Am'ju°iyr;i906arm'}    Food  Preservatives  in  North  Dakota.  335 
PROFESSOR  WILEY  ON  FOOD  PRESERVATIVES  IN 
NORTH  DAKOTA. 
By  R.  G.  Eccxbs,  M.D. 
In  the  April  issue  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  Prof. 
Harvey  W.  Wiley  states  that  my  data  concerning  the  deaths 
in  North  Dakota,  given  before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  at  the  last  pure  food  hearing,  were 
shown  by  Professor  Ladd  to  be  "  wholly  erroneous."  While  it  is  far 
from  my  desire,  or  intention,  to  challenge  the  words  of  Professor 
Wiley,  I  am  nevertheless  constrained  to  call  his  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  form  in  which  he  uttered  them  the  reverse  of  what  he 
has  said  happens  to  be  the  truth.  Perhaps  it  was  his  intention  to 
say  that  while  my  data  were  correct  Professor  Ladd  had  challenged 
the  conclusion  which  I  drew  from  those  data.  So  far  was  the  latter 
gentleman  from  showing  that  my  data  were  either  partially  or 
"  wholly  "  erroneous  that  he  acknowledged  in  a  public  manner  that 
they  were  correct,  and  was  frank  enough  to  confess  that  the  last 
issue  of  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  his  State  had  even 
strengthened  my  facts.  What  he  tried  to  do  was  to  give  what  he 
deemed  another  explanation  of  these  facts.  In  a  subsequent  com- 
munication I  showed  him,  by  official  figures,  that  his  explanation 
could  not  possibly  be  the  true  one  ;  but  up  to  the  present  time  the 
journal  in  which  the  discussion  was  conducted  has  failed  to  publish 
the  reply. 
Immediately  following  the  North  Dakota  crusade  against  preser- 
vatives the  Board  of  Health  Report  showed  a  rise  of  over  60  per 
cent,  in  the  number  of  deaths.  This  was  in  1904.  Last  year  (1905) 
it  was  still  higher,  showing  a  rise  in  the  two  years  of  120  per  cent. 
In  the  city  of  Berlin,  Germany,  a  similar  crusade  against  preserva- 
tives was  followed,  just  as  closely,  by  similar  results.  The  fact  that 
no  other  State  showed  any  such  rise  as  that  of  North  Dakota,  and  no 
other  German  city  such  a  rise  as  that  of  Berlin,  coupled  with  the  fact 
that  the  only  thing  of  a  casual  nature  that  happened  to  these  two  places 
and  to  no  other,  was  the  stringent  attack  on  preservatives,  makes 
but  one  inference  appear  to  be  an  adequate  explanation.  Professor 
Ladd  explained  the  rise  in  his  State  as  due  to  an  influx  of  new 
emigrants  who,  settling  far  away  from  proper  medical  attention  and 
pure  drinking  water,  fared  badly.    Unfortunately  for  this  explanation 
