Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-16
They Recommend Refunding the Debt
and Time to Admit of Settlement.
MODERN LARD.

The Senate Inquiry Shows What it Is Made Of.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13.-The inquiry in
regard to lard and its compounds, began
two weeks ago in the senate. The com
mittee on agriculture before which is
pending the bill to require lard com
pounds TO be stamped, was continued
today, and interested persons to
the number of twenty-five or thirty,
comprising manufacturers, attorneys
and experts were examine ed.
Prof. Shar pIess testified that sample
bearing the stamp OF Armour il Co.,
sspure, refined family lard" was found to
contain about 60 per cent. of hogs lard,
with 20 per cent. each of cotton seed oil
and beef fist. A sample of Fairbanks &
Co.'s Chicago "prime, refined family
lard" was made of the same ele-
ments, but had q greater proper
ton of fat and cotton-seed oil. A
sample bearing the stamp OF Halstead d
Co.'s "pure family lard" and another
from the same firm stamped in Spanish
squire lard, registered" etc, contained,
so far as tests had been carried, not a
particle of hog lard, but were made en-
tireIy of beef fat and cotton seed oil.
The heaIthfulness of cotton seed oil as
an article Of diet is still mOoted cues
ton.
Fairbanks, of Chicago, described TO
the committee
HISTORY OF THE MODERN LARD PRODUCT.
Twenty-Five years ago lard oil was
pressed from the hog product, leaving
stearine, hard waxy substance, for
which there was little demand.
Then firm in New York con
ceived the idea Of mixing stearine with
ordinary lard and formed com
pound which gave better satisfaction, es-
pecially IN warm countries, than pure
lard. Then the packing houses in max
ing lard got to dumping into pans every
thing, heads, feet, etc, and made
the product, which was offensive,
having as the witness said
a 'hoggy taste" The refiners cast about
for something to neutralize this, and
found it in cotton seed. Out of one hun
dred tierces of the packers lard the re-
fners got about one tierce of mud and
filth Gas black as your coat" To the re-
fined product they now added about
% per cent of cotton seed oil and 10 per
cent of stearine, which compound COM
prises seven eighths of the lard now on
the market. Once or twice when the COM
pound ran short, pure lard was supplied,
to customers aud witness was over
whelmed at once with com plants that
the consumers were dissatisfied. The
trouble with Squire, witness said,
arose from the fact that wit
ness firm had secured a large part
of Squirrels trade and that the gentleman
had agitated the passage of the bill be-
cause the small dealers would not take out
license to sell the compound as the bill
required and no license would be required
TO sell pure hog fat lard, they would re-
suae the purchase of the lard manufac-
tured by Squire. The demand for legis-
lation did not come from the people.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9-The hearing be-
fore the senate committee on agricul-
ture on the bill to impose a tax on
lard containing anything except pure
hogs fat was resumed this morning.
Judge Wilson, the attorney for Squire d
Co, read petitions signed by a large
number of the manufacturers and
dealers in pure lard urging
the passage of the bill. Also let
tiers from two cracker manufacturers of
st. Louis and Omaha stating that crack
ers in which was used lard composed in
part of cotton seed oil, would become
rancid in few days. Cromwell, the at
torney for the "retned" lard manufactu-
rers, said he had petitions from over
five thousand persons stating that refined
lard was not an injurious article. He
said it was claimed that cottonseed oil
could be used for every purpose, aud he
would admit that it was not fit for crack
ers. In behalf of the refined
lard industry and cotton seed oil people
representing S30,00O,OOO of invested
capital he desired to protest against the
passage of the bill, which was designed
10 place the "refned" lard in a degrading
position commercially, After further ar
guments, the hearing was adjourned.