The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-02-14
TESTING THEIARD.

agriculture, before winch Is the pending Dill
to require lard compounds to be stamped, and
their manufacturers to be licensed, was con-
tinued today and interested parties to the
number of twenty-five thirty. comprising
manufacturers, attorneys and experts were
present.
Mr.. Hi, of Boston an cmpoye of Squire &
Co, who are the opponents of the pending
bill, produced samples of various compounds
III tin pals, which he had purchased in the
open market, and caused to be chemically eX-
amined. He testified as 10 the compound of
each specimen, but the same matters were
more fully covered by the next witness, Pro-
fesSor Sharrless, of Boston, who had made the
examination. y sample bearing the
stamp of Armour & Co., "Pure re-
fined family lard" was found to
contain about GO per cent of hogs lard with
20 per cent each of cotton seed oil and beef
fat A sample of Fairbanks 4 Co., Chicago.
Prime refined family lard'' was made by the
same element, but had greater proportion of
beef fat and cotton seed oil. a sample bear
ing the stamp of Halstead 4 Co., Pure fam
lily lard" and another from the same firm,
stamped in Spanish, Pure Lard registered
ETC., contained SO far as the tests had been
carried, not particle of hogs lard, but were
made entirely of beef fat and cotton seed OIL
Mr.. Hill, who produced these samples, said
he had never heard of the firm of ilalstead x
Co., before, but he had purchased the samples
i'll respectable neighborhoods in New York.
Mr.. Squres attorney produced a package of
pule leal ldru, pun up DN squares 20,
and purchased in the open market by Profes-
sor Sharpless, which the latter testified was
entirely hog product, and contained no trace
of anything else. He was questioned at length
about the methods of test, and comparative
healthlulncSS OF hoS Iaru, Dccl tat ana cot
ton SEED OIL lth regard TO COTTON seed OIL,
he said its healthfulness as an article of dict
was sun mooteo question IL was not a
matter for chemists or medical men TO decide.
MesSrs. Hlli and Sharpless being cross-eX-
4l..xN L. l,,.lI-
ahmed, testliled that the puik oil squares
product was quality OF lard inferior TO that
Prouuceu, puV pore the stamp pure lfd III
CONTRADICTION 10 pure zeal laru. III was en-
tlreiy the hog product, derived however, from
trimmings oil the hog, including u portion OF
leaI'
MIR. Fairbanks, of Fairbanks Il Co., of Chi
ego, took the witness stand and described to
the committee the history of the modern lard
product Twenty-Five years ago, lard oil was
pressed from the hog product, leaving stearine,
a hard, waXy substance, for which there was
little demand. Then firm in New York con-
ceiyed the idea of mixing this stearine with
ordinary lard, and formed a compound which
gave better satisfaction, especially i'll warm
countries, than pure lard. Then, packing
houses i'll making lard, got to dumping into
pans everything--heads, feet. intestmes, ETC.,
and made product which was offensive, hav-
ing, as witness said, "hoggy taste" Rcfiners
cast about for something to neutralize this and
found it in cotton seed oil. Out of n hundred
ticrces of packers lard the refners got about
one tierce of mud and filth "as black rs your
coat" TO the product thus refined
and purified, they now added % per
cent of cotton seed oil and 10 per cent of
stearine, which compound comprises seven
Fights of the lard now on the market, Once
or twice, when the compound ran short. pure
lard had been supplied to the customers, and
witness was overwhelmed ut once with tho
complaint that the consumers were dissatis-
fed
The cross-eXamination was conducted espe-
Tally with The view of showing that witness
the fact that il would require him to let the
public know the nature of his product, but he,
in general reiterated his statements that the
article was healthy; that a large trade had been
built up on that particular name and that the
public, after using his lard, could tell whether
it was good or not without any legislation
termine it as product, which the United
States congress had thought it necessary to
guard the people against
Judge Wilson, attorney for John i. Squire
g. Co., of Boston, read petitions signed by n
large number of manufacturers and dealers in
pure lard. urging the passage of the bill; alsoj
several letters, together with statement
signed by the chairman OF the Liverpool Pro-
duce exchange, representing that there was
want of confidence in the purity of American
lard and consequently they often refrained
from buying it. Also letters from two cracker
manufacturers of st. Louis and Omaha, stating
that crackers III Which was used lard composed
i'll part of cotton seed oil would
become vGncid in a few days. Also, a
clipping from the New York Journal of Com
merce, i'll which it is stated that exports of
lard from the port of New York had fallen of
5G,0U.OOO pounds i'll the year 1881, as compared
with the year 1886
In behalf of the refined lard industry and the
cotton seed oil people, representing i'll all $780,,
100000 of invested capital he desired to protest
against the passage of the bill which was de-
signed to place refined" lard in de9rad-
ing the position commercially. Mr..
KImball, who was the chief witness
for the proponents of the bill, had,
that he said, made the following admission first,
refined lards, rs made by all well-known man
Ufacturers, are not injurious TO health second,
they could not justify license tax and
would be satified with the placing Of the word
compound" on 'refned" lard or on packages !;
and, third, that they would not contend that
cotton seed oil is injurious to health.
AS to tho falling off In export
rade via New York, o said the ex-
PLANTATION was that Baltimore and Montreal
captured the trade New York lost. Mr. CrOm-
well said that the cotton seed oil industry was of
tho greatest nossible ADVANTAGE TO the southern
country. III there was anything deleterlous i'll
the productloh OF tlc fairDahhs hiln; loreiRh
NATIONS VINO exercise Such rlgorousiI9crutIhy
III an Puestloiis Oh lC3u wouid nave lnaue an
a"Fer3e criucISih. NothihB mas peeh lcaru 0i