The morning call., 1891-04-17
OLIVE OIL.
Producers Condemn the Local
Merchants.
The Necessity of Mutual Protection Discussed.
Low Grade Oils That Must Be
Competed With.

Frank A. Kimball of National City pre-
sided at meeting of oliVe-oil producers
yesterday, at the rooms of the State Board
of Horticulture, on Suffer street. The
meeting was called by the State board, and
the understood object of it was to organize
an association of growers and oil manu-
facturers for mutual protection and to aid
in enforcing the law passed by the last
Legislature relative to bogus oil, of which
large quantities are put Oh this market.
This law is as follows:
SECTION 1. Every manufacturer or dealer OF
olive oil shall place upon every bottle or can
filed with olive oil aud exposed or onered lof
sale as such Label stating clearly the name
aud address OF the manufacturer or dealer, and
the place of manufacture, and shall ME with The
State Board OF Horticulture copy oil SAID iaOel.
accompanied by an affidavit that II Is pure ana
that this act has been complied with.
Sec. .. Whoever adulteTates olive oil, sells or
keeps for sale oil not olive oil and exposed or
offered for sale as olive oil, within the State OF
California. Is guilty of msdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof before any Justice OF the
Peace of any township of legal jurisdiction shall
De fined in Il sum not less than $50 nor exceed
Ing 500 ana cost of the action FOR each offcnse,
or may be imprisoned not less than MY days
nor more than 100 days, or by such hne and lln-
prIsonment, as the Judgment OF the court may
dliect.
THE BEST OBTAINABLE.
Secretary Lelong of the State Board ex-
planned details of the bill by request. He
said it was not all that could be desired and
it is not as first submitted, having been
amended in committee. but 1t is the best law
that could be obtained.
A motion by Charles A. Wetmore of Liv-
ermore to appoint committee on organiza-
ton brought up an interesting discussion
concerning protective methods and means
TO be adopted TO carry oH the above law.
Mr.. Kimball said producers have nothing
to fear from a discriminating public If the
,arif- r 1.,ryn tf,tl- ha nral ly
made known, and he urged the i'm portance
OF pure oil producers taking steps to pro-
tect themselves.
Euwood Cooper of Santa Barbara, the
pioneer in olive Oil manufacture, spoke at
length of the difficulties encountered in COM
petIng in this and other markets with I'M
ported oils that are mostly cottOn-seed or
lard oil. He had found the greatest difficulty
in marketing his product where 1t would
not be sold except at prices so high as TO
prevent its ready sale He charged that To-
cal merchants put up prices OF pure oil IN
order that their own products of cotton-seed
| or something else could be disposed of.
Mr.. Wetmore echoed all that MI. Cooper
said and commented severely ON the prae-
| tees OF local merchants.
THE PRICE TOO HIGH.
E. D. Sawyer, the attorney, who has a
| young olive orchard near Santa Rosa, ey-
pressed his conviction that the high price
| charged for California oil hampers its sale
more than anything else. He predicted
failure for any attempt to prosecute mer-
| chants for making bogus oil. He said the
| price of good oil must come down, even if
| cotton-seed oil has to be used to cheaper it.
These plain assertions aroused both Mr..
| Wetmore and Mr.. Cooper, who replied very
| plainly to Mr.. Sawyer, and the result was
that the latter, after sarcasticaly thanking
| Mr.. Wetmore for his courtesy, withdrew
| from the meeting.
Mr.. Cooper. in his remarks, said that the
| oil producers could not afford to produce
anything but the purest oil. He commented
| on frauds in trade generally, and said if
| things are not stopped this Will become "a
natian OF invaIids aud nation of liars.
| He asserted that fully 100000 bottles of
| cotton-seed oil go annually from the South
ern States to the Mediterranean districts
and come back to the United StatessaS olive
| Oil. The great healthfulness and general
medicinal value of pure oil was dwelt upon
a. length.
LEFT WITH THE COMMITTEE.
After more discussion, it was agreed to
| leave the organization proposition. i'll the
| hands Of a special committee, consisting of
Messrs. Cooper, Z. f. Goodrich OF San jose,
| Wetmore, kimbdll and LalOng. This com
mittee Will consult with the State Board of
Health and State Analyst concerning the
best plan for enforcing the law. They Will
also consider ptan OF ORGANIZATION, and
will call another meeting as soon as practi-
cable, probably during June. The Secretary
was instructed, meanwhile, to prepare a list
| of all the genuine oil producers in the State.