548 OLEOMARGARINE. 



Mr. PAUL. It is in relation to making sales of butter on the Phila 

 delphia Produce Exchange. The butter is examined by a gentleman 

 who has been appointed for that purpose an inspector. 



Senator MONEY. You mean that 100 is the best quality? 



Mr. PAUL. Yes, sir. 



Senator MONEY. One hundred is taken as a basis, and the flavor 

 would count as 45 points? 



Mr. PAUL. Yes, sir; in quality. Then it must have 25 per cent in 

 body, in texture. That refers to its being firm, elastic, etc. Then it 

 must have 15 points in color. If you had mixed goods that is, if you 

 had a lot of butter that was mixed in color it would be graded down. 



I have not the prices for last year. They have not been compiled 

 yet; but this is from the Philadelphia Produce Exchange report for 

 January, 1900, giving the highest and lowest price of tine butter during 

 the different months of the year. Those prices are as follows : I u Janu- 

 ary, 1899, the highest price was 22 cents and the lowest price M) cents 

 for Pennsylvania goods. The same prices prevailed on Western goods. 

 In February the prices were 26 cents and 19 cents; in March, 22 cents 

 and 20 cents; in April, 22 cents and 17 cents; in May, 19^ cents and 

 17J cents; in June, 19 cents and 18 cents; in July, 19 cents and 18 

 cents; in August, 21 cents and 18J cents; in September, 23 cents and 21 

 cents; in October, 24 cents and 23 cents; in November, 27 cents and 

 24 J cents; in December, 28 cents and 27 cents. 



These are the official prices of butter on the Philadelphia Produce 

 Exchange during the year 1899. The prices for Western butter were 

 the same an average of about 23 cents per pound for the highest and 

 20J cents for the lowest, making an average of almost 22 cents per 

 pound during the entire year. 



Senator MONEY. Have you the oleomargarine list there? 



Mr. PAUL. No, sir; I have not. 



Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Paul, is there any published market price on oleo- 

 margarine? In any market reports that you can find, is there any 

 regular quoted price for oleomargarine? 



Mr. PAUL. I will answer that question by saying that the exchanges 

 are dominated by butter people, and they will not allow the price of 

 oleomargarine to be posted up. 



Mr. KNIGHT. But I mean in the newspapers. 



Mr. PAUL. Of course they do not get it from anybody. They do not 

 inquire for it, and they do not want it. 



Senator MONEY. It is like certain stocks that are not listed. It is 

 sold on the curb. 



Mr. PAUL. This goes to show that the amount of oleomargarine being 

 sold in Philadelphia causes a good price to be received for butter in all 

 seasons of the year. The State of Pennsylvania manufactures about 

 90,000,000 pounds of butter a year. The Stateconsumes about 200,000,000 

 pounds a year. According to the statistics in the Kevenue Department 

 there are bet ween 11,000,000 and 1 2,000,000 pounds of oleomargarinsvsold 

 in the State of Pennsylvania in a year. Therefore there are between 

 90,000,000 and 100,000,000 pounds of foreign butter that comes into the 

 State of Pennsylvania to supply the demands of that State alone. 



Senator BATE. How do you get at that fact? 



Mr. PAUL. From the State bcird of agriculture at Harrisburg. 



Senator BATE. It is estimated, I suppose ? 



Mr. PAUL. I suppose it is estimated; yes, sir. 



Senator MONEY. They get the returns on it? 



Mr. PAUL. They get the returns from the Internal Kevenue Depart- 

 ment on oleomargarine. 



