OLEOMARGARINE. 497 



Senator MONEY. You would not have any objection to his coming 

 here and making a statement in his own behalf, would you? 



Mr. KNIGHT. I would have a great deal of objection to prolonging 

 these hearings any further, if I had anything to say about it. 



Senator MONEY. That is another matter. 



Mr. KNIGHT. Oh, certainly; I would have no other objection ; no, 

 indeed. But Mr. Jelke's point about telegraphing to Collector Coyne 

 was very poorly taken, because I did not mention Collector Coyne's 

 name in the matter at all. When I stated that an offer of $7,500 in 

 compromise was made by Mr. Jelke's firm, I stated that my informa- 

 tion was from Assistant United States Attorney Clark J. Tisdell, and 

 not from the collector of internal revenue ; and I think if you will go 

 to the commissioner of internal revenue in this city, or the courts, or 

 whatever the proper place may be, my statement can be verified. 



Mr. JELKE. Mr. Knight, just permit me to interrupt you for a 

 moment, if you please. I did not take any notice of what you said 

 yesterday afternoon, except this: I think if you will refer to the 

 record, you will find that you made the 'statement that there were 2,000 

 dealers in Chicago who were selling oleomargarine as and for butter. 

 I think the record will show that. 



Mr. KNIGHT. That is my opinion, Mr. Jelke; and I do not know any 

 way to prove it except to go out and sample them, and get analyses of 

 what they sell you. 



Mr. JELKE. If you will investigate the most respectable and respon- 

 sible dealers in Chicago you will find them handling oleomargarine as 

 oleomargarine. I refer to the leading merchants of Chicago. 



Mr. KNIGHT. I do not deny that. 



Mr. JELKE. Take the Siegel-Cooper Company, the Boston Store, "The 

 Fair,", the Eothschilds, Charles H. Schlatt, and others of the best of 

 them. 



Mr. KNIGHT. Let me state that if you investigate some of the manu- 

 facturers of oleomargarine you will find that one or two of them are 

 not upholding this kind of business; but, unfortunately, the majority of 

 them are. 



. Senator DOLLIVER. The point I endeavored to make was this, that 

 the more contentious personal matter there is introduced here the more 

 interminable this thing will become. 



Mr. KNIGHT. That is true, Senator, and I will endeavor to avoid it. 

 As you saw just now, I did not want to bring any names into this 

 matter at all. I endeavored to avoid that. 



Mr. JELKE. That is the difficulty class against class. 



Mr. KNIGHT. Now, I want to say a few words on this " class-against- 

 class" question. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. Oh, I think the committee understands 

 the question of " class against class." We have heard it discussed 

 here time and time again. 



Mr. KNIGHT. But here is something that has not been brought out, 

 Senator; and that is the fact that the oleomargarine people to-day are 

 largely people who have been butter people in time past. When oleo- 

 margarine first came in it was handled by butter people* Almost every 

 butter man in the United States handled it. What made thedifference 

 between oleomargarine dealers and butter dealers'? When the laws 

 went into effect which made it unlawful and illegal to handle butterine 

 in the only way that it would be honestly sold, a part of the dealers 

 got out of the business. Those who wanted to comply with the law got 

 out of the business because they could not remain in it legally. The 



S. Rep. 2043 32 



