Fergus County Democrat

MAY INVESTIGATE.
Packers Are Going to Look Into the Purity of Their Product.

Washington, June 12.—Details of the manner in which beef packers are to go into the business of pure food investigation, food testing, "poison squad" experimenting and like inquiries in opposition to the government became known today. The endowment provided for a pure food laboratory at the university of Illinois, where the experiments will be made, is $250,000, and it was furnished by the syndicate packers.

President E. J. James of the University of Illinois has accepted it and agreed to take general executive charge of the work. He is organizing a corps of scientists and a scheme of co-operation among scientists connected with a number of the greatest universities in the country, so that the big work which lies ahead may have the credit of representing the scientific work of a group of men entirely without prejudice and equipped with the best possible qualifications for the task.

Not having been entirely satisfied of the fairness and impartiality of the government's bureau of chemistry, which is under the management of Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, as chief chemist, the packers desired that an independent series of investigations should be conducted, along the same lines of those under Dr. Wiley. They applied to President James, explaining their anxiety to have the work absolutely fair and scientific. They are willing to provide $25,000 a year to pay for it, and willing to intrust it to any organization whose standing should be such as to assure its verdicts of general acceptance as just and honest.

What the packers wanted was something by which to "check up" the conclusions of Dr. Wiley's bureau. They feel that Dr. Wiley, as the original propagandist of pure food legislation and administration, is liable to some prejudices against interests that have always been able to co-operate with him in his efforts to uphold the laws. So they went another series of tests, and they assured Dr. James that they wished them to be made in such a manner as could command the respect and confidence of the country.

Representatives of Harvard, Yale, Michigan, Cornell and other big institutions will compose the board in charge. In the conduct of the investigation it is planned to adopt Dr. Wiley's "poison squad" scheme. It is believed that at a big college there will be plenty of students glad to volunteer their services. Free board for patriotic young men willing to sacrifice themselves in the interests of science will become an inducement to attend the Illinois university, it is thought.