OLEOMARGARINE. 83 7 



And on page 11 Governor Hoard brings out a point, as follows : 



I had a distinguished member of the other House ask me if butter was not colored 

 in winter to make the consumer believe that it was made last June. That gentle- 

 man was a student of maxims, not of markets. The cheapest and poorest butter in 

 winter is that made last June. The highest-priced butter is that which is not over 

 ten days old and faultless in character and flavor. 



A very complete statement was made on page 525, the most inter- 

 esting part of which follows: 



Mr. KNIGHT. I will say in that connection that I have been in the butter trade for 

 twelve years, and I have never heard that the color of butter was indicative of its 

 quality, so far as its wholesomeness is concerned. Senator Dolliver has had experi- 

 ence in New York to the effect that at the Waldorf-Astoria they serve you with but- 

 ter perfectly white. I was in England for the Agricultural Department investigating 

 butter in that country, and they served me there with white butter all the time I 

 was there, and I never heard anybody complain because it was white. 



Mr. TOMPKINS. Why do they ever want to have the color in it? 



Mr. KNIGHT. The average natural color of butter is two-thirds normal. You take 

 our dairies throughout the United States, and one cold wave or storm will change 

 the color of the butter. One cold wave that will drive the cows from feeding on the 

 green pastures to feeding on hay or any kind of green food will make the butter 

 white this week which last week was yellow. That is true of any place. 



The tendency of all commerce is toward uniformity in everything. Butter is put 

 up in packages or in tubs. Everybody puts up everything with this idea of uniformity 

 in view. That is what the public demands. It 'does not make any difference in 

 what shape the packages are, but all the packages must be uniform in order to be 

 merchantable. So with butter. Butter must be uniform in packages, uniform in 

 body, uniform in the amount of salt, uniform in flavor, uniform in color. The 

 weather conditions may be such that one day will make white butter and another 

 day will make yellow butter. I tell you that it is necessary that we do some- 

 thing to keep the color uniform. When I tell you that, I am telling you what I 

 know. I say to-day that it would be better for the butter trade if butter could be 

 made white uniformly and all the time, rather than yellow part of the time and white 

 part of the time. The consumers would soon become used to that uniformity. But 

 we can not accomplish that. In the winter time butter is white all the time if the 

 color is kept put of it. If oleomargarine were white, where would our distinction 

 be? In this bill we seek a distinction between the two articles. 



If a bill could be passed that would cause the color to be kept out of butter and 

 oleomargarine in the winter time, then the oleomargarine men would go to their 

 retailers and tell them, "You know there was a law passed at the last Congress which 

 practically forbids coloring butter." Where would the value of the law be that 

 would bring the two articles down to the same basis as regards color? It is true that 

 would be an advantage in the summer time, when butter is cheap, and they have no 

 market for oleo to amount to anything then. But when it came to the winter time 

 the color might be taken out, and the two articles standing side by side would show 

 the same color, and then fraud would be practiced just the same. Every man who 

 wanted to sell oleomargarine for butter would convince the consumer that it was 

 natural butter, and would tell him that color had been forbidden by law, and that 

 butter is white in winter. 



And the following discussion between Senator Money and Secretary 

 Wilson is instructive: 



Senator MONEY. I never know that I have got the genuine article except when I 

 go home. 



Secretary WILSON. After living a winter in Washington and eating bogus butter 

 our taste becomes vitiated. Some of the first-class hotels and first-class restaurants 

 here do get first-class butter from reputable dealers, but the majority of them use 

 oleomargarine. 



Senator MONEY. If we are all eating bogus butter and we can not tell it by the 

 taste, and we can not tell it by the color, and we can not tell it by the effect, what 

 harm has happened to anybody? 



Secretary WILSON. The bogus butter deceives you in your pocketbook. It costs 

 you far more than it should. There is where the trouble comes. It costs you too 

 much. 



Senator MONEY.. Would I get the fine-grade butter any cheaper if we abolish oleo- 

 margarine? 



