IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 209 
slow to declare against the man w T ho 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 m 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. 
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