ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 455 



And what of the claim that the dairymen are selfish? They are only 

 seeking to prevent unlawful competition, or rather substitution. They 

 want a free field for the sale of butter on its own merits. They are not 

 seeking to sell it for something else, and never have. They are only 

 striving to prevent fraud. They demand protection for their industry 

 from fraud. Is it selfish to do this? If it is, then the man who resists 

 the burglar who breaks into his home for the purpose of illegal gain, is 

 selfish and is worthy of condemnation. 



And who are the best friends of the consumers of the country, the 

 men who seek to substitute or the men who seek to create market condi- 

 tions where the genuine product shall be protected and the substitute 

 article sold for just what it is and at a price regulated by its cost of pro- 

 duction and market demand? In thus protecting the genuine product, 

 the consumers of both butter and oleomargarine are protected. 



The dairymen can well claim to be working in the consumers' interest. 

 This is their whole effort. In securing the elimination of fraud in the 

 sale of butter substitutes, they are but incidentally accomplishing their 

 own protection. 



And what of the claim that they are attempting to still further 

 boost the price of butter? Whether butter reaches a higher price will, of 

 course, depend upon the supply and demand. In a market where both 

 butter and oleomargarine were sold for what they are, if the consumers 

 create such a demand for butter that the price is increased, no one is 

 to blame but the consumers. They can at any time relieve the situation 

 by buying oleomargarine at oleomargarine prices. An increase in the 

 price of the colored 'substitute certainly wouldn't help him any, and yellow 

 oleomargarine, whether artificially colored or made yellow by selection 

 of the ingredients, always sells at a higher price than the uncolored. 



No sane person can be misled by the claim that oleomargarine is as 

 "pure, wholesome and nutritious as butter," providing he gives thought 

 to the question. It is the same old story of the producer of the substi- 

 tute claiming the superiority of his article over the genuine. 



For several years the writer was compelled to listen for hours at a 

 time to the claims of the manufacturers of artificial food products, that 

 in using their particular articles the consumer was not only getting 

 better quality, but was also saving money. They were always protesting 

 against regulations which were intended to prevent fraud in the sale of 

 those products. They termed such regulations "outrageous and undemo- 

 cratic," and accused the legislative body of the state of discriminating 

 against "pure, wholesome and nutritious" food products. In spite of 

 all such protests, our state law-making bodies and our federal law-making 

 body, have continued to strengthen such regulations and make the line 

 of demarcation between the genuine and the imitation as complete as 

 possible. 



Congressman J. M. Nelson, of Wisconsin, clearly emphasized the fool- 

 ishness of the claim of the oleomargarine people when he said: "It is 

 well to remember that Congress cannot repeal or set aside the funda- 

 mental facts of nature or of human nature. Can Congress by law make 



