The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-06-24
What is Oleomargarine9 3

WASH1NGTON, Juu6 4o.-A 'o'So
number of persons interested in dairying
and oleomargarine we're present to-day
at the hearing given by the Senate COM
mittee on agriculture and forestry on the
House bill taxing oleomargarine.
Prof. Morton, president Of the Stevens
Institute. of Technology, opposed the
bill. He had taken natural scientific
interest in the new industry; had visited
and spent much time in oleomargarine
factories, and had reached the conclusion
that oleomargarine was of necessity
pure and wholesome product. If fats
from which oleomargarine oil was pro.
duced were tainted in the slightest de-
gree the oil would become exceedingly
offensive to the smell and taste, and when
made in oleomargarine would be unsala-
BILE. The same condition would arise if
carelessuess orwilfull neglect occurred i'll
its manufacture. This condition, once
existing; could not be counteracted,
hence oleomargarine sold must always be
good. Oleomargarine oil contained three
of the principal elements of butter, but
did not contain butterine, which was
peculiar to butter and gave it its peculiar
flavor. In order to secure this flavor in
part, the milk was mixed with the oleo.
margarine oil and the product then had
slight flavor of butter aud also other
components of butter. Lard was added
to give softness and sickness to the pro.
duct. The reason for making it as nearly
identical as possible to butter was be-
cause of.the influence previous habits
had on peoples minds. For this reason
he thought it unwise to require that it be
colored red or blue. He thought, how.
ever, that it should be sold under its true
name. Occasionally a small manufac.
turer might eudeavor to make larger
profits by using unwholesome materials,
but the product would be offensive and
unstable and the experiment would not
be repeated. An ounce of impure fat
would taint whole ton Of pure fat. 1t
was impossible that germs of disease
could exist in this product.
Prof. Chandler, Of Columbia College,
New York, and president of the New
York board of health, said he had always
taken the ground that this was a new
process of making an old article-butter.
It was pure and wholesome and contained
all the components of butter in the same
proportion as in dairy butter, except that
the proportion Of aavoring matter was
less. He regarded the discovery ofthis
process as one of the greatest discover
les of the century. The process by which
oleomargarine was manufactured was Of
necessity much more cleanly than that
by which butter was manufactured. The
attempt to destroy the industry, he
thought, was on par with the attempt
to prevent the introduction of indigo as
a dye in England, France and Germany,
because it would interfere with the sale
of what everybody now admitted was an
inferior dye. The State of New York,
he said, had been used to disgust people
with oleomargarine. The person who
was chairman of the New York State
Senate committee had purposely refrained
from calling him as a witness after talk
ing with him on the subject. The evi-
dence given before that committee was
ridiculous, and the absurd statements
made then that dead dogs and cats were
used in the manufacture he characterized
as nonsensical. New York had appropria-
ted $4,000 to crush the oleomargarine
industry, but the witness was unable to
secure money to have cases of adultera'
ton of food and medicines prosecuted.
We already had sufficient legislation to
compel the sale of oleomargarine as such.
He thought it hardship to compel peo'
pie to color olemargarine red or blue
when they wanted it yellow, because they
were used to spreading yellow product
on their bread. The witness having
stated that his wife paid so cents per
pound for butter, was asked why he did
not use oleomargarine at 1S cents. He
said his wife had fancy for the other
article and he was willing to please her
fancy and pay the difference lie had,
however, used oleomargarine for two
days on his table without being detected.
Then he submitted the best Connecticut
butter, and his wife declared it must be
oleomargarine.
Jube Early's Nigger Joe.