OLEOM AEG ABINE. 171 



STATEMENT OF FRANCIS W. LESTRADE Resumed. 



Mr. LESTRADE. The question may arise in your minds, gentlemen, 

 why am I opposed to this bill, as all my interests my money, what 

 little I have, or the greater part of it are in butter. It is merely this: 

 That, as I have stated, oleomargarine has been a friend to butter 

 has made us dairymen, farmers, creamery men, make better butter. 

 The second reason is that the dairymen throughout the United States 

 are getting a good profit on their butter. We are making money. 

 My creameries are making money. 1 do not know of any creameries 

 that are not making money. We are making from 10 to 50 per cent. 

 Legitimately we are making from 10 to 20 per cent; speculatively we 

 are making a great deal more. 



Mr. HOARD. Will you allow me to ask you a question ? 



Mr. LESTRADE. Yes, sir. 



Mr. HOARD. Are you a creamery man ? 



Mr. LESTRADE. Yes, sir; that is, I am interested in creameries; I 

 am interested in three of them. 



Mr. HOARD. You say you are making from 10 to 50 per cent? 



Mr. LESTRADE. I said from 10 to 20 per cent legitimately, and we 

 do make as high as 50 per cent at times. 



Mr. HOARD. Do you mean as the owner of a creamery? 



Mr. LESTRADE. No, sir; in selling our butter. I will give you an 

 illustration in a very few minutes. As I stated this morning, the 

 prices of butter are gradually advancing in this country. The output 

 is larger every year, as I presume you know from statistics, yet the 

 price is gradually going up each spring when new butter comes in. 

 A few years ago, as I stated, we could buy this packing stock, this 

 original stock which I described, at all the way from 6 to 9 and 10 

 cents. At times it would run as low as 3 cents a pound. I bought 

 thousands and thousands of pounds of it within ten or twelve years at 

 3 to 4 cents a pound. The markets were flooded with it. Latterly, 

 on account of the general prosperity of the country and the increase 

 of inhabitants, it has maintained its position, until in the year 1898, I 

 think it was a year ago last spring prices went to 13, 13i, and 14 

 cents. This year it went as high as 15 to 16 cents that is, when the 

 new butter came in. That is supposed to be the lowest price of the 

 year, and there has been an advance of 4 to 6 cents a pound over pre- 

 vious years. This is in the face of increase of oleomargarine also 

 throughout the country, and in the face of the howl that is set up by 

 those who really do not study the true condition of the dairy interests. 

 If I remember" rightly, in the year 1898 or 1899 the output of oleo 

 was from 80,000,000 to 100,000,000 pounds. 



Mr. CLARK. It was 107,000,000 pounds last year. 



Mr. LESTRADE. It was about 91,000,000 pounds in 1898. Notwith- 

 standing that, the cheapest kind of butter, that we used to buy at 9 to 

 10 cents a pound started in this year on a basis of 13 and 14 cents a 

 pound, and 1 put away thousands of pounds at 15 cents. 



Mr. HOARD. What do you mean by saying you put it away ? 



Mr. LESTRADE. We are obliged to put it away for use in the winter, 

 for we can not get it in the fall and in the winter. It is not made 

 throughout the West. 



Mr. HOARD. How do you put it away ? 



