OLEOMARGARINE. 651 



be all tli at it is claimed to be, and yet I will tell you our experience in 

 twenty two years in the State of Maryland shows you can not regulate 

 the selling of oleo so as to prevent the consumer from being deceived, 

 and that is the reason why I think that this tax ought to be raised to 10 

 cents and it is a fair proposition. 



Mr. ALLEN. Let me ask you, to get your views, do you think that 

 ought to be done with a view of prohibiting the manufacture of butterine 

 altogether? 



Mr. HEWES. With a view of prohibiting all manufacture of oleo yellow 

 unless they want to pay the penalty ; it is to tax that yellow color. There 

 is not a soul who would see uncolored oleo who would be deceived. 



Mr. ALLEN. Do you think that if you require them to make and sell 

 it in the natural color your natural-colored butterine could find a sale 

 upon the market? 



Mr. HEWES. I am almost sure it could, and to show the fairness of 

 this proposition it says to them, "If you will make this oleo uncolored 

 we will reduce the tax to a quarter of a cent a pound." This bill of Mr. 

 Grout says, "Do right, be fair, make your oleo in just whatever color it 

 can be without the introduction of yellow color and we will reduce the 

 tax to one-fourth of a cent." Now you say to us, "Are you in any 

 position here to come and take this revenue from the Government?" 

 How did this revenue get to the Government except by our efforts? 

 We reposed this trust in the United States, may it please the chairman 

 and gentlemen of this committee, we reposed this trust in the United 

 States. We said, "If you will put it under your close supervison, such 

 and such will be the result; we will give you a million and a half dollars 

 of revenue, and we ask you simply to act as policemen;" and they are 

 not policing the State as we expected they would, and we have given 

 them a million and a half and more every year. 



The CHAIRMAN. Who is that? 



Mr. HEWES. The butter men of the country, who passed this law. 

 Who passed the law? The butter men of the country. Look at the 

 records and see who brought it here, and worked for it, and who passed 

 it. We claim we did it. Of course I only speak for the butter men. 

 I, however, was here; I spoke before both committees, and I did all I 

 possibly could for it. Now, I say the dairy interest is imposing no 

 hardship; it simply says, "Now, go on and try this other scheme; you 

 are not crying for revenue; the Government is not so poor it has to 

 bemoan the fact that this tax upon oleo can be reduced or can not be 

 reduced. The quarter may yield you more than a million dollars before 

 you get through." Suppose it turns out that oleo uncolored is salable 

 the same as uucolored butter is? You know well enough that at the 

 best hotels in New York you find uncolored butter there. Why should 

 it not be with uncolored oleo, and I say it is not a supposition to say 

 that uncolored oleo will sell. 



A BYSTANDER. But it will not sell as butter. 



The CHAIRMAN. How much more whitish is uncolored oleo than 

 uncolored butter? 



Mr. HEWES. None. Uncolored oleo is no whiter than the white, 

 crumby butter Mr. Allen was speaking about this morning. Uncolored 

 oleo has a texture that commends itself, no doubt, to people. It has 

 that cloudy white color that will not impose upon anybody, but there is 

 plenty of butter with no deeper color than uncolored oleo. The Gov- 

 ernment now has prohibited oleo from using the emblem, etc., of butter. 

 It says you must not do that. That is the regulation of the Internal 

 Eevenue Department to protect the people and prohibit the use of names 

 of creameries, etc., and all that, so the people may be protected ; and 



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