42 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



more economically of the grocer than at a druggist's, 

 put up in a fancy box at an enormous price. 



Among our best medical authorities there is a 

 consensus of opinion upon this point. Dr. Chapin 

 is exceedingly moderate in his language when he 

 says that " From a nutritional standpoint these foods 

 by themselves are almost without exception inferior 

 to the best grades of condensed milk."^' Careful 

 analysis of some of the very best and most expen- 

 sive of these proprietary foods shows them to con- 

 tain very little more fat than condensed skim-^lk.*" 

 Practically every one of the patent infant foods upon 

 the market to-day is deficient in fat; most of them 

 cause scorbutus; most of them contain too large 

 a percentage of sugar. Added to this list of com- 

 plaints against them is the fact that a majority of 

 them — some of the best among the number — 

 contain such foreign elements as starch, maltose, and 

 so on." 



These facts are not so well understood by the gen- 

 eral public as they ought to be, but the medical 

 fraternity knows them very well. To their lasting 

 honor, the leaders of that great profession, especially 

 those who devote themselves to the problems of 

 pediatrics, have spol*'tt out boldly upon the subject. 

 But it is equally to the dishonor of thousands of 

 medical men that they go on supporting what they 

 know, or should know, to be a pernicious evil. The 



