OLEOMARGAKINE. 163 



keep a record of every case. They furnish two or three agents, who 

 usually appear on the ground when a trial is about to be had, a day 

 or two in advance, and secure all the information they can. I presume 

 they usually have a list or copy of the venire the jurymen whom we 

 propose to call upon. And in one instance recently, that is the Ports- 

 mouth case, of which I spoke a while ago, which was tried the second 

 time last week, the attorney for this Capital City Dairy Company in 

 Portsmouth pulled a list out of his pocket that had the venire on it 

 all the members whom we expected to serve on that jury and he had 

 a chart made showing each gentleman's politics, his religion, his pre- 

 dilections on these various questions, and especially with reference to 

 the pure-food law, and so on six or seven very important points. 

 Now, that case was not half tried by the defendants, not half; yet the 

 jury stood nine to three for acquittal. 



Senator FOSTER. Have they ever had any convictions in the State of 

 Ohio? 



Mr. BLACKBURN. Yes; a few. I should say that when cases are tried 

 by a jury we secure about 25 or 30 per cent of convictions, and those 

 are usually in the smaller towns or some place where the sentiment is 

 in favor of butter and opposed to oleomargarine. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. Were those indictments you speak of indictments 

 for the sale of oleomargarine as oleomargarine or for the sale of oleo- 

 margarine as butter? 



Mr. BLACKBURN. Our law is a little different from most of the State 

 laws. We do not have indictments. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. The complaint, or whatever it was. 



Mr. BLACKBURN. It is a charge made in the justice of the peace 

 court. These cases that I have mentioned have been for the sale of 

 oleomargarine as oleomargarine artificially colored contrary to law. 



Senator FOSTER. Do these same people defend the cases where they 

 are tried for selling oleomargarine for butter? 



Mr. BLACKBURN. My impression is that they defend every case, but 

 I can not recall now one particular instance of that kind. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. Do you remember making any prosecutions where 

 the complaint was that oleomargarine was sold for butter under your 

 State law? 



Mr. BLACKBURN. I remember of having made a number of such 

 prosecutions, and according to my recollection I will not be positive 

 on that point they were all defended by the manufacturers or their 

 agents. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. What was the result of those prosecutions, so far 

 as you remember? 



Mr. BLACKBURN. The majority of them resulted in convictions the 

 large majority. 



Mr. ADAMS. I would like to ask you what percentage of oleomar- 

 garine, in your judgment, in the State of Ohio is sold for butter at 

 retail stores, or finally sold upon the tables of hotels, restaurants, and 

 boarding houses, as well as to the ordinary consumer? 



Mr. BLACKBURN. I would have to guess at that, Mr. Adams. My 

 judgment would be 75 per cent of it. I might state that the three lead- 

 ing hotels in the city of Columbus the Chittendon, the Neale House, 

 and the Southern Hotel are now and have been for months back using 

 oleomargarine on their tables in defiance of law. 



