Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1897-07-08
WAR ON ALL BuTTERiNE.
National Dairy Union Intends to
Drive It from the Land.

National Dairy Union Intends to
Drive 1t from the Land.
"Butterine must be legislated out Of
the United States is the dictum of the
National Dairy Union. The successful
fight for the new anti-butterine law in Illi-
nois has inspired the dairymen of the en-
tire West to crush and utterly annihilate
the butter substitute industry. They are
going into politics to do it.
Right now the creamery proprietors, the
butter dealers and the dairy farmers Of
the big butter producing States-Wiscon-
sin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota,
Nebraska, Kansas Michigan and the Da-
kotas-are being drawn into compact
fighting organization of not less than $780,
GOO, and maybe more than 100000 vot-
ers and vote controllers. They are being
pledged in writing to work increasingly for
legislation that will prevent the coloring
of butter substitutes and ito fight the men
In high places who are unfriendly to the
interests of the dairymen."
Promises of money contributions go
with the pledge. A campaign fund which
would delight the heart of professional
politician is already in sight. If neces-
sary, fighting capital of 100000 can
be raised, it is believed, before the Legis-
latures of these dairy States meet again.
This fund will be used to drive the but
terine manufacturers from their few re-
manning strongholds, and if the industry
then find loopholes in State legislation,
the organization will move on Washing
ton.
w. D. Hoard, former Governor of Wis
consin, and president of the National
Dairy Union, is giving the movement all
the benefit of his organizing ability and
political acumen. Charles Y. Knight OF
Chicago secretary of the National Dairy
Union and manager of the anti-butterlne
fight in the Illinois Legislature, is secre-
tary and treasurer of the new movement.
The dairymen have already done much
to restrict the manufacture of butter sub
stitutes, colored to resemble the genuine
dairy article. Laws prohibiting the col
oring of such substitutes are now In force
in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa,
Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and New York. But there are two States
in particular which have no such laws
and which are favorably situated with
respect to the packing centers and the
sources of raw material for the manufac-
ture of butterine-Indiana and Kansas.
Since the market for the colored article
is unrestricted, except in these few West
ern States which have legislated ON the
subject, enough butterine can be made in
Indiana and Kansas to cut a big figure in
the butter trade of the country. The
dairymen expect, therefore, that the but
terine makers will make hard fight to
retain their standing in Indiana and Kan
sas, and even to have rescinded the anti
butterine legislation in some of the other
States. Hence the broad scope of the
dairymen's movement to complete the an
Inhalation of their enemy.
The National Dairy Union is building
up it's fighting organization around the
creameries. There are nearly 1000 Of
these in the north Mississippi valley. Each
creamery has ON an average 100 farmer
patrons, or 400, 600 in all. The price paid
by the creameries to these farmers for
their milk is regulated by the price of
butter. The extinction of competition
with butterine raises the price of butter!
and therefore of milk. 1t follows that all
these 100000 farmers are expected to be
eager for enlistment in last rally against
butterine.
The farmers who work up their milk
into butter in their own dairies outnumber
those who sell to creameries. They are
expected to take an interest in this move
meut The same view is held of the farm
ers who ship milk to the cities, the price of
their product being Influenced always by
the price it will bring at the creameries.
Then there are the creamery operators
and their employees, and the men who
handle butter in the big cities, the COM
mission men-all these are interested in
one way and another in boosting butter
and killing butterine. This indicates why
the active spirits of the National Dairy
Union are figuring on political army Of
100000 men or more The movement
is being given the widest publicity through
the dairy press. "Butterne must be leg
islated out of the country is the war cry.