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has become evident to every farmer who owns a cow, every 

 man who makes a pound of butter, every man who has to 

 depend upon the markets of the country to run off his products, 

 that the oleomargarine law has been a blessing indeed. I will 

 give you only a few figures, though there could be hundreds of 

 statistical tables brought to your attention. 



In 1885 and 1886, the average price for all grades of farm dairy 

 butter throughout the United States, did not exceed 8 to 9 cents 

 per pound. The oleomargarine law went into effect in 1886, 

 and the average price of dairy butter for 1887, is according to 

 the best information, 21'^ cents per pound. In the state of 

 Illinois alone, my friends, this makes a difference on the products 

 of your farms, of your farm dairies, remembering that we do 

 not include creameries at all in this estimate, it makes quite a 

 difference and the figures show that Illinois farmers are richer, 

 because of the operation of the oleomargarine law in the year 

 1887 by more than $7,000,000. 



It had been my hope that we would have here to present 

 this question a man who has been a war horse in this matter 

 since the beginning of the contest. 



I expected to introduce here this afternoon, Col. R . M. Lit- 

 tler, secretary of the National Butter and Egg Association, who 

 has devoted a number of years to the close contest, and you 

 might say arduous fight, upon this question before our National 

 house, also the legislative body in Illinois. 



I hold in my hand a letter from the Colonel which I will read 

 to you: 



"Dear Sir — The attack on the dairy interests has opened at 

 Washington. As I will have many letters to write and other 

 matters pertaining to my duty as secretary of the National 

 legislative committee, I will be compelled to absent myself 

 from your state convention. I would much like to have been 

 in attendance for I know you will have a good crowd and an 

 instructive meeting. I trust you will not adjourn until the As- 

 sociation has declared itself plainly on the proposition that the 

 bogus butter manufacture and sale must be regulated by State 



