808 OLEOMARGARINE. 



Representative WILLIAMS. Do you mean retail or wholesale ? 



Representative HAUGEN. I mean wholesale. 



Mr. LA VERY. I think that is a fair average. It averaged higher than 

 that last year, however. 



Representative HAUGEN. Say that a fair average price for butter, at 

 wholesale, is 24 cents a pound, and that of your product is 11 cents. 

 You claim that your product is worth just as much and will sell for 

 just as much as butter, do you ? 



Mr. LAVERY. You must understand that there are seasons when the 

 Elgin market has been much lower than that. If this bill were passed, 

 half of the time the cost of oleomargarine would be higher than the 

 Elgin market price of butter. Based on the present figures oleomar- 

 garine would cost more to produce than Elgin butter. 



Representative HAUGEN. At the present market price you could not 

 pay the 10 cents per pound? 



Mr. LAVERY. No, sir. 



Representative HAUGEN. But on an average, if the average price of 

 butter is 22 cents, then you could pay the 10 cents, as I understand 

 oleomargarine can be manufactured for about 8 cents per pound? I 

 believe that is the testimony before this committee. 



Mr. LAVERY. No, sir; it can not; that is too low. 



Representative HAUGEN. But it sells at 10 or 11 cents. Is it not a 

 fact that it is sold for less than 10 cents? 



Mr. LAVERY. No, sir ; it is not. 



Representative WRIGHT. I would like to ask one question in con- 

 nection with Mr. Haugen's questions. From your answers to his ques- 

 tion, Mr. Lavery, I infer that the wholesale price of oleomargarine 

 is about 11 cents, and the wholesale price of butter about 22 cents. 



Mr. LAVERY. The Elgin market to-day is about 18 or 19 cents. I 

 would not say positively on that point, one way or the other. 



Representative WRIGHT. I wanted to ask, then, if it is true that 

 people want oleomargarine, whether you could not still add the 10 

 cents to it and sell it on the same basis as butter? 



Mr. LAVERY. No, sir; they would not buy it on the same basis as 

 butter. They buy oleomargarine because it is a wholesome product, 

 and can be bought slightly cheaper than butter. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. When you speak of the cost being 11 or 14 

 cents, does that include the 2-cent tax, or not? 



Mr. LAVERY. That includes the tax; yes, sir. It includes the 2-cent 

 tax only. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. Are there any further questions? 



Representative NEVILLE. I would like to ask the gentleman one 

 farther question. If, as a matter of fact, this tax is established at 10 

 cents per pound, and the people actually want to consume oleomar- 

 garine, want to eat it, could they not afford then to buy it direct them- 

 selves and color it, and still get it much cheaper than they get butter, 

 and would they not do it? 



Mr. LAVERY. No, sir; because they have not the facilities for color 

 ing it, for handling the coloring in the way it should be handled; and 

 they would not go to that trouble. 



Representative NEVILLE. Now, then, by coloring it, you add at least 

 from 8 to 10 cents per pound in value to it, do you? 



Mr. LAVERY. Well, I do not figure that way; no, sir. 



Representative NEVILLE. How much do you figure that you add to 

 its value by coloring it! 



Mr. LAVERY. You might say the whole value of the product is taken 

 away from it if you take the color out. 



