﻿Commissioner 
  of 
  Agriculture. 
  59 
  

  

  blance 
  of 
  butter 
  it 
  Avill, 
  in 
  my 
  judgment, 
  so 
  legitimatize 
  that 
  

   product 
  that 
  a 
  State 
  law 
  will 
  probably 
  be 
  ineffective 
  against 
  its 
  

   sale 
  in 
  the 
  original 
  importer's 
  package, 
  unless 
  the 
  goods 
  rare 
  made 
  

   subject 
  to 
  the 
  State 
  law 
  immediately 
  upon 
  entering 
  the 
  State, 
  

   othemnse 
  it 
  would 
  have 
  a 
  tendency 
  to 
  lessen 
  the 
  efficiency, 
  if 
  it 
  did 
  

   not 
  let 
  down 
  the 
  bars 
  altogether, 
  in 
  States 
  like 
  oui^s 
  in 
  which 
  we 
  are 
  

   practically 
  excluding 
  the 
  product 
  from 
  the 
  market 
  when 
  in 
  imita- 
  

   tion 
  or 
  semblance 
  of 
  butter. 
  I 
  am, 
  therefore, 
  of 
  the 
  opinion, 
  that 
  the 
  

   last 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  above 
  named 
  schemes 
  for 
  handling 
  the 
  coimnodity 
  

   is 
  the 
  one 
  that 
  should 
  be 
  supported 
  by 
  those 
  interested 
  in 
  the 
  ques- 
  

   tion 
  from 
  this 
  State, 
  and 
  such 
  a 
  law 
  should 
  be 
  enacted 
  whether 
  

   the 
  taxing 
  power 
  is 
  invoked 
  or 
  not, 
  and 
  in 
  conjunction 
  with 
  it. 
  The 
  

   leading 
  cases 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  decided 
  by 
  the 
  Supreme 
  Court 
  of 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  are 
  two, 
  viz.: 
  'A 
  Massachusetts 
  case 
  entitled 
  " 
  In 
  re 
  

   Plumley/' 
  in 
  which 
  that 
  court 
  held 
  that 
  the 
  Massachusetts 
  stat- 
  

   ute 
  which 
  prohibited 
  the 
  sale 
  of 
  the 
  goods, 
  if 
  colored 
  in 
  

   imitation 
  or 
  semblance 
  of 
  butter, 
  was 
  constitutional; 
  that 
  

   a 
  State 
  had 
  a 
  right 
  under 
  its 
  police 
  powers 
  to 
  prohibit 
  the 
  

   manufacture 
  and 
  sale 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  counterfeit; 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  

   case 
  was 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  Scliollenberger 
  v. 
  Pennsylvania, 
  in 
  which 
  

   it 
  did 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  the 
  court 
  that 
  the 
  goods 
  were 
  colored 
  

   in 
  imitation 
  or 
  semblance 
  of 
  butter. 
  It 
  was 
  carried 
  into 
  the 
  State 
  

   in 
  original 
  importers' 
  packages, 
  although 
  its 
  sale 
  was 
  prohibited 
  

   by 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  Pennsylvania. 
  The 
  United 
  States 
  court 
  held 
  that 
  

   such 
  a 
  law 
  was 
  unconstitutional 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  commodity 
  in 
  question; 
  

   the 
  goods 
  having 
  been 
  taxed 
  by 
  Congress, 
  thus 
  becoming 
  a 
  legiti- 
  

   m.ate 
  article 
  of 
  commerce, 
  its 
  sale 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  prohibited 
  in 
  

   original 
  importers' 
  packages. 
  

  

  I 
  am, 
  therefore, 
  of 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  oleomargarine 
  is 
  

   concerned 
  the 
  tax 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  ISTational 
  Gov- 
  

   ernment 
  is 
  but 
  a 
  bagatelle 
  when 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  great 
  wrong 
  

   that 
  has 
  been 
  done 
  to 
  the 
  consuming 
  public 
  by 
  allowing 
  the 
  sale 
  

   of 
  these 
  goods 
  in 
  this 
  form 
  ; 
  and 
  while 
  I 
  admit 
  that 
  the 
  principle 
  

   of 
  taxing 
  all 
  oleomargarine 
  has 
  had 
  as 
  bad 
  an 
  effect 
  as 
  it 
  possibly 
  

   can, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  litigation 
  is 
  concerned, 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  feel 
  sure 
  that 
  when 
  

  

  