ir^'iX"™"}          Drugs  and  Food  Products.  181 
Lemon  extracts  34  27 
Milk  29  5 
Olive  oil  25  13 
Sugar  (granulated)                                                              1  1 
Vanilla  extract  26  20 
Vinegar  360  192 
Total  712  412 
Of  61  samples  of  milk  purchased  of  milk  dealers  in  the  city  of 
Wilmington  and  examined  by  the  Delaware  State  Board  of  Health 
Laboratory,  39  contained  formalin,  12  were  skimmed,  3  were 
watered,  5  were  skimmed  and  watered,  and  2  were  suspicious. 
The  superficial  observer  will  probably  conclude  that  adulteration 
is  accidental  and  irregular  ;  |that  it  depends  entirely  on  the  honesty 
and  business  integrity  of  the  individual  manufacturer.  This  is  far 
from  being  the  case.  Sophistication  is  an  economic  factor  in  the 
struggle  for  trade.  Cheaper  products  are  demanded  by  the  poor 
and  cheaper  products  are  supplied  ;  but  as  the  only  way  to  cheapen 
them  is  to  sophisticate,  adulteration  is  practised  as  a  bona  fide  busi- 
ness measure.  As  a  result,  we  have  fraud  reduced  to  a  system; 
fraud  not  regulated  by  conscience  or  principles  ;  fraud  from  which 
the  otherwise  honest  man  does  not  shrink,  but,  nevertheless,  fraud 
which  robs  the  poor  man  of  the  money  he  earns  by  the  sweat  of  his 
brow. 
This  fact  has  been  clearly  brought  out  by  the  Senate  Committee 
appointed  to  investigate  the  extent  and  nature  of  adulteration  of 
foods  (Senate  Report,  Vol.  3,  No.  516).  "The  adulteration  of  pre- 
pared or  manufactured  foods,"  says  the  committee,  "is  very  exten- 
sively practised,  and  in  many  cases  to  the  great  discredit  of  our 
manufacturers.  It  is  only  fair  to  say,  however,  that  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  American  manufacturers  who  are  engaged  in  adulterating 
food-products  do  so  in  order  to  meet  competition,  and  it  is  the 
expression  of  those  gentlemen  to  say,  '  We  would  be  glad  to  get 
out  of  the  business  of  adulterating.  We  would  like  to  quit  putting 
this  stuff  in  coffee,  and  would  be  willing  to  brand  our  syrups  for 
what  they  are,  but  our  competitors  get  a  trade  advantage  which  we 
cannot  surrender.'  " 
This  position,  however,  cannot  be  maintained  with  regard  to 
drugs.  Here,  evidently,  the  price  to  the  consumer  does  not  enter 
into  consideration,  the  prices  being,  as  they  mostly  are,  altogether 
