400 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



side firm is prohibited by law from paying more than the stan- 

 dards set by the prices of the local concern. At any rate, the com- 

 plaints that the centralizers were running the local creamery out of 

 business have practically ceased in this state and I believe the same 

 is the fact in other states. 



OLEOMARGARINE. 



The following statistics of the manufacture of oleomargarine for 

 the several years ending in each case on June 30th, are from the 

 reports of the Collector of Internal Revenue for the United States : 



1901 104,943,856 



1902 126,316.472 



1903 71,804,102 



1904 48,071,480 



1905 49,880,982 



1906 53,146,459 



1907 68,988,639 



1908 79,107,273 



1909 90,621,844 



Until 1902 the sale of oleomargarine was under little or no re- 

 striction so far as the federal government was concerned except 

 that all oleomargarine paid a tax of two cents a pound and the 

 manufacturers and retailers each paid license fees. From the fig- 

 ures it will appear that the amount of this product manufactured 

 and sold in this country for the year 1902 was more than the total 

 creamery butter production of the state of Iowa by 25.000,000 

 pounds, and as practically every pound of it was sold for butter 

 the influence upon the markets can well be estimated. Under the 

 present oleomargarine law, which levies a ten cent tax upon oleo- 

 margarine that is colored and only a quarter of a cent upon un- 

 colored, the make of the product immediately fell to less than half 

 the former proportions but has steadily increased under a cam- 

 paign of advertising and effort on the part of the makers, until the 

 amount again approaches 100,000,000 pounds annually. 



AVhen the law was first enacted "uncolored" oleomargarine was 

 nearly white, or of a very light straw color. There is now found 

 on the market oleomargarine, sold as "uncolored" under the quarter 

 cent tax, which has a high yellow color, and would pass unquestioned 

 as butter in any market, so far as color is concerned. 



