466 OLEOMARGARINE. 



but have been informed that to be successful in obtaining money from farmers and 

 butter men a few circulars with imposing headlines are required. 



We strongly recommend you to pay no attention to those circulars. We have 

 always been in a position to protect our customers from injustice and blackmailers, 

 and will be ever at your service should you require our aid. 



Respectfully, yours, WM. J. MOXLEY. 



Now, our friend the enemy, there is the pure butter right there 

 [exhibiting a test tube]. You will notice that is absolutely clear and 

 that the casein and water are precipitated, whereas this [exhibiting] is 

 muddy. It never will clarify except at a temperature of about 150. 



Senator HANSBROUGH. What is the object of this test? Is it to 

 show the indigestibility of oleomargarine as compared with that of 

 butter? 



Mr. KNIGHT. It is a test between oleomargarine and butter. Sena- 

 tor Allen asked me something about process butter, and I wanted to 

 show him that; but I brought the test tubes here primarily in case 

 there should be any lack of evidence that what I had bought was oleo- 

 margarine at the ten places I bought it from. 



Our friend Jelke's firm Braun & Fitts in reply to this letter which 

 Mr. Murray sent out, sent the following reply : 



Every licensed butteriue dealer in Chicago has received circular letters from the 

 secretary and attorney for the Illinois Dairy Union, promising all sorts of trouble to 

 dealers in butterine (that honest and pure article of food). Well, now, don't you 

 believe a word of it ; there is a law against blackmailing, and we want now and 

 here to go on record to the assertion, as an affidavit, that we shall civilly and crimi- 

 nally prosecute any man or party of men interfering unlawfully with the bntterine 

 business in this or any other State. We know exactly where we stand ; we are 

 properly advised on the subject, and now we make you a "fair offer:" "Handle our 

 goods as you always have; we in turn promise and guarantee full protection against 

 the State law (which has been declared unconstitutional) to the extent of paying 

 cost of prosecution, fines, and paying all costs pertaining thereto." In declaring 

 the law unconstitutional one of the judges stated to the effect. "that the butterring 

 were, in his opinion, liable to prosecution to recover damages done an honest indus- 

 try." Fair enough, isn't it? Renew your efforts, and^be assured that we will be 

 prepared to fight any number of rounds in any kind of a legal fight to the finish. 

 Handle our butterine and be safe. 



Mr. JELKE. Mr. Knight, I think that letter was instigated by the 

 condition of the law regarding the sale of colored oleomargarine in 

 Illinois. 



Mr. KNIGHT. In what way, Mr. Jelke? 



Mr. JELKE. It was tied up in the courts. 



Mr. KNIGHT. But I did not threaten to prosecute anybody for selling 

 oleomargarine. 



Mr. JELKE. I do not know the date of that letter. 



Mr. KNIGHT. I do. It was two days after the date of Mr. Moxley's 

 letter. 



Mr. JELKE. And we had just gotten through with a case of black- 

 mailers who had taken our customers out to May wood. 



Mr. KNIGHT. That was two years before that. 



Mr. JELKE. They took six of our customers out to May wood, a suburb 

 in the country about 15 miles farther than it was necessary to go. 

 They took them out there at 6 o'clock at night when they could not 

 get bail or anything else. That is the character of the prosecutions we 

 had. 



Mr. KNIGHT. I will refer you back to the original letter in which 

 they were threatened only with prosecution for selling oleomargarine 

 for butter. 



Mr. JELKE. We have never protected one customer in the sale of 

 oleomargarine for butter, and never attempted it. We never had any 

 idea we would do it. 



