The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-11-15

The adultsration OF food Was the topic that
interested the mans ger of one Of the large whole
sale butter and egg houses and Journal re-
porter yesterday. A question from the latter
relating to the uss Of oleomargsrine aud other
compounds In place of butter led the manager
20 say: "Considerably over so per cent OF our
households are consuming olsomargarine daily.
aud 10 per cent of these people think they really
buy butter
do the dealers fulfill all requirements of law
regarding olsomargarine and like compounds"
The few Of our wholesalers who handle 10
generally take out the license prescribed, but
most retailers have no license, not even in the
spring. when their sales of olenmargsrine are
very heavy. The bulk Of IL handled here is sold
on the East and West markets Our grocsrs are
also handling the stuff tax.frse. and not half
dozen in the city represent it for what 10 is
Their customers believe they are getting butter.
The Law demands thar all packages from which
tits sold and papers in which IL 10 wrapped
shall be stamped in one-fourth-inch square
letters, with the word oleomargarins. In CON-
plying with this, they have the letters made
of the required size. but consistine Of light hair
lines. and they use az ink 10 stamping which Is
so faint to be scarcely visible on brown
paper. which II closely resembles in color. They
often turn down tbs edge of the paper over the
stamp also. These tricks are So ingeniously
complished that not ono person n O thousand
could detect the fraud"
do you personally know any of these dealers
who selling this bogus butter2'
81 know @ large number Of them. Nearly
every dealer 10 both markets Is now engaged In
selling il. One in the East market handles
nothing whatever bat oleomargarine. he 10
tho agent here Of an Eastern firm which
this mans stand reads Creamery Butter on one
aide ana Dairy Butter on the other Any
Wholesale butter dealer will confirm my state
mentn
+, ''If the revenue tax were enforced what would
''lf the letter Of the Law Was strictly adhered
TO there would not be . retail dealer IN Indian.
apolis who could afford 90 sell oleomargarine
Ihe pSoht consists solely in cvading the law.
How 10 it that dealers risk the penalty i'm
posed by federal law with this impunityr
simply because there 10 no attention paid by
officials 10 looking Into the matter. There
has oesn case after case. With the clearest
proofs OF violating the Law. BROUGHT befors
wholesale dealers. These be utterly ignores nine
times out OF ten. When the evidence 10 so garing
As TO make this impossible, he answers COM
plants by saying that no Will refer them TO Mr.
dunter. the internal revenue collector, aud that
10 the last ws ever hear Gf it Nothing 10 done.
little while ago retail grocer was discovered
breaking the. law. and tho case was proved. and
acknowledged by the collector 20 DO an offense.
The grocer took out his license at once, aud
there has never been the frat intimation OF his
prosecution"
Does this influx Of oleomarearine greatly
Affect the trade in genuine butterP
There wero formerly creameries 10 nearly
every county in,thIs State, and now they are all
shut down. The low price ~ which the COM
pound eau be made leaves no inducement 10 the
composition with It Besides. the butter trade
IL further injured by the fact tina, whils the
Wholesale dealer cannot get sufficient supplies of
genuine butter for his trade, he cannot afford to
handle oieomsrgarine If he wanted tn, because
his is able sell it at wholesale prices by shrk
ing the law. At retail good creamery butter
shonld bring 80 cents pound to make ans thing
on it, whereas the housewife can buy what is
known as Ohio creamery butter. / Q. oleomarg-
urine, for Is cents pound.
What Is the nature Of the manufacture Of
oleomargariueP
at ia now made OF raw lard, cotton. seed oil,
and tallow oil These materials are cburnec
raw. In little sweet milk mixed with water to
give it favor. The product Is then colored,
worked smooth and sailed, after which it
closely approaches the real article 10 appear
ancs. well-gnown physician OF this city
told me the other day that he had solved the
problem OF the increase of dyspepsia. He said
he believed that il was traceable directly to the
increased consumption of this raw grease un.
awsres, by people who bought it for butter.
Man conld not invent, he said more iudigesta-