’s article in Engineering 
News of July 20, 1911, and calling attention 
to the misstatements contained therein, re- 
questing that the office publish suitable cor- 
rective notes. My letters were unanswered 
and I, therefore, laid the facts before the pub- 
lic in my article. 
SamMueL TIERNEY, JR. 
QUOTATIONS 
DR. WILEY AND THE BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY 
On the 9th of April, 1883, I took the oath 
of office and entered upon the discharge of my 
duties as chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, in 
the Department of Agriculture. For the past 
twenty-nine years I have endeavored to dis- 
charge these duties according to the dictates 
of my conscience, the knowledge at my com- 
mand and the obligations of my oath. In 
retiring from this position after so many years 
of service it seems fitting that I should state 
briefly the causes which have led me to this 
step. Without going into detail respecting 
these causes, I desire to say that the funda- 
mental one is that I believe I can find oppor- 
tunity for better and more effective service to 
the work which is nearest my heart, namely, 
the pure food and drug propaganda, as a 
private citizen than I could any longer do in 
my late position. 
In this action I do not intend in any way 
to reflect upon the position which has been 
taken by my superior officers in regard to the 
same problems. I accord to them the same 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 900 
right to act in accordance with their convic- 
tions which I claim for myself. 
After a quarter of a century of constant 
discussion and effort, the bill regulating inter- 
state and foreign commerce in foods and drugs 
was enacted into law. Almost from the very 
beginning of the enforcement of this act I dis- 
covered that my point of view in regard to it 
was fundamentally different from that of any 
of my superiors in office. For nearly six years 
there has been a growing feeling in my mind 
that these differences were irreconcilable, and 
I have been conscious of an official environ- 
ment which has been essentially inhospitable. 
I saw the fundamental principles of the 
food and drugs act, as they appeared to me, 
one by one paralyzed and discredited. It was 
the plain provision of the act and was fully 
understood at the time of the enactment, as 
stated in the law itself, that the Bureau of 
Chemistry was to examine all samples of sus- 
pected foods and drugs to determine whether 
they were adulterated or misbranded, and that 
if this examination disclosed such facts the 
matter was to be referred to the courts for 
decision. 
Interest after interest, engaged in what the 
Bureau of Chemistry found to be the manu- 
facture of misbranded or adulterated foods 
and drugs, made an appeal to escape appearing 
in court to defend their practises. Various 
methods were employed to secure this, many 
of which were successful. One by one I found 
that the activities pertaining to the Bureau of 
Chemistry were restricted and various forms 
of manipulated food products were withdrawn 
from its consideration and referred either to 
other bodies not contemplated by law or di- 
rectly relieved from further control. 
A few of the instances of this kind are well 
known. Among these may be mentioned the 
manufacture of so-called whiskey from alco- 
hol, colors and flavors; the addition to food 
products of benzoic acid and its salts; of sul- 
phurous acid and its salts; of sulphate of 
copper; of saccharin and of alum; the manu- 
facture of so-called wines from pomace, chem- 
icals and colors; the floating of oysters often 
in polluted waters for the purpose of making 
