OLEOM ARGARINE. 779 



cidity is corrected by the addition of an alkali, presumably bicarbonate 

 of soda, or something of that kind, but of this I have no personal 

 knowledge. Then the material is rechurned with fresh milk, resalted 

 and molded, and makes a very presentable appearance in the market. 

 That is what is known as renovated butter. 



Bepresentative WILLIAMS. Do you know anything about their col- 

 lecting and buying rancid butter from the hotels and restaurants, and 

 renovating that? 



Dr. WILEY. JSTo; I only know what I have seen, as described to you. 

 I do not know anything, personally, about the collection of such but- 

 ter; but I imagine that economical hotel keepers and restaurateurs do 

 not throw away their left-over butter. 



STATEMENT OF W. E. MILLER, ESQ., REPRESENTING ARMOUR & 

 CO., KANSAS CITY, KAN. 



Eepresentative BAILEY. I will say to the committee that Mr. Miller 

 is the expert who has control of the butterine factory of Armour & Co., 

 at Kansas City. 



Mr. MILLER. Mr. Chairman and members of this committee, no 

 manufactured article has been so grossly misrepresented and abused as 

 the product known as "butterine" or " oleomargarine," and the first 

 poiut we wish to make is that butterine is not an imitation. 



Butterine possesses merit, and it is not necessary to imitate another 

 article in order to sell it. This product has a separate and distinct 

 value commercially, and is not confused with butter in the mind of the 

 housewife. 



The first butterine manufactured was of very high color, while butter 

 at that time was almost universally sold in its natural state. The 

 dairymen were quick to see that the high color pleased the public, and 

 they immediately com menced to color their product also. We have 

 taken the aggressive at all times. The progressive butterine manu- 

 fai-turers conceived the idea of new- shape rolls, brick, and prints, and 

 also attractive packages, which appealed to the eye of the bu yer. We 

 have had many prominent dairymen acknowledge that the butterine 

 manufacturers discount them when it comes to attractive appearance 

 of their product in packages. 



Butterine has a great deal of merit. People know what they are buy- 

 ing, and call for it. On pages 7 and 9 of the report of the committee 

 appointed by the Senate to investigate pure food, we read the following: 



I will not read all that I intended to read, on account of the lateness 

 of the hour. This is a summary of their report : 



In regard to butterine or oleomargarine, it is not claimed by any of the witnesses 

 before your committee that it is in any way deleterious to public health. On the 

 contrary, all expert evidence upon the point strongly confirms the testimony of the 

 manufacturers of this article to the effect that it is a healthful food product. 



As regards the much discussed question of color, I would say that 

 we use exactly the same as that sold to a majority of all the creameries 

 in the West, and in about the same proportion. In order to sell our 

 product we must color it now the same as we did when we commenced 

 its manufacture. If we had started out using no coloring whatever 

 we would doubtless have had as large a business established on uncol- 

 ored to-day as we have on colored butterine. However, as the trade 

 have become accustomed to colored goods, we could not at this late 

 hour get them accustomed to the uncolored product In fact, we have 



(*197) 



