760 OLEOMABG ABINE. 



anything about it or not. Do you know anything about a renovated 

 butter?" 



Commissioner WILSON. Yes, sir; I have been after those people 

 lately, and taken every one of them out of the oleo factories. They 

 have tried to renovate butter at some of these factories, as well as other 

 places, and I have stopped it. 



Eepresentative WILLIAMS. I wish you would tell us about that. 



Commissioner WILSON. I do not know much about it, except that 

 they appeared to have wagons over the cities, and, indeed, at various 

 country places where they have this product, and it gets spoiled; and 

 they gathered the stuff in and sent it to these renovating establish- 

 ments. One or two of the oleomargarine factories had arranged an 

 annex of that kind, and I cleaned them out. 



Representative WILLIAMS. Talking about frauds upon butter, or 

 upon butter eaters, which do you regard as the greatest fraud being 

 perpetrated now, and the most plausible one, the one most easy to 

 mislead people oleomargarine or renovated butter! 



Commissioner WILSON. Well, I hardly think any idea which I might 

 have on that subject could be of much importance or weight. The 

 oleomargarine factories are wonderfully cleanly conducted affairs. If 

 you gentlemen will send a committee in among them without their 

 knowing it, and take hold of the matter yourselves, you will find that 

 to be the truth. They are wonderfully cleanly conducted affairs. 



Representative WILLIAMS. Now, I have understood and I do not 

 know but what you may have had occasion to find out something about 

 it that they send around and get the old rancid butter from restau- 

 rants and hotels and other places, and carry it up to a central place, and 

 " renovate" it, as they call it. 



Commissioner WILSON. Yes, they do. That is not denied. It is an 

 industry. 



Representative WILLIAMS. It is an industry. 



Representative ALLEN. And that material is then sold for butter! 



Commissioner WILSON. i"es ; but so far as I know, the dairy people 

 have nothing to do with that. That is a business as distinct from them, 

 I presume, as it is from the oleomargarine business. I do not know 

 that they have anything to do with it. I do not think so. 



Representative HAUGEN. You stated a while ago that the 10-per-cent 

 tax would practically drive oleomargarine out of the market. On what 

 ground do you base this opinion ! 



Commissioner WILSON. I do not think they could produce it. 



Beprestative HAUGEN. What makes you think so! 



Commissioner WILSON. I do not think a good class of oleomargarine 

 can be produced and placed in the hands of the consumer with that 

 tax. Now, I have not any data at hand I have some at the office, but 

 none here upon that question; so that I do not like to talk about it with- 

 out being better informed. 



Representative HAUGEN. But in order to express an opinion of that 

 sort you would naturally have some knowledge of the cost of the pro- 

 duction of oleomargarine, and also the present or average market price 

 of butter! 



Commissioner WILSON. Yes. 



Representative HAUGEN. Have you any information as to the cost 

 of oleomargarine, uncolored! I believe the evidence before this com- 

 mittee is that its cost is about 8 cents a pound. 



Commissioner WILSON. I have it down at the office. 



Representative HAUGEN. Can you not give us an estimate! 



(*178) 



