No. 4.] EEPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 303 



butter is the most important, as it is the most restrictive, 

 of all this legislation. This measure was hotly contested in 

 the Legislature for several years, and it has been opposed 

 with equal vigor since its enactment. The first cases brought 

 under it (chp,pter 58 of the Acts of 1891) were rapidly 

 advanced to the supreme court. In point of time this law 

 was passed before chapter 412 of the same year, which had 

 other restrictive measures, though l)oth went into effect at 

 the same time. It was argued that the anti-color law 

 (chapter 58) was repealed by implication by the enactment 

 of chapter 412. The supreme court refused to sustain this 

 point. The claim was also made that the law in question 

 was unconstitutional, as interfering with interstate com- 

 merce, the oleomargarine in question being the product of 

 other States, and sold in the original package. This point, 

 too, was overruled by the supreme court, on the ground 

 that it is within the police powers of the State to pass laws 

 prohibiting the sale of an imitation article, in the interest of 

 honesty and fair dealing. The court said, " The question 

 is, may a State protect itself against articles so prepared as 

 to deceive the public?" To this question the court said, 

 "Yes." 



This is in accordance with the spirit of the decision of the 

 United States supreme court in the case of a prohibitory 

 oleomargarine law in Pennsylvania, by which it was declared 

 that a proper exercise of the police power of the State is 

 not an unlawful interference with interstate commerce. This 

 decision of the State supreme court sustaining the law was 

 not rendered till early in May, and not until about the first 

 of June would district and municipal courts entertain com- 

 plaints for selling an imitation of yellow butter. Hence for 

 nine months of the existence of this law it has been inopera- 

 tive by reason of its status being uncertain. Althouoh this 

 has greatly interfered with our work, it has not prevented 

 its prosecution with what vigor was possible. The detective 

 officer of the bureau kept faithfully at work, getting evidence 

 of the violation of this and the other oleomar2:arine laws. 

 The decision of the court was received so late that complaints 

 for earlier infractions of the law were dropped for new ones 

 on fresher evidence. Our work in this department has been 



