290 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Department at Washington that suggested to the writer the possibiliy of 

 convincing Congress that a principle so generally endorsed should as near- 

 ly as pssible be made 1 into national law. 



REASONS FOR CHANGE S FROM ORIGINAL GROUT BILL. 



The original Grout bill, which passed the House in December, 1900, 

 taxed 10c per pound all oleomargarine "colored in imitation or in the 

 semblance of butter." This wording was objected to in the construction 

 of the measure to be presented to the 57th congress because it threw upon 

 the government the burden of proving the compound to have been "col- 

 ored," and the color of butter was not established. 



After numerous conferences, endless discussions and changes' in com- 

 mittee and out, the "New Grout Bill" as finally agreed upon provided 

 that: 



"When oleomargarine! is freie from coloration or ingredient that 

 causes it to look like butter of any shade of yellow, said tax shall" be 

 one -fourth of one cent per pound." 



All other olemargarine was taxed 10c per pound. The bill passed 

 the House in this form and^ was favorably reported by the Senate com- 

 mittee on agriculture, despite the protests of the oleomargarine makers 

 that oleomargarine could not be produced that did not carry some shade 

 of yellow. 



After the measure was reported to the Senate the friends of the bill 

 began a more thorough investigation of the subject. They knew the oleo- 

 margarine forces were reserving their best arguments for the Senate dis- 

 cussion, and endeavored to prepare the champions of the measure to meet 

 every point of attack. It came to our knowledge that they would endeavor 

 to demonstrate to the Senate that the bill as drawn would annihilate the 

 entire industry, uncolored oleomargarine and all, and experiments were 

 undertaken to ascertain if it were as claimed that a shade of yellow is 

 produced by the oleo oil and cottonseed oil used. Mixtures of the ingre- 

 dients, oleo oil, neutral lard, cottonseed oil, milk and salt, alter being 

 granulated, as is done in the manufacture' of oleomargarine* were produced 

 and exhibited to our supporters in the Senate. 



While the mixture was apparently white in comparison with any but- 

 ter ever seen in the markets, it showed a shade of yellow when placed 

 against a dead-white object. Each of our friends was compelled to admit 

 that a shade of yellow was present, which under strict interpretation 

 would invoke the 10c tax, although it had no semblance of butter as 



