The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-25
ADULTERATION OF BUTTER.
An Imposition Upon the Unsuspecting
Cow and the General Public.
The Extent Of the Fraud in This City-The
Law Upon the Subject, and Inter-
views with Experts.

The hot American biscuit like him who hath
his quarrel Just, isnow doubly armed. The redo
lent lard shortening. now reinforced by the am
biguous oieomargarine, if it succeeds in getting
past those vigilant, but often betrayed outposts,
the nose and palate, carries disrnay and dyspep-
STA to the stoutest stomach This city is said to
be full of oleomargarine. 1t masquerades in
wholesale way under the dulcet euphemisln Of
butterine, and comes from the retailer to the
tables of the rich man and the poor man as the
genuine dairy product. The huckster, the fam
lily grocer, the creamery man, and alas, even the
honest farmer are now under suspicion. Yester-
day afternoon the reporter went about and ac-
cumulated some information ON the subject,
which will be found of more or less interest and
value.
DR. ELDERS VIEWS.
The first man interviewed was Dr. Elder, of
the Board of Health There was no law on the
subject of bogus butter, said the Doctor, until
April, 1881, when an ordinance was passed by
the Council and Board of Aldermen. The State
law was approved on March 8, 1883. Here is the
ordinance" said the Doctor. 1t reads
Section l. Any article or substance in the sem
blance of butter cheese not the legitimate
product of the dairy, not made exclusively of
milk and cream, into which the oil or fat of
animals enters as component part, or lHto
which melted butter or oil thereof has been in
troduced to take the place of cream, shall be
known oleOmargarine.
Sec. 9. 1t shall be unlawful for any person to
have possession Of sell, offer expose for sale in
this city any oleomargarine without having first
conspicuously and durably stamped, printed or
marked upon the sides of each tub, firlzin, box,
barrel, half barrel or other package containing
such eeomargarine the word ''oleo1nargarne" IN
plain black type or letters not less than one half
inch in size.
Sec. 3. 1t shall be unlawful for any person TO
sell at retail in said city any oleomargarine
without delivering Herewith to the purchaser
thereof a label having thereon plainly written or
printed the word ''oleoInargarnel in plain. black
type or letters not less than half an inch in size
Sec. 4 1t shall be unlawful for any person,
either by himself or by employee, to sell, offer,
or expose for sale or cause or permit to be sold,
offered, or exposed for sale in sand city any oeo-
margarine at any time after decomposition,
putrefaction, or chemical change has taken place
therein.
The fifth section of the ordinance presc1ibes
the penalty-not less than SO nor more than
500, to which may be added imprisonment not
exceeding thirty DAYS.
SIS that sufficiently Stringent inquired the
Doctor. ''Well, the State law is worse for the
oily offenders Here it is
The reporter read as follows: ''Whoever
sells, or has exposed with the intent to sell, or
exposes for sale, or whOsoever keeps on any
table at any hotel or any public or private
from pure milk, without first labelling the same
in large letters 'oleomaIgarine, shall be deemed
guilty of misdemeanor, and, conviction
shall be fined not more than $50 nor less than
$40"
Il believe that fve-sixths of the butter that
has been sold i'll this market" continued the
Doctor, during this winter, is really as defined
by the ordinance and the State law, oleomar-
garine and made of lard, suet or talOw. This
bogus butter always looks especially fine. 1t is
a., IN solid, wholesomelooking golden rolls and at
tracts the customer who is particular about his
butter propose to execute that ordinance and
State law"
why have you not been doing 50 heretoforeF
inquired the reporter.
because heretofore it has been impractical
BILE from the fact that the only way to detect
this fraudulent butter was by careful cb a1nieal
analysis. Now dealers have become familiar
with it, and all OF them know just what they are
handling. The wholesalers make attempt
TO deceive the retailers and the retailers buy
the oleomargarine because it looks well and
affords a better profit than butter A number
OF wholesalers have told me to count on their as
sistance as experts whenever they might be
needed to identity the stuff. They say that they
will be glad to go back to honest butter, as the
oleo has injured their trade in that articl.. do
not say that good oleomargarine is unwhole
some, but the Board of Health will enforce the
law SO that the cleo viii sell for What 1t is and
not as butter. 1t is said that great amount of
nitric acid is used in the process of making
cheap quality of oleomargarine. If that is the
case, and the operation Is unsklfully conducted,
that acid is left in the product, it is not only
fraudulent, bnt unwholesome and absolutely
harmful to the human stomach that entertains
1t. The process of the manufacture of all of it
being secret and patented, no one can guarantee
the harmlessness of any of it."
WHAT A WHOLESALE DEALER SAYS.
The reporter next encountered a wholesale
butter dealer. The wholesaler was cautious: II
don't think said he, there has been fifty
tubs of oleo sold in this city in the last
month, and that came here owing to the
scarcity of butter. [ think most of it comes
from Cleveland and it was really a very fine ar
ticle To get down to it, don't think any oleo
comes here That was not oleo, but butter
mixed with the leaf-lard or kidney fat of the
hog. Common lard will not do; it requires the
fresh leaf and no other part. 1t is all printed
soleo' according to law. We think there will be
plenty of good butter soon"
what is frstclass article of oleomargar
inep the reporter inquired of the next person in
terviewed, John n. Hurry, the analytic chemist.
In order to make first class article of cleo
margarine there is required frst-cass quality of
beeffat said the chemist; ''caul fat, from the kid
neys. This is eleansed with water, then submit
ted to O temperature of not more than 1902 Fab
fenheit and the oil that starts from it at this
temperature is Immediately CONCEALED on ice. II
is then submitted to great pressure, and the oil
thus obtained is bland and sweet, being free from
all tallowish odor taste. This is good clean and
nutritious This fat is afterwards churned with
milk, in order to impart the odor and taste of
butter. 1t can be gathered from the churn much
butter is gathered, and then be worked to-
gether as butter is. 1t is then colored with an
MOTTO sailed and nodded, or put into rolls. have
described the best product, which is unobjeeton-
able, except when it is sold, not as oleo, but as
butter, which is a fraudulent transaction In
Chicago and other cities deleterious article, not
made from the purest sources nor in the simple
manner I have detailed, is produced. This lat
ter is purified by acids, alkalies and bleaching
liquors, and is positively unwholesome. The
farmer has been sought out by agents of these
establishments, and has been induced to buy
their bogus product for mixture with his butter
and thereby not only increase his supply but en-
large his profit This stuff has been SO thoroughly