202 OLEOMARGARINE. 



State laws that prohibit its being sold for what it is; and it is simply 

 running up against the experience of all mankind that if people want 

 an article they will give it. They will obtain it; and you can no more 

 enforce prohibition of oleomargarine in Massachusetts than you can 

 enforce prohibition of liquor in the State of Maine. You can enforce 

 them approximately, but there will be constant violations of the law, 

 and people will obtain the article if they really want it if it is an 

 article which they desire. 



But I am not ready to admit, sir, that any large amount of oleomarga- 

 rine is sold in Massachusetts for I am quite familiar with the sales of 

 oleomargarine in that State for butter or that many people in the 

 State of Massachusetts are deceived who get oleomargarine when they 

 buy butter. As a matter of fact, three-fourths of all the oleomarga- 

 rine sold in Massachusetts is sold in the original package, and it is, I 

 think, a fact it is so far as I have examined the matter, and I have 

 been very familiar with the prosecutions in Massachusetts that during 

 the entire time that they have had the anticolor law in the State of Massa- 

 chusetts there has not been a prosecution for selling oleo for butter. 

 The prosecutions have invariably been for selling oleo for oleo; and 

 in courts where I have been many times the testimony is this: "I 

 went to a store and asked for oleomargarine and I obtained oleomarga- 

 rine;" and the court has only to say, " You are guilty." 



I should say that it is possible that 25 per cent of the oleo in those 

 States that have such laws laws to the effect that it can not be sold for 

 what it is in those 32 States it is possible, perhaps, that 25 per cent 

 of the amount sold is sold for butter. Now, gentlemen, suppose that 

 were true. It has been estimated here by the gentleman who spoke 

 yesterday that in Pennsylvania bethought 50 per cent of the oleo sold 

 in Pennsylvania was sold for butter. Another man, I think, said he 

 thought what was sold in Ohio would be equivalent to 50 or 75 per cent 

 of the whole. But neither of those gentlemen could give you any infor- 

 mation whatever as to the amount of oleo that was sold in Pennsylvania 

 or the amount of oleo that was sold in Ohio; and if they could not give 

 you any estimate as to the entire amount I should doubt very much 

 the accuracy of their judgment as to what proportion was sold for 

 butter. 



Suppose it were true that 25 per cent of the oleo of the country 

 and certainly the percentage could not be more than that, for as I said 

 a little while ago it is only in those States that have these severe laws 

 where oleo is sold for butter suppose that thoughout this entire 

 country last year 25 per cent of all the oleo of the country was sold for 

 butter; what effect would that have upon the farmer? One hundred 

 and seven million pounds of oleo were sold year before last. We have 

 not the returns for last year. 



Mr. SPRINGER. That w as for the year ending last June. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. Yes, sir. Twenty-five per cent of that in round 

 numbers would be 25,000,000 pounds. Every ingredient that went 

 into that oleo came off the farm. The farmer did not lose it all, because 

 it was sold for oleo instead of butter. . Every dollar that the raw 

 material cost came from the farm. I have estimated it, and estimated 

 it fairly, I think, at 6 cents per pound, so that the farmer did receive, 

 even for that oleo which was sold for butter, $1,500,000. Now, the 

 only thing you can say he lost was the difference between what he 

 would have had if that same amount had been sold for butter and what 



