OLEOMARGARINE. 757 



into the production of oleo oil from the time the fats re taken from the slaughtered 

 animals to the finished oils, and from that on into where the oils are used in the pro- 

 duction of oleomargarine. The production of neutral oil and oleo oil by the G. H. 

 Hammond Company is in no wise different from that found in other similar estab- 

 lishments. The materials used in the production of these oils were closely exam- 

 ined by us, and were f,ound to be of the highest grades. The much-mooted 

 question of rendering tanks, which is referred to in the published letter, was care- 

 fully investigated by us, with the result that the conditions found did not bear out 

 the charges contained in that letter. On the other hand, the materials used in the 

 production of these oils are of the finest quality and are carefully handled from start 

 to finish, extra care being used with reference to cleanliness. 



The G. H. Hammond Company, at my request, furnished me with a sampleof their 

 neutral oil, a sample of their oleo oil, and a sample of their salad or cotton-seed oil. 

 These samples I have this day forwarded to your office for your inspection with 

 reference to the purity of the materials used by the G. H. Hammond Company, in 

 the production of their oleomargarine, and are made the subject of a separate 

 report. 



In pursuing our investigations with reference to the charges set forth in the pub- 

 lished letter, we have the honor to advise you that, instead of finding the conditions 

 as charged in that letter, I think we are absolutely safe in saying that we found 

 the conditions to he exactly opposite. There is nothing in our investigations to 

 show that producers of neutral oils and oleo oils have any knowledge of the 

 11 deodorizing process/' nor have they introduced any deodorizing process in their 

 establishments whereby the lower grades of fats can be processed and turned into 

 the products that go into the manufacture of oleomargarine and butterine, as is 

 stated in the published letter. 



The packers at the Chicago stock yards, who are also producers of neutral and 

 oleo oils, have read published accounts in the Chicago papers, which are similar in 

 tone to the clipping that you sent to me, and are making every effort to learn who 

 the employee is that wrote the letter, claiming to have had thirteen years' experience 

 at the stock yards as an employee, but so far they have been unable to locate the 

 writer. However, it is the general impression among nearly all of the packers, as 

 well as the oleomargarine manufacturers, that the author of the published letter is 

 Charles Y. Knight, manager Chicago Dairy Produce, a publication published in the 

 interest of dairy products, 188 South Water street, Chicago. 



We have tried to make our investigations full and complete, and have endeavored 

 to give the facts just as they presented themselves, with the view of supplying all 

 of the information relative to the published charges that was obtainable, and hope 

 we have covered the most important points. Our report may seem a little lengthy, 

 but considering the ground that had to be gone over in order to make an intelligent 

 report, we do not see how we could have conveyed the information otherwise. 

 We are very respectfully, yours, 



JAMES W. McGiNNis, 

 H. B. BURGH, 



Revenue Agents. 



EXHIBIT A* 



ARMOUR & Co., 

 Chicago, UL t April SO, 1900. 

 Mr. H. B. BURGH, 



Revenue Agent, Chicago, HI. 



DEAR SIR: We have looked over the letter sent to the honorable Commissioner of 

 Internal Revenue under date of April 24, 1900, purporting to have been written by 

 an employee of the stock yards, and we beg to state that most of the statements 

 therein we believe to be entirely without foundation in fact. 



The allegation that "the demand for so-called oleo oil or fat has so increased that 

 the stock yards plant has introduced deodorizing processes, so that all kinds of 

 inferior fats and offal can be turned into products which go into the manufacture of 

 oleomargarine and butterine." we answer by saying that as we ourselves abandoned 

 the manufacture of oleomargarine immediately upon the passage of the Illinois law 

 rendering it illegal to color this article, we have since then sold the oleo oil and 

 other products entering into the manufacture of oleomargarine to manufacturers of 

 that article. The demand that we supply being both foreign and domestic, we are 

 in position to state emphatically that we find no inquiry existing for the lower 

 grades of fats and oils mentioned in the letter alluded to, but on the contrary that 

 oleomargarine manufacturers demand and have supplied to them invariably product* 

 made from material that IB first class in every particular. 



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