578 OLEOMARGARINE. 



Senator WARREN. It makes no difference with toe cooking part, of 

 course ? 



Mr. GROUT. No; we can not in this legislation enter into the minu- 

 tiae, as I say, of local regulations. It would be beyond oar jurisdiction. 



Senator MONEY. Then the raising of the tax is of no particular 

 importance in protecting the consumer if it is the color that is the 

 most important? 



Mr. GROUT. It makes unprofitable the sale of colored oleomargarine, 

 and when it is not colored it will have to go for what it is. It matters 

 but little whether they do their shortening or cooking with oleomarga- 

 rine or hogs' fat or beef tallow. There is mighty little difference 

 between them. It is all the same; but when they undertake to make 

 the public think they have shortened up with butter, the color is want- 

 ing, and they can not carry the deceit to that extent. To that extent 

 it will prevent its use in cooking. 



Senator WARREN. Gould they not add a little of the coloring matter 

 in the cooking and thereby deceive the guests? 



Mr. GROUT. Possibly they could color it so that they could spread 

 your toast with it and make you think it was butter. Possibly they 

 might recook and color it in quantities, but no one has suggested that 

 that is practicable. But everyone can see that the provisions of this 

 substitute bill can be evaded by the retailer, to a certain extent, as 

 well as the hotel, restaurant, and boarding-house keeper. All the 

 retailer would have to do would be buy, say, 200 pounds of oleo, stamped 

 like these specimens and delivered to him in a box like this, take off 

 the wrappers, and then, with an ordinary butter cutter, mold, or mallet, 

 pound these 2-pound lumps into butter firkins and then sell it out of 

 the firkins for butter. How easy; and after he had used the box and 

 wrappers to kindle the fire, no vestige of oleo would be left on his prem- 

 ises. All this is very easy to do under Mr. Wadsworth's substitute. But 

 if you take away the color, as this 10-cent tax will do, the game is up. 



Mr. JELKE. The object of your bill, I understand, is to prevent the 

 retail dealer 



Mr. GROUT. It is to prevent fraud along the whole line. 



Mr. JELKE. Will you permit me to ask a question? 



Mr. GROUT. Certainly. 



Mr. JELKE. It is to prevent a fraud in the sale by the retail dealer 

 and to protect the consumer against this fraudulent sale? 



Mr. GROUT. Yes. 



Mr. JELKE. Is there any provision in the bill preventing the purchase, 

 by the retailer, of uncolored oleomargarine on which there is but a quar- 

 ter of a cent per pound tax 



Mr. GROUT. Oh, no. 



Mr. JELKE. And then coloring the oleomargarine himself and making 

 9j cents per pound additional profit? 



Mr. GROUT. But he would have to work it all over and melt it in 

 order to work in his color. If he colors the uucolored article, which I 

 am told is highly impracticable, he would have to have a caldron, kettle, 

 or something of that kind to make that transformation, and it cer- 

 tainly could be traced ; but see how easily he could take that stuff and 

 pound it into a 50 pound butter tub and sell it for butter. Who can 

 trace him? Who can follow him? He burns up this wooden box and 

 wrapper in which it came and there is no way to trace it. 



Mr. JELKE. For your own information, Mr. Grout, I would like to say 

 that if this roll of oleomargarine were absolutely white, without spoil 



