The Italian Chargé to the Secretary of State.

[Translation.]

Mr. Secretary of State: The food commissioner of the State of Ohio, by an order dated June 6, 1905, has prohibited the sale of paste colored with saffron, basing his action on the wording of No. 6 B of section 3 of the “general pure-food law of Ohio.”

That article states that a food product must be, among other things, considered to be adulterated “if it is colored, coated, polished, or powdered, whereby damage or inferiority is concealed, or if [Page 966] by any means it is made to appear better or of greater value than it really is.” Now, if it be borne in mind that the sellers are disposed to affix, as they have always done, labels on the goods showing them to be “pasta gialla” (that is, colored with saffron), so that they can not be mistaken for the egg paste (“pasta all’uovo”) of better quality; if it be further borne in mind that saffron is not a drug in the least noxious to the article, which seems to be the opinion of the federal authorities, which admit the said paste into the United States, and the authorities of the several States which have never interfered with its sale, it is hard to understand how the above-mentioned food commissioner could have given such a broad interpretation to the above-quoted article of the law.

I therefore have the honor to have recourse to your excellency’s wonted courtesy and to beg that you will use your good offices with the governor of the State of Ohio to obtain from him the repeal of the the order issued by the food commissioner, which no provision of the existing law of that State warrants, and which, on the other hand, works serious hardship on the large Italian population residing in the State.

And tendering to your excellency my best thanks for the reception you may be pleased to give to this, my request, I am glad to avail myself of this opportunity, etc.,

G. C. Montagna.