Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-08-04
legislative Helps Tor the Farmer

Mr.. A. W Harris has Il social article in
the July Century, and he takes As his sub
| iect hat the Government is Dong for
the Farmer lie does not attempt 10 60
into the great questions of railway legisla-
ton. of the tariff. or of State legislation,
but there remain many important depart
! ments of agricultural industry which have
been furthered or projected by Federal
| interference.
| Not the least important in this writers
| opinion, is the law, passed in 1855, regulat-
| ing the traffic in oleomargarine-that we'll
known substitute for butter produced by
| separating the oils from the fat of animals
/ II i. curious that this oleomargarine act
originally passed with the manifest inten-
! ton of prohibiting the manufacture of the
article, has come to he protection to its
manufacture, but yet sttains pretty nearly
the good results which might be hoped for
| from the consumers point of view. II lay.
a special tax of $500 upon manufacturers
of $3.50 upon wholesale dealers and of SIS
upon retail dealers
Those who wished to prohibit the manu-
| fscture and sale have been disappointed,
for the oleomargarine industry has actually
increased since the passage of the act. II
has not however. failed in noteworthy
results 1t has helped to raise the price of
butter. especially that of good butter. Fur
| Their. BY combining the oleomargarine COM
| petition to the poorer grades of butter it has
| doubtless caused improvement in these
| grades Again, by preventing oleomarga-
| rine from Incorporating rs more expen-
| sive article it has kept the price down,
greatly To the advantage of consumers.
be sold under its own name ii has relieved
| that product from the reproach of being a
fraudulent article and has given it an hon
orable position in commerce as a Legitimate
means of utilizing waste products, and rs a
| cheap. wholesome substitute for an expen-
sive necessity"
Another direction in which the central
government may hope to become of use to
the farmer is in the extension of the
weather service, which has lately been
transferred from the War Department to
the Department of Agriculture, At present
the predictions are given for large areas,
and the office in Washington has about two
minutes to work out the meteorological des-
uny Of each state. And then the small
mountains and hills in particular localities
NAV utterly change the calculations made
hy the Weather Bureau. Local subdivision,
which viii he rendered possible by increased
,elerhone and telegraph facilities, will take
MANY of these obstacles out of the way,
and We may look forward to the time when
the farmer will only have to apply to the
| local officer at the village, two miles away
| IN find with reasonable surety whether hi
NAV safely plant his corn or cut his hay.
| Another fine opening for the government
| weather prophets is in the study of partieu'
lar climatic conditions in their relation &c
| axf1cuNHfe- the t1ttiHataf ahhosf"e'N f'S
uomenon, for instance. which render New
Jersey and Delaware fine peach regions
which will allow splendid fruit crop or
one side of the Alleghanies and two hundres
ysris away will suffer no fruit growing.
II is not unlikely that new and exsen
sive sugar industry has been created by tia
act of July L, 1891, which takes the in
ternal revenue tax OF the alcohol used in
obtaining sugar from sorghum. The 20t
pounds of sugar in each ton of sorghum
j cane cannot be separated from the gums il
which il 10 held except by the application
Of alcohol. the great cost of which, arising
from the tax. has preciudet the manufae
II trre of sorghum sugar on any extensive
scale. The alcohol can now be obtaiue.
Il nose cheaply, swing to the aboye-mentiones
| ct. ard can BE- redisdlled and used assil