296 OLEOMARGARINE. 



And section 3 provides, in regard to hotel proprietors, restaurants, 

 and boarding-house keepers having a sign on the wall, " Oleomargarine 

 sold and used here," and that in no instance shall they serve oleomar- 

 garine, even if that sign is up, when butter is called for. 



SEC. 4. The word " Oleomargarine," as used in this act. shall be construed to mean 

 any substance not pure butter of not less than eighty per cent of butter fats, which 

 substance is made as substitute for, in imitation of, or to be used as butter. 



This act provides a penalty for manufacturers of not less than $100 

 nor more than $500, and for each subsequent offense, in addition to the 

 above fine, the offender may be imprisoned in the county jail not more 

 than ninety days. 



Any other person violating any of the provisions of this act shall, upon conviction 

 thereof, be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars. 



Gentlemen, with these laws in force, and with the intention of com- 

 plying therewith, I advised my clients that the retailer must stamp or 

 label the parchment in which the butteriue was wrapped, the wooden 

 dish in which it was placed, and the wrapper which was placed over 

 all, and that he must also at the time of the purchase in some way 

 (unostentatiously, of course) advise the customer what he was buying. 

 For instance, if butter was called for, even if it was known that the 

 prospective purchaser wanted oleomargarine, the clerk should say, 

 " You want oleo? " u You want butterine? " or something of that kind, 

 so that the name should always be mentioned between the parties, so 

 that there could be no mistake. 



In addition to that, in the season when it is not necessary to keep 

 the butter and the oleomargarine down in a refrigerator the retail deal- 

 ers whom I represented had racks arranged upon which they placed 

 their oleomargarine and their butter tubs, something on the order that 

 I have outlined here [exhibiting diagram]. There would be, say, the 

 two tubs of butter. Two tubs of oleomargarine, I think, came on top, 

 one at 13 and one at 15 cents, and over that was a placard, "Oleo, 13 

 cents," " Oleo, 15 cents." The other tubs were marked "Dairy butter, 

 18 cents," and " Creamery butter, 25 cents," as the case might be. 

 Then over all would be the label required by the State laws, " Oleo- 

 margarine sold here" so plain, gentlemen, that the wayfaring man, 

 though a fool, need not have erred therein. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. That was simply a request on your part 

 that the dealers do this? 



Mr. SCHELL. Yes j that was simply a request. 



Senator FOSTER. Did that comply with the law of the State of Ohio? 



Mr. SCHELL. That complied with theoleo-for-butter law of the State 

 of Ohio, and went further, in order to fully advise the customer. 



Senator FOSTER. How many dealers are there in the State? 



Mr. SCHELL. One firm, whom I represented and who to my certain 

 knowledge complied with my instructions in this case, operated 25 

 stores in different parts of the city. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. But how many were there in the city who 

 did not comply with this system ? 



Mr. SCHELL. So far as I know, not a single individual. 



Senator FOSTER. Have there been any prosecutions in the last year 

 there in Ohio ? 



Mr. SCHELL. Yes; there have been. And, as the food commissioner 

 stated here the other day, in the majority of cases of selling oleomarga- 

 rine for butter there have been convictions. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN (referring to a book handed him by Mr. 

 Knight). There seem to be 1,439 retail dealers in the State of Ohio. 



