Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-08-06
l. 4 - A.
Herald.

AS testimony CohSh D6IOIS lie
house committee showed that the spu-
rious cheese was manufactured by the
extraction from the milk all butter fats
and the substitution of neutral lard.
The cost of this product is said to be
4 IL cents a pound. Evidence was
presented showing that flI-t cheese
was being sold through commission
houses in the city, delivered from the
manufacturers unmarked and branded
by the jObber to suit the requirements
of his customers. The claim was made
and it was sustained by the committee
that it is fraud upon the purchaser to
sell him a manufacturer article brand
ed or not branded at all 1t is there
fore considered necessary to protect in
nocent purchasers by defining pure
cream cheese and regulating the man
ufacture, sale, importation and export
of filled cheese in much the same man
ner as is now done with Oleomargarine.
The bill, which has become a law, de-
fines as filled cheese all substances
made of milk or skinned milk with
the addition of butter, animal oils or
fat, vegetable oils, or compounds for
eign to milk. Special taxes of $500 for
manufacturers and $3.50 for wholesale
dealers are imposed, and retail dealers
are to be compelled to pay $l2 per year.
Manufacturers are fined from $500 to
$4,000, Wholesalers from $3.50 to 81, 900.
and retailers from $40 to $500 for non
payment of the special tax The books
of manufacturers are to be made sub
ject to the supervision of the collector
of internal revenue, and bonds are re-
CURED that filled cheese shall be packed
in new wooden packages ard branded
with the words Filled Cheese" in
black letters not less than two inches
in length on the top, bottom and ~
four places on the sides. All sales by
manufacturers or wholesale dealers are
to be in original stamped packages, and
retailers can sell only from these orig
inal packages, their sales to be packed
in wooden or paper packages suitably
marked in accordance with the rules to
be prescribed by the treasury depart
ment. The penalty for selling the imi-
tatiOn article otherwise than in the
prescribed packages Is fixed at a fine Of
from $50 to $780, or Imprisonment from
thirty days TO one year.
All retail and wholesale dealers are
obliged tC display in a conspicuous
place a sign with the words FILLED
Cheese Sold Here in black not less
than six inches long, with the name
and number of the revenue district.
The manufacturer is also required to
paste a label on packages similar to
that used on tobacco and cigars an
nOuncing that he has complied with the
law and cautioning consumers not to re
move the contents without destroying
the stamp. A neat little penalty of $50
for each package is provided for VIC
iatiOn of this section. A tax of one
cent a pCund is levied on all filled
cheese, the same to be paid by coupon
stamps, all the statutory provisions
with regard to tobacco stamps being
made applicable. In addition to the
customs duty, imported filled cheese is
subjected to an internal revenue tax of
eight cents a pound, which is practic-
ally prohibitory.
Persons knowingly purchasing or re-
ceiving for sale filled cheese which has
not been branded are made subject to a
penalty of $50 for each offense and
twice that amount for handling the
product which has not paid the special
tax. Stringent provisions are made in
the act by which the commissioner of
internal revenue is authorized to apply
scientific tests to filled cheese, and all
packages of cheese which are found
without marks or stamps or adjudged
to contain ingredients deleterious to
public health are to be cOnfscated. The
provisions of this act are to go into eff
feet on the ninetieth day after it re-
ceives the signature of the president.
This new law will delight the farmers,
but it will add immensely to the work
of the internal revenue bureau and will
be source of trouble to the packing
houses and other factories which will
now be put under the direct supervi-
sion of the revenue agents.