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iar with the practice of cold storage still appreciate neither its purpose nor 

 its effect. The Commission on Cold Storage appointed by the Governor of 

 Massachusetts to investigate the subject, addressed a circular of inquiry to 

 secretaries of Boards of Health in the different States, asking for opinions 

 or suggestions as to the need of regulation of the industry and the form 

 which it should take. Twenty-one state boards answered the inquiry and 

 in every instance recorded a belief that legislation for the regulation of 

 cold storage of food and food products is necessary. That the information, 

 however, was not on the whole of great value was shown by the fact that 

 one official recommended restricting the time limit of storage to ten days, 

 another to ninety days, several did not think storage for more than three 

 months desirable. When the information of those we count as sanitary 

 experts is so limited, need we wonder at the fear of cold storage products 

 so long held by the average consumer? Before satisfactory legislation is 

 enacted we must know why we need regulation and what, if any, bounds 

 of restriction are necessary. The business should be regulated by practical 

 laws which do not have for their purpose its destruction and which are 

 intended rather to put a stop to the practice of the storing of food unsuit- 

 able for refrigeration, and which has, even before its entry into storage, 

 deteriorated and become unfit for food, and to insure the withdrawal of 

 all goods before they have been held sufficiently long to undergo such 

 physical change as may render them undesirable for human consumption. 



The report of the Massachusetts Commission referred to recognizes in 

 cold storage a fundamental necessity in the distribution of the food supply 

 of the nation. It finds that cold storage enables perishable food products 

 to be brought to market with the least possible deterioration, and that it 

 enables the surplus of one season to be carried over to meet the demand 

 during the season of natural scarcity. In this way, by distribtiting the 

 seasonal output of perishable food stuffs evenly through the market year, 

 it helps to equalize supply and demand. The price of the food supply to 

 the consumer is not materially influenced by cold storage. It has been 

 argued that the possibility of storing food products against a rising market 

 may lead to speculation on the part of the middleman, and no doubt the 

 facilities offered by cold storage may be abused to manipulate prices. This 

 possibility, however, is more theoretical than actual, because of the enor- 

 mous practical difficulties in the way of artificially controlling the supply 

 of food. It is impossible to determine in advance, for instance, whether 



