684 OLEOMARGARINE. 



Bepresentative BAILEY. In a general way, then in the general 

 application of it? 



Mr. McCoY. In a general way, I think it has been a very broad step; 

 and our live-stock markets have assisted the Government, and worked 

 hand and glove with it for the past seven or eight years to. perfect the 

 system ; and while there may be some criticism upon it, I am here to 

 say that it has done good work. 



Representative BAILEY. I will say that my experience (and it has 

 been considerable general experience) is that I have never been able to 

 shove one through that had lumpy jaw, or anything that looked bad 

 on it. 



Representative ALLEN. You do not mean to say that you have had 

 the disposition 



Representative BAILEY. Well, I have turned them over to these 

 Kansas City fellows to sell them if they could, but they cut them out, 

 and I lost them. It has been claimed that these cattle go on the mar- 

 ket. They do not. I do not believe it can be done. They are sold for 

 what they will bring. Five dollars a head is what they get out of them. 



Representative STOKES. Mr. McCoy, you referred to the communica- 

 tion of tuberculosis through milch cattle. That disease is communi- 

 cated through germs, is it not? 



Mr. MoOoY. I suppose so, sir. I am not an expert on that question, 

 but that is my understanding. 



Representative STOKES. It has been impossible, as I understand, to 

 eliminate those germs from the milk, or to so sterilize the milk as to 

 render it absolutely safe, if the cow from which the milk is taken 

 is infected with tuberculosis? 



Mr. McCoY. Yes, sir. 



Representative STOKES. On the other hand, are you sufficiently 

 familiar with the process of making oleomargarine to know whether, 

 during that process, there is any step taken to eliminate a similar germ 

 from the fat of the cattle? 



Mr. McCoY. Of course, not having any chemical knowledge or any 

 knowledge of what degree of heat it would take to kill the germs or 

 bacilli, I can not answer that question positively. I have been through 

 packing establishments, however, in the course of my business, where 

 this oleo, this caul fat and leaf lard, is put to a very high point of heat; 

 and it is my impression that the heat is sufficient to kill the germs. 

 Whether it does or not I could not say. 



Representative STOKES. I apprehended that at some stage of the 

 process these products were subjected to high temperatures, and I 

 wanted to develop that fact whether, so far as your information goes, 

 it is a sufficient degree of heat to destroy those germs or not? 



Mr. McCoY. I should say, sir, that if an extremely high boiling point 

 would kill the germs, they would be killed; because I have seen this 

 product boiling at a very high temperature. 



Representative DAHLE. Have you seen the stuff boiled that the oleo- 

 margarine has come from? 



Mr. McCoY. I have seen it when it came out of the tanks. 



Representative DAHLE. In a boiling condition? 



Mr. McCoY. 1 do not know. I have seen it where they had it in 

 their furnaces, or rather their boilers, and after it is poured into their 

 tanks. I do not know that I have ever seen exactly how high it was 

 boiled or how hard it was boiled. It seems to me it was boiling at a 

 pretty good boiling point as it came out of those furnaces. 



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