228 Milk and Its Products. 
guarantee the quality of a dairy product or to pre- 
vent the sale of a spurious product for a genuine one. 
The introduction of the manufacture of artificial but- 
ter or oleomargarine has led to both national and state 
regulation. The manufacture of oleomargarine, and 
particularly its sale as genuine butter, caused a great 
injury to the manufacturers of the genuine product, 
both in the sale of their goods and the prices re- 
ceived for the same. The state of New York was 
one of the first, if not the very first, to enact regu- 
lations controlling the sale of the imitation product, 
and in 1884 passed a law prohibiting the manufac- 
ture and sale of imitation butter within the limits of 
the state. This law was the subject of much litiga- 
tion, but has been upheld by the state and national 
courts. It has been pretty thoroughly enforced, and 
is still in operation. In 1886 the National Govern- 
ment passed a law imposing an income tax of two 
eents per pound upon all imitation butter made in 
the country, and levying special license taxes upon 
those engaged in its manufacture and sale. This has 
resulted in a measurable control of the product, and 
with the supplemental laws that have been passed in 
a large number of the states the matter is now under 
careful and strict regulation. These laws have not 
resulted, as was fondly hoped by many dairymen, in 
absolutely stopping the manufacture of imitation but- 
ter, but have resulted in a great improvement in the 
quality of the imitation goods and in securing inno- 
cent purchasers against fraud in palming off upon 
them a spurious for a genuine article. At the same 
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