SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART V 323 



to the promotion of dishonesty. This point can perhaps be best 

 illustrated by citing a common instance, as follows : 



Linseed oil is a staple article of commerce, handled frequently by 

 the druggist, the hardware merchant, the implement dealer, and 

 others in small towns. Say there are six different dealers handling 

 this product and the wholesale price is such that a pure, unadulter- 

 ated oil cannot be retailed at less than 90 cents per gallon. Five 

 of these men are by nature honest, one of them is a natural born 

 crook and adds to this linseed oil 20 to 30% of inexpensive petro- 

 leum oil and cuts the retail price of his oil to 80 cents. The con- 

 suming public is all in favor of one price, and that the lowest. The 

 result is that the unscrupulous dealer receives the patronage and the 

 other five dealers, in self-defense and with many qualms of consci- 

 ence, also add the adulterant to meet the cut price. We now have 

 six dishonest men, where there was but one before. This sort of 

 thing has and may happen where laws regulating such matters are 

 not enacted and enforced. On the other hand, if the department 

 prosecutes and convicts one or more of these dealers, the prosecu- 

 tion has a wholesome effect on the entire community, causing them 

 to respect this, as well as other laws. 



CONCENTRATED FEEDING STUFFS. 



I know of no field in which an efficient system of inspection is 

 more effective than in the present feeding-stuffs industry. These 

 commodities are purchased in car load lots by many of our feeders 

 of hogs, horses and both dairy and beef cattle. The so-called feed- 

 ing-stuffs industry has grown at a remarkable rate during the past 

 few years, and the cash value of shipments are larger than the 

 casual observer would estimate. 



In control of this and similar commodities shipped into the state, 

 co-operation witli the Federal authorities is a necessity. 



During the past season our inspectors sampled over 150 car-lot 

 .jhipments of cotton seed meal, valued at approximately $12,000.00. 

 Of the 150 cars sampled over 100 were found .to contain from 2 to 

 25% less protein than the label declared, or the purchaser's contract 

 called for. As these feeds were bought and paid for before de- 

 livered, and neitlier the shipper nor shipper's agent were located in 

 the state, the i)ui'chasor could receive no protection from the state 

 law. 



