The evening world. Newspaper, November 10, 1919, Page 15

The World’s Largest Manufacturers of Saccharin How to Relieve the Sugar Shortage A respectful suggestion in an open letter to the Citizens of New York OME New York newspaper writers seem to get all “het up” and take exception to any publicity being given to Saccharin at this time when the whole country is feeling the shortage of sugar. These writers refer to Saccharin as a “poison” and a “drug,” and the fact that it has no food value. If they would be disposed to develop the ‘real facts they would find that a great body of most eminent scientists, known as the Referee Board of Consulting Scientific Experts—and which body of scientists were appointed by the United States Governmenthad reported after a full and thorough investigation that “the use of Saccharin in foods in quantities that might constitute a menace to health is improbable.” Saccharin is no more a drug than sugar; both are used in medicine. Saccharin is a chemical compound, the same as salt is a chemical compound (chloride of sodium), and both are used for the same purpose— flavoring of food. No one claims Saccharin to be a food, nor does it displace any food; because of its intense sweetness (500 times sweeter than sugar), only a very minute quantity is needed to give the desired sweet taste. It is a known fact that Sugar is poison to many people. Saccharin has been used in chniiiate increasing quantities during the past thirty-five years and there is no single case on record of its having done harm; and the Referee Board confirms this in its report ‘that small quantities of Saccharin.......are without deleterious or poisonous action and are not injurious to health.” In one of your own courts—the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New, York—in the recent case of People vs. Excelsior Bottling Works, 171 N. Y. Supp., page 733, it was held that soda water sweetened with 1-100th per cent. of Saccharin aad not be injurious. The Court said: “The uncontroverted evidence shows that the use of soda water as a beverage containing this quantity of Saccharin could not possibly be injurious to health, and that there is greater danger of injury to health from consuming too much sugar than from the consumption of Saccharin in such a percentage. It also appears that the use of sugar in any form is injurious to people suffering from diabetes and some other diseases, while the use of Saccharin by them to flavor food and render it palatable is prescribed by medical authoritics,” Do New York’s well-informed writers know that sugar was discovered about the year 714 and for about 800 years was ccnsidered more or less as‘an article of medicine? Do they realize that because of the harmlessness of Saccharin it can be a great booh in the present crisis of short sugar supply? Do they know that our Government permits the use of Saccharin in foods intended for invalids, and, therefore, Saccharin is not considered harmful for them? Do they know that Saccharin is used as a sweeten- ing agent in all civilized countries except the United States in place of, or as an auxiliary to, sugar? Do they know that enough Saccharin is available in this country for use in foods and beverages, in which the added food value of sugar is not desired, to release not less than one hundred million pounds of sugar for uses where sugar’s food value is necessary? Do they know that the use of such quantity of Saccharin would reduce the high cost of living not less than eleven million dollars annually in the one item of sugar? Press dispatches announce that the U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture holds, ‘“Saccharin is a harmful drug, the use of which is deleterious to health,” ‘We have answered this in the foregoing. If the Govern- ment will seize a food product sweetened with Saccharin . which has been shipped in Interstate Commerce, the quality of which comes within the provisions of the Pure Food Law, and makes the seizure because it is sweetened with Saccharin, and will immediately prose- cute the shipper, we will donate $1,000.00 to any chari- table institution the National Chamber of Commerce may direct. | We have been urging the officials of the Govern- ment for over seven years to bring a case in court to test the question, but the issue has been sidestepped. Why? Saccharin can be used in the household and can be had in the form of tablets, each tablet having equal strength of one lump or teaspoonful of sugar. Two, boxes—200 tablets—costing 15 cents, have the sweeten-" ing power of more than three pounds of sugar. The use of Saccharin should be encouraged. and not frowned upon—particularly at this time, Respecifully, JOHN F, QUEENY, Chairman of the Board Monsanto Chemical Works, St. Louis and New York (Established 1901) * t 4 NSE ADE eR EBT YE \