The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-05-12
The oleomacgar,ne Methods.

| The OleOm acgaTine Methods.
The new produce, Oleomargarine, is
arousing very decided public interest
in New York by the developments
which have been made in the investi-
cations by Committee of the Assem-
bly, now pending. The testimony
which has been given before the Com
mittee is astonishing. The heevidence of
dealers in butter and cheese was al
| most unanimous that oleomargarine
was killing the trade in the genuine
articles. Mr.. Francis D. Moulton's
statements OH this point were very in
teresting. He said:
The value of the milk, cheese, and
butter produced in this country in 1875
was between $45 600, 600 and $50, ,C00,-
900. Oleomargarine was first intro
duced surreptitiously, and is now sold
by the dark-lantern method. For
nearly ten years the dairymen have
had to contend with this secret foe.
Laws have been evaded and openly
violated to damn American butter
abroad. Last year $4,000, 900 pounds
of butter and % ,030, 600 pounds of ole
omargarine were exported. But for
the oieomargarine, our exports of but
ter would have been between 50,00O,-
900 to 60 600 600 pounds. England i'm
ports $50, ,000, 600 worth of butter annu-
ally, and of this $45, 900, 900 comes from
elsewhere than here, giving us only
about ten per cent of the trade. She
imports So, 200, 900 worth of cheese, ,and
of that, $4,000, 900 worth. or about IS
per cent. goes from the United States.
We can make better butter and cheap
er butter than other nations, and, but
for the oleomargarine fraud, we should
supply the markets of England.
Numerous other witnesses confirmed
Mfr. Moulton's figures. 1t was, more
over, their testimony that oleomargar-
inc, under the microscope, showed
signs of animal life and the germs. of
disease. 1t is impossible to kill the
animal life in beef-fat at a temperature
lower than 2l2 degrees, but its manu-
facturers refuse to allow higher tenn
perature than 120 degrees for the ex-
traction of the oil. These things are
bad enough in their way, but the con-
dition of the manufactures is still
worse, as the following quotations from
the testimony of Mr.. Gilbert ,Henshaw
a leading produce merchant, will show:
He said that in making the imitation
butter, oleomargarine-oil lard, peanut
oil, alum and acids were used. He Wis
tied four different factories in this city. |
Ia one, the men doing the work were
haIf-naked and filthy. They wore |
only a bag for clothing, and handled |
everything with dirty hands. The floor
was covered with filth to the depth of
half an inch, composed of dirt min |
gled with the drainage of the product
that was being made. In the room IN |
which they made what they called |
butter the floor was so slippery with
dirty grease that it was difficult to
walk upon it. The witness would not
eat oIeomarearine butter, and he did
not believe that any person who made
could distinguish oleomargarlne from
dairy butter if it were not for the milk
or cream, or butter mixed with 1t TO
make it resemble butter, Peanut oil
is used to soften it, and after it had
passed through all the manlpuiatlons,
Mr.. HenshaW did not think that an
D dinary consumer would be able to
distinguish it from butter SO long as it
was fresh, but after 1T had stood q
while amy body could detect it. 1t is
,old as oleomargarine by the whole ]
be retailers all sell it for butter, and
hey tell me thsy cannnot sell it i'll
my other way"
Mr.. Henshaw' 5 statements were con-
irmed by personal inspections made
~ the Committee, who visited facto
les without the knowledge of the
wners, and found them to be in the C
ilthy condition he had described. tn'
there was not wanting witnesses who b
isputed all the statements that were W
nade and who contended that butter a :,
nd cheese made by the oleomargarine
lethods were better, healthir, and a
lore wholesome than the bulk of the i !,
enuine products as offered for sale in
ne markets, but the weight of the tes- it
mony was decidedly against them. II II