148 



ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Address by Senator Aspinwall 



Senator Aspinwall of Freeport being present was asked to speak and 

 responded as follows: 



Mr. President, Members of the Dairy Association of Illinois: It is a 

 pleasure for me on this occasion lo look in your faces. 1 believe that I 

 can lay claim to having had some thing to do with the industry, and 

 with the present prosperous condition of the dairy interest of Illinois as. 

 far as the legislature is concerned. Your President very kindly asked 

 me this afternoon if I would help out the program of the dairymen here. 

 I thought that from the excellent character of the papers that I hava 

 listened to, that it was not necessary for me to appear before you and 

 help All up the program. 



•But I desire for a few minutes, inasmuch as there is a c^uestion in 

 common with all of you in which i have been interested ever since ii 

 member of the senate, and that is the' dairy le'gislation, or anti-color 

 legisilation. 



That is a subject of controversy, and which I find on entering this 

 hall, has been a subject of controversy to quite a large extent. I desire 

 to give you some of the inside history of the difficulty we had in the 

 legislature. When first I went to Springfield and put on my fighting 

 clothes I had the pleasure of meeting and joining hands with Brother 

 Reed. He was there fighting for the dairy interests early and late^ 

 morning, noon, and night. For four years that issue was unsuccessful. 

 Fought at our night sesion, our mid-night session, canvassing and recan- 

 vassing. During all that time we failed to secure enough votes in the 

 senate to get it through. 



Our desire was to put oleomargarine upon the market and let it be 

 sold as such and not as pure butter. In response to that sentiment; in 

 response to the demand of the dairymen all over Illinois; reinforced by 

 help from outside, we went at the question again to get enough votes to 

 enact that law. Session after sesion went by and we were forced to be 



