854 OLEOMARGARINE. 



business extends over all the hot countries that is, the tropical climates, consisting of 

 the West Indies, the East Indies, South Africa, China, South America, and even now 

 into the Philippine Islands. 



So what I have to say is entirely in my own interest, and more particularly as an 

 exporter of the genuine butter that goes out of this country to foreign climates. 



And to further impress upon the committee the cause of his interest 

 in the bill he stated on page 177, as shown by the discussion in the 

 record: 



The question may arise in your minds, gentlemen, why am I opposed to this bill, 

 as all my interests my money, what little I have, or the greater part of it are in 

 butter. It is merely this: That, as I have stated, oleomargarine has been a friend to 

 butter; has made us dairymen, farmers, creamery men, make better butter. The 

 second reason is that the dairymen throughout the United States are getting a good 

 profit on their butter. We are making money. My creameries are making money. 

 I do not know of any creameries that are not making money. We are making from 

 10 to 50 per cent. Legitimately we are making from 10 to 20 per cent; speculatively 

 we are making a great deal more. * * * 



I do not want the sale of oleomargarine prohibited. I want it for a balance, so to 

 speak, to keep wild speculation down. I can not afford as a creamery man a man 

 interested in butter to put myself in the position, if I can help it, of allowing specu- 

 lators to come in and manipulate butter. It is bad enough now as it is; but wipe out 

 oleo, which you will if you put this 10-cent prohibitory tax on, and there is not a 

 man in the country could do anything in regard to steady prices. They can no 

 more sell oleomargarine white than you could sell butter white. I have made white 

 butter up in small quantities, and the only people who take white butter are our 

 friends the Israelites, and they only take it in small quantities. 



On page 369 appears the following from Assistant Commissioner of 

 Agriculture Kracke, of the Metropolitan district of New York: 



Mr. KRACKE. There is one other point to which I want briefly to call attention, 

 and that is the fact that there appeared before this committee last week a man from 

 New York who stated that he was a commission merchant and a dealer in butter. 

 In making his statement he took up an interview of mine in a New York paper and 

 attempted to distort it so as to have me say something that I did not say. I refer to 

 Mr. Lestrade, who came here and made a statement before the committee. I wish 

 now to ask the committee if Mr. Lestrade told the committee that he was an oleo- 

 margarine manufacturer? 



The record will here show that an attempt was made to ascertain 

 what representations Mr. Lestrade made as to his interest in the mat- 

 ter, but the notes not having been transcribed it was not possible to 

 review the proceedings. Because of this lack of facility at the time, 

 we believe we are warranted by the condition to state that investiga- 

 tion shows that Mr. Lestrade is one of the proprietors of the Goshen 

 Manufacturing Company, makers of oleomargarine, Providence, R. I. 

 The following appears on page 369 of the record, however: 



Mr. KNIGHT. Have you ever had any trouble, Mr. Kracke, with any Providence 

 concern shipping stuff in through Jersey City? 

 Mr. KRACKE. Well, there was trouble with this particular one Lestrade Brothers. 



The difficulty referred to was the fining of Mr. Lestrade's concern 

 $600 for violations of the New York oleomargarine law. 



Before bringing the matter to the attention of your committee, we 

 have carefully searched the record and in no place find the admission 

 of Mr. Lestrade that he is a manufacturer of oleomargarine. 



Members of the committee present at the hearings when representa- 

 tives of labor organizations appeared are well prepared to judge of the 

 force of the opposition they represent. 



