OLEOMARGARINE AND BUTTERINE. 5 



tion or impure goods. The preamble and resolutions passed by the union are worthy of pub- 

 lication in full, expressing as they do the abhorence by honest tradesmen of the vile practices 

 now in vogue by certain retailers. They read as follows : 



"Whereas, We are informed that the laws of the State of New York prohibit the sale of all 

 imitations of butter in the way they are at present manufactured .and offered for sale, and 



"Whereas, The sale of all imitation butter has been a detriment to the legitimate business 

 of the retail dealer, inasmuch as that it has been a constant temptation to the dealers therein 

 to sell it for butter; and that such fraudulent sales have created a prejudice and fear among the 

 consumers in regard to the purchase of all butter, therefore be it 



"Resolved, That we discourage the sale of all imitations of butter and urge all our members 

 and the trade in general not to handle in any manner or form, until such a time as the manu- 

 facturers thereof produce and offer for sale to us an article that will be distinct in appearance 

 and different in color to that of genuine butter ; that will be free from all temptation to fraud, 

 and that will be manufactured and sold to us in strict accordance with the laws of this State. 

 And be it further 



"Resolved, That we most respectfully petition the State Dairy Commission to use all power 

 that is conferred upon them to stop the fraudulent sales of all imitation of butter." 



The war against oleomargarine and other counterfeits of butter is spreading rapidly in 

 nearly all the States of the Union, and everywhere the newspapers teem with attacks upon the 

 traffic. In those States which are provided with laws prohibiting or regulating the sale of the 

 product the officers entrusted with their enforcement are acting with increased vigor ; and in 

 the States which are not so blessed combined movements among dairymen and honest dealers 

 are in progress to secure the passage of necessary legislation. This movement has become 

 actually national in its importance, for no less than three measures are now pending in Con- 

 gress looking to a suppression of the fraud. One of these is the bill introduced by Congress- 

 man A. J. Hopkins of Illinois, which puts the manufacture of oleomargarine and kindred 

 products under the charge of the Internal Revenue Department and imposes a tax of ten cents 

 upon every pound manufactured. The others are somewhat similar in character, but differ 

 from the Hopkins bill in the amount of penalties imposed for violation of their provisions. 



There can be no question that the passage of any of these acts will be bitterly opposed by 

 the oleomargarine lobby in Washington, which is by no means a weak one, but as the subject 

 is one of the most vital importance to an agricultural interest that is second to none in the 

 United States, and as their passage will be almost universally demanded by the constituencies 

 of representatives who come from what are known as the butter-producing States, the issue is 

 not doubtful. The recent decisions in this State and in Pennsylvania as to the constitutional 

 right of the Legislature to enact laws which, like this, are designed to protect public health, 

 Avill no doubt have great influence upon the minds of Congressmen, as they have already had 

 upon the judges of minor courts. 



In speaking of the operations of his department, recently, State Dairy Commissioner 

 Brown, of New York, said : " The venders and dealers in bogus butter have deliberately and 

 persistently represented in every possible way that there is now no law in our State to prevent 

 the open manufacture and sale of these adulterated goods, in face of the fact set forth in the 

 opinion of the Court of Appeals in the Marx case, that there are several unrepealed statutes 

 relating to this subject, beside our present law, which the court more than intimates is opera- 

 tive and constitutional. This, it is claimed by them, is legitimate and honorable, while our 

 efforts to prevent such open and flagrant violation of the laws of the State are characterized as 

 oppressive, and the officers and agents of this department are charged with the grave offense 

 of maliciously persecuting enterprising people engaged in legitimate business. This sort of 

 ^enterprise loads down the United States mails with circulars addressed to the citizens of States 



