FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IV. 187 



ways, well supplied with money and loth to give up a business 

 that has made them wealthy, and they are certain to use every 

 possible means to avoid the enforcement of the law, to weaken 

 its effect by adverse court decisions and if possible to have some 

 of its obnoxious features repealed. The dairy interests should 

 be more than ever on guard so that we shall not lose what has 

 been obtained by most strenuous efforts during the past four or 

 five years. The National Dairy Union and its officers, who have 

 led in the fight for the recent oleo law, have proved tliemselves to 

 be not only earnest but successful opponents of enemies of the 

 dairy industry. For reasons of self-interest the organization 

 ought to receive the active financial support of every man who 

 believes that oleomargarine ought to be sold for what it is, and 

 not, as has been the case for so many years, sold for and in the 

 place of butter. 



For a considerable number of years there have been scarcely 

 any retail dealers in the State of Iowa ; not more tlran two or 

 three licenses have been issued each year. The reason for this is 

 that it was extremely easy in Iowa to convict a man for the sale 

 of colored oleomarg^arine, and practically all the oleo put on the 

 market was of this variety, hence, no dealer would take out a 

 license if he fully understood the Iowa law, and the f?.ct that the 

 dairy commissioner would certainly find him out and easily suc- 

 ceed in having him fined for selling yellow oleomargarine. As 

 a result of the effort made by all manufacturers of oleomargarine 

 immediately after the new law went into effect and ot their rep- 

 resentations and misrepresentations to^ Iowa dealers in regard to 

 the Iowa law, a large number of grocery and meat market men 

 in all parts of Iowa, 1:fut principally in the large cities, took out 

 licenses for the sale of oleomargarine. It will be remembered 

 that the new law reduced the retailer's license fee from $48.00 a 

 year to $6.00 a year. Two hundred and five licenses were issued 

 in Iowa in the year ending June 30, 1903. It was early discov- 

 ered that only a few of the dealers that had taken out licenses 

 were selling any large quantities of oleomargarine. It v^^as not 

 thought best to make any crusade against the retailers, but rather 

 to make one case against a prominent dealer who would be cer- 

 tain to oppose prosecution and if possible to have the case carried 



