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positive evidence of harm adduced by many, far outweighs in importance
the negative results which have been obtained by others, and
this conflict of experience is explained by the varying degree of susceptibility
of different individuals. The experiments have almost all
of them been upon healthy adults and for brief periods; and there is
no evidence whatever which points to the harmlessness of these drugs
upon infants under one year of age when the milk (which is almost
the sole article of their diet) is dosed with boric acid for long
periods, or upon adults with weak stomachs or kidneys, who take 10
to 15 grains several times a week in food.
The use of chemical antiseptics in food is not necessary. Even
dairy produce is brought from Denmark, New Zealand, etc., without
such addition; and no difficulty is experienced by milk vendors in
this country and abroad in selling to the consumer, even in the summer
months, milk in a perfectly fresh state and to which no chemicals
have been added.
But it is not only in milk and cream that one takes in chemical
preservatives. In one meal—say breakfast—one may consume them
in milk, butter, ham or bacon, and jam. Thus, though the quantity
of boric acid in any one article might not be sufficient to affect health,
the aggregate amount of the drug taken in the various articles of the
meal may suffice; and obscure cases of impaired digestion and nutrition,
or more serious disturbance, result.
There is no evidence in support of the argument that material
sold as fresh, such as milk and fresh sausages, needs an antiseptic
to prevent it from going bad in the homes of the poor. The poor
quickly consume what they purchase; they do not buy to store.
Certainly, if the use of these chemical preservatives is to be
sanctioned, the amounts should lie limited by law . and the individual
who is not desirous of continuously dosing himself with drugs should
have a means of escape from them. Their presence, nature, and
amount, together with the date on which they were added, should
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