467] OLEOMARGARINE LAW AND ITS DEVELOPMENT 243 



principle was upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court in the 

 case of Powell v. Pennsylvania (127 U. S. 678). 



Just as the prohibitory principle became firmly rooted 

 in the state laws, Congress enacted a law (August 2, 

 1886) imposing a tax of two cents per pound on oleo- 

 margarine, and special annual taxes of $600, $480, and 

 $48 on manufacturers, wholesale dealers, and retail 

 dealers, respectively. This act made the prohibitory 

 principle embodied in the oleomargarine law of many 

 states unconstitutional. The fact that the United States 

 government imposed an "infernal revenue tax on oleo- 

 margarine caused the courts to hold that Congress 

 recognized the product as a lawful article of commerce. 

 Laws_of__s_tate.§j therefore, prohibiting the admission of 

 oleomargarine into their territory were in conflict with 

 the constitutional interstate commerce clause. The pro- 

 hibitory principle which had been upheld by the U. S. 

 Supreme Court in the case of Powell v. Pennsylvania 

 was now declared unconstitutional in the case of Schol- 

 lenberger v. Pennsylvania (171 U. S. 1) decided May 

 23, 1898. 



The decision of the U. S. Supreme Court swept the 

 prohibitory principle off the statute books and forced a 

 recession to the original restrictive principle. The re- 

 strictive principle was supplemented with rigorous ad- 

 ministration, a system of license fees, and conspicuous 

 branding or marking. For a more detailed view of the 

 development of the oleomargarine law, a study of the 

 successive changes made in the law of Pennsylvania will 

 prove useful. Not only is the oleomargarine legislation 

 of this state fairly typical, but two important cases that 

 came up from the Pennsylvania courts and involved the 

 constitutionality of the law were passed upon by the 

 U. S. Supreme Court. These of course had an important 



