Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-02-13
New Dairy Law.

y
the more important subjects of great
Importance to the interests of this
state which are now pending before
the legislature is that relating to the
regulation of the manufacture and
sale of butter and cheese and other
dairy products. Several bills cooking
toward that end have been intro
duced and the committee on dairy
and food products, to which all such
bills are referred, is making a thorough
study of the subject in connection
with the dairy and food commission
er, and when they have arrived at q
definite conclusion in the matter a
bill will be reported which will go far
to do away with the many evils now
attendant on the manufacture and
sale of these products. Few people
recognize the Importance of these
! bills. Few there are who are aware
| Of the immense value of the dairy in
terests of Wisconsin,. Creameries and
! cheese factories are Springing up in
nearly every part Of the state. And
| these cheese factories are not the
small country affairs where only the
poorer grades of cheese are made; on
| the contrary, many them make the
fancy grades, such as Swiss, limburger,
brick, cream and many other kinds.
The milk industry is also one of
great Importance not only as profit
able industry, but also as a matter
of health. Everyone has to use milk;
and whether it is pure and whole
some, or foul and wholly devoid of
nourishing qualities, is a matter Of
prime Importance to every resi-
dent Of the state. Too often unscrup-
ulous dealers will skim or water
their milk, or use milk from diseased
COWS, or add ingredients calculated
| to deceive patrons, all to the injury
of the consumer. Especially is this
true where the milk is taken in
large quantities to creameries,
when it is quite difficult to detect the
! fraud. Commissioner Luchsinger
| thinks the only way to obviate, or at
least greatly lessen this fraud, is to
pay such dealers by the butter fat
test, as the dealer will then get paid
| for the actual value of his milk and no
| more. During the past year or two
good many cases of fraud in the sale
of adulterated or skinned milk have
been prosecuted, and many of the
offenders have been punished; but it
has been found that the law as it now
stands is wholly inadequate to sue
! cessfully cope with the problem.
Cases of the illegal sale Of oleomar-
garine and butterine are frequent.
These articles are sold without any
notice to the purchases of their
nature.
New York and Massachusetts, were
the first states to attempt to regulate
the sale of dairy products by law;
and they have been followed by Ohio,
Wisconsin, Oregon, Iowa. Minnesota
and Michigan among the Western
states. The subject this winter is
attracting attention throughout the
| country, and a general effort is being
made to so regulate the industry as
to avoid the many frauds that have
! heretofore been practiced on the
public. With more stringent laws on
the subject, and with an earnest en-
deavor on the part ofevery citizen in
every city and town Of the state to
aid in the suppression of this raud,
the commission would soon be en-
abled to raise the standard of our
dairy products, and to place Wiscon-
sin in the front rank Of butter and
cheese producing states.