OLEOMARGARINE. 159 



instead of turning men idle who are now employed. We need addi- 

 tional markets for the rough products of our farms instead of closing 

 up the ones we now have. Under modern conditions it is necessary to 

 change farm articles of bulk into a more valuable and compact shape 

 in order to ship them to distant markets. The butter industry does 

 this, and has the additional advantage over every other product in that 

 it at the same time removes almost no fertility from the farm." 



It is claimed that it is unjust to exclude from the Commonwealth an 

 article of food that is not injurious to the public health, taking for 

 granted that oleomargarine, as now manufactured, is not unwholesome 

 as an article of food. 



The sale of oleomargarine as butter and in imitation of butter is a 

 fraud, and it is also a menace to a great industry which comprises a 

 large portion of our agricultural wealth. 



The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Wads worth is here from the House and desires 

 to address the committee. 



STATEMENT OF HON. J. W. WADSWORTH, OF NEW YORK. 



Mr. WADSWORTH. Mr. Chairman, I saw a statement in the paper 

 yesterday which puts the report of the minority of the Committee on 

 Agriculture of the House in a rather dubious odor. That is, the con- 

 tradiction of Mr. Adams that he ever stated to that committee that 

 there was no need of beating around the bush; that the object of this 

 second section of the bill was to drive the oleomargarine manufacturers 

 out of business. Mr. Adams is right in the statement that there was 

 no stenographer present at that time, owing to an oversight. The 

 remark was taken down, however, by a member of that committee at 

 the time, because its very boldness attracted the attention of the whole 

 committee to it. 



Another contradiction made yesterday was by Mr. Knight, secretary 

 of the National Dairymen's Union, that he never wrote that letter to 

 the Virginia farmers. That letter, or a copy of it, is in the hands of 

 a member of the committee, who has not returned from the West as 

 yet. If it is considered of enough importance, the copy of the letter 

 or the original will be produced. I say this simply to place the minority 

 report of the committee in the proper light. 



Another matter, which is personal to myself and I only call atten- 

 tion to it because this man Knight has used it simply for purposes of 

 intimidation. He says that my majority in my district was cut down 

 over 2,000. That is a falsehood. My majority is the largest I have 

 ever had there, except in 1896. 



Senator HEITFELD. I believe, Mr. Wadsworth, that was a mistake. 

 He admitted that your majority was larger; he simply stated that you 

 ran behind the ticket. 



Mr. WADSWORTH. I did not; that is false also. I only desired to 

 call attention to that because I believe it was stated for a political 

 purpose. 



Mr. ADAMS. Mr. Chairman, this is a personal matter, and I hope 

 Mr. Wadsworth will remain while I make another statement with ref- 

 erence to the statement which I made before the Committee on Agri- 

 culture. I did not make the statement which was reported in the report 

 of the minority of that committee. 1 simply said there was no use in 



