The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1897-12-08

bers Of the Ohio Dairy Union bore an
honorable and Influential part, the Ma
tional "filled cheese" law was enacted,
and the cheese markets Of the United
States, then almost in a state Of col
lapse, were at once relieved. We shall
not soon, il ever, fully recover from
the evil effects of the "filled cheese"
fraud, but we have already experience
ed decided improvement, and are
now on the road to the best condition
possible under the circumstances.
Our undivided attention should now
be directed to giving the death blow to
dishonest dealing in oleomargarine,
with the assurance that, If oleomarga-
rlne be sold in its own color and under
its own name, our farmers who milk
cows will receive Immediate, substan-
tial and permanent benefit, whatever
may be their present method of dis
posing of their milk, and consumers
will be protected in their purchases of
butter, as they desire to be, and as
they have a right to demand that they
shall be.
1t may be of interest at this point to
give brief synopsis of the oleomar-
garine laws of other states before
speaking particularly of our own. In
thirty y-nine Of the states of the Union
laws have been enacted, either prohib-
iting the manufacture or sale Of oleo
entirely, or forbidding its manufact-
ure or sale if colored to initiate butter
or surrounding its sale with regula-
tions and restrictions calculated to
compel its sale in an honest manner.
am not aware of any laws concern
ing it in Kansas, Nevada, South OAK
ota, Texas or Wyoming The states Of
Delaware, Penn. and Virginia absolu-
tely forbid its manufacture or sale in
any form or color. The following states
prohibit its manufacture or sale if col
ored 10 initiate butter: viz. Georgia,
! Illinois, Iowa. Maine. Mass, Mo-, New
York, Nebraska, South Carolina, Utah
and Wisconsin. Iowa also forbids
combining animal fat or vegetable oil
with butter and forbids any other i'm
itation of butter resembling butter in
color. New Hampshire and Minnesota
forbid the sale of any substitute for
butter unless it he colored pink. Ver-
mont prohibits the manufacture OF any
imitation of butter and forbids the sale
of any such imitation unless it be col
ored pink. West Virginia prohibits
the manufacture or sale of oleomarga-
rine unless it be pink in color.
Since May IA, 1894, we have had law
upon the statute books of Ohio abso-
lutely prohibiting the manufacture or
sale of colored oleomargarine. This
law was enacted to prevent fraud and
for no other purpose. Experience in
all the great dairy states has abundant
ly demonstrated the fact that there
are but two ways of preventing fraud
in the sale of oleomargarine, viz: eth
er to prevent its manufacture or sale
altogether, or to prohibit its manufac-
ture or sale, if cplored to initiate but
ter. If made at all, it is absolutely
necessary to prevent its manufacture
or sale in the semblance of butter, or the
consumer will be deceived by some of
the numerous devices resorted to by
unscrupulous dealers. Hence our law
and the necessity for its strict enforce
ment. The Ohio Dairy Union does not
ask that the manufacture or sale of
oleo be restricted by law, provided it
be sold in its own color and under its
own name. We insist that our just
law be enforced, that the business be
honestly done, that it be so conduSted
that the purchasers be fully advised
concerning the quality of the article
they buy, and then they cannot be
defrauded in the price thGg pay. This
we insist upon and this we will fight
for until our law be generally and
thoroughly enforced. We demand
fair play and honest dealing, nothing
more. We cheerfully grant free
field to oleomargarine, il it be honest
y sold on its merits as butter is sold.
The claim is often made by oleo
manufacturers that oleomargarine is
the "poor mans butter" This claim
is fallacy of the most transparent
sort, if the compound is made to imi-
tate butter in color thus opening end
less avenues for fraud in its sale.
II dealer sells oleo for butter, he must
sell it very nearly butter price, other
wise his attempt to deceive would be at
once discovered. He sells the article just
enough below the price of genuine but
ter to convince the purchaser that he is
buying fine butter cheap, when he is
really purchasing an inferior article
that on its merits is worth from six to
ten cents per pound less than he pays.
The only possible way to make oleo-
margarine really the poor mans but
ter" is to compel its sale in its own
color and under its own name, rs
our law provides, or in a color that
does not resemble butter, and then it
can be bought for what it is really
worth and in no other way.
The oleomargarine business in Ohio
was begun and has thus far been con-
tinued in fraud. 1t has demoralized a
large majority of all who deal in 1t. 1t
makes criminals of the most Of them,
encourages disobedience of law, and SO
deadens and depraves the conscience
that every conceivable form of decep-
ton is unblushingly resorted to.
mention few Of the common forms OF
deception as practiccd in Cleveland as
an illustration Of the truth of the for
going statement One dealer will dis
play several packages of oleomargarne
side by side, all of the same quality,
representing all to be butter, with
prices ranging from l6 to 20 cents per
pound, expecting the innocent pur-
chaser to pay the highest price, which
he usually does, believing that price
indicates purity and quality, and that
he is purchasing fine article of butter,
when, as a matter Of fact, he buys a
common grade of oleo worth perhaps
10 cents per pound. Another dealer
removes the cover from his tub of oleo,
which bears the revenue stamp re-
quired by the United States law, over
turns the oleo upon the cover, hiding