OLEOMARGARINE. 211 



package. This has stamps on it, and everything to apprise him of 

 what he is buying, so that it is not possible that the butter dealer in 

 Washington or elsewhere could ever be deceived as to what he is buy- 

 ing. The retail dealer buys a 10-pound package or a 60-pound pack- 

 age, or whatever it may be, of oleomargarine in the tub. The retail 

 dealer under the present system can cut out of that tub anything that 

 his customer desires. Well, here is this tub standing up here, we will 

 say, on the shelf. The cover is off, and you look at it, and it looks 

 like butter; and the only thing to apprise the customer of the fact 

 that it is oleo would be the stamp on the tub, which may be laid down 

 or on the side or may not be called to his attention. He comes in and 

 calls for, say, two pounds of butter, and if the retail dealer is a dis- 

 honest man, and desires to palm oleo off on him, why of course he 

 would cut it out of that tub and sell it to the customer. 



Senator DOLLIVEK. Then how could your scheme of wrapping a deli- 

 cately colored paper around it have that effect? 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. I would not permit it to be sold in the original 

 package in tubs. I would have the original package a small package 

 of, say, five pounds, and not permit it to be sold in the manner in 

 which it is now sold. 



Senator DOLLIVER. It seems to me if it was only identified by a 

 paper, the man would take the paper off and put another paper on. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. No ; because it could be stamped, and it could be 

 provided that it should only be made in prints, and it could also be 

 provided that the word "Oleomargarine" should be printed into the 

 substance itself. 



Senator DOLLIVEK. Even that is not a very permanent record. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. Well, that with the cover itself would be suffi- 

 cient, it seems to me. 



Senator DOLLIVER. If the dealer was trying to swindle, he could 

 take the imprint out of the butter. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. It strikes me that if the laws were enforced as 

 they should be, and as they possibly would be, there would be very 

 little difficulty and very little fraud practiced, if you had the most 

 stringent regulations. 



Senator DOLLIVER. I have not heard lately any charges of fraud 

 against those manufacturing the article. 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. No; there is undoubtedly very little fraud on the 

 part of the manufacturer. I have not heard of any for a good many 

 years, and I can conceive of no temptation on the part of the manu- 

 facturer to sell his article for anything except for what it is, for he is 

 not allowed to keep anything else in his factory, and his factory is 

 subject to the inspection of the United States revenue officers daily. 

 If he should attempt to put goods out of his establishment as butter, 

 the penalties are so severe that he would be deterred from doing so. 



MR. KNIGHT. I would like to ask one question about the present law. 

 Does not the present law require the retailer to stamp the article? 



Mr. TILLINGHAST. 1 am not familiar with the retail trade. 



Mr. SCHELL. Yes; it does. 



Mr. JELKE. If you will permit me to explain. The retailer is per- 

 mitted to sell in quantities not exceeding 10 pounds. He must take 

 up his own package, and stamp the package with his name, his address, 

 and the word " oleomargarine," and the quantity contained therein. 

 That is the present law. The retail dealer sells his goods in that 

 manner. 



