CHAPTER X 



The Oleomargarine Law and Its Development 



summary of development 



The state and federal oleomargarine laws are an evo- 

 lutionary product. The first state laws passed between 

 1877 and 1884 were inoperative because the necessary 

 machinery to enforce them was lacking. In 1884 the 

 state of New York 1 created the office of Dairy Commis- 

 sioner, whose special duty it was to ferret out violations 

 of the law and to prosecute offenders. This was a very 

 important innovation in the dairy and food legislation of 

 the United States. It had the effect of enforcing not 

 only the provisions of the law pertaining to oleo- 

 margarine, but also those pertaining to milk and other 

 dairy and food products. Other states followed in the 

 establishment of the office of dairy and food commis- 

 sioner. 



The general principle upon which all of the early state ) 

 laws were based was restrictive ; that is, it restricted the } 

 manufacture and sale of oleomargarine to a product ( 

 which contained no coloring matter and required that it \ 

 be marked or branded so as to inform the purchaser of/ 

 its real character. 2 ^„ 



Then came the period of prohibitory laws. These 



1 Laws of N. Y., 1884, p. 255. 



2 Vide Laws of New York, 1882, Chap. 238; laws of Pennsylvania, 

 1878, p. 87. 



465] 241 



