Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-11-12

Washington despatch of Nov. s says
The oleomargarine law has been i'll opera
ton one week The results thus far are a
surprise to the officials of the government,
and will be "A disappointment to the butter
men, who were the original promoters of
the bill. The internal revenue officials are
astonished at the amount Of revenue which
the government is likely tu receive from the
operation of the law. The returns for the
first week have not all been telegraphed to
Washington. and the complete returns will
not be received in the ordinary course Of
business for the first month until early in
December, but according to the receipts of
which the internal revenue bureau has
knowledge the income to the government
from the tax on oleomargarine for the full
fiscal year will not be less than g. 900. 600.
and is likely to amount to 81 500, OOO. The
question which was 50 much discussed in
Congress, Therefore, whether the oleomar-
garine bill was revenue bill or not, cannot
again be raised. This revenue is moreover
nearly all of it net revenue to the govern
ment, for Congress appropriated only $l5,
900 to put the law i'll operation, and that is
all that can be expended for the remaining
eight months of the present fiscal year un-
less Congress shall make some additional APP
preparation this winter as deficiency.
The internal revenue officials are con
WINGED that the farmers and dairymen were
mistaken in the theory which underlies the
law that the tax of the government would
have the effect to reduce the consumption
of imitation butter. On the contrary the
indications all are that the stamp, although
it says nothing of the kind, is to be inter
preted by the consumers and the trade as a
guarantee ON the part of the government
that the product To which it is attached is
pure and has the government sanction
The internal revenue stamp, of course
means nothing of the sort and only tells the
public that the government has the right at
any time to discover whether OF not the ar
ticle is pure and that the manufacturers of
| oleomargarine who violate the law are sub
/ ject to its penalties. The information which
the bureau has received from its officials in
various parts of the country thus far point
/ to very considerable increase of consump-
/ ton, instead of the reverse, so that it is
| possible that the market for genuine butter
has been injured by a law which gives a
standing character and government sane
/ ton to the imitation butter, which it did not
/ have before.
The internal revenue bureau was author
/ lied under the law to appoint mcroscup-
list and chemist. Both Of these scientists
have been appointed. and they have already
been assigned to immediate duty. The in
ternal revenue officials in Georgia have
seized several packages Of oleomargarine
under suspicion that it was made in viola
ton of the law, and a number of samples
have been sent here in tin cans and are now
here being analysed. The services of an ex-
pert are not needed 10 decide that these
particular samples are not wholesome food
! urp1upts for hoy are ~ rank that thay fol
/ " "smell to heaven" St Louis dealers in
oleomargarine are also liable to have some
trouble from the internal revenue officials,
for the reason that some of them have not
readily complied with that section of the
law which requires them TO put oleomargar-
inc in wooden casks instead of tin recepta-
] plps