The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-02-13
To the Cattle Trade if No Ole0.
margarine Were Made.
Figures by the National Dairy
Association
SHOWING THAT "a CTS.
Per Head is All That "OleO''
Adds to Market Prices
Hanna Criticized as a False
Friend of Creamery Interests.

The defeat of anti-oleomargarine leg
islation in the Kansas house of repre-
sentatives, has attracted attention
in the east, and the National Dairy as
ISOLATION with headquarters at Chicago,
Chas- Y knight, secretary, has taken
hand by sending an open letter to the
members of the Kansas legislature.
Members Of the house opposed the bill
alleging that it would injure the cattle
business. To this argument the Ma
tional association replies by declaring
this proposition an absurdity, and says:
THE manufacture of oleomargarine
in Kansas City. Kan, and Kansas City,
Mo-, for the fiscal year ended June 80,
1898, aggregated a total of 15,o77, O0S
pounds for both points
.'OleO oil, made from beef fat, COM
pr1ses only about 27 per cent of the fin
ished product, the remainder being:
Neutral lard, "a per cent; cottonseed
oil, IL per cent; and the remainder wa
ter, casein from skim milk and salt
This would require for 15,077, COS pounds
of the finished article 5,025, 662 pounds of
oleo oil for a years product of the
heaviest year these factories have ever
had
THE latest quotation in Chicago gives
oleo oil per pound as about SC. Then the
8, 055, 662 pounds of cleo oil would figure
$454, 995.
THE official figures give the receipts
of cattle in Kansas City for 1898 at L.
Isl, 1854 head. From this 1,757, 1854 head
was used in your oleomargarine factor
les $454,995 worth of material for oleo-
margarine, amounting in round num-
bers to &c per head for cattle marketed
in Kansas City.
Admitting the cleo side of the argu-
ment that every pound of cleo oil now
going into oleOmargarine were actually
thrown into the Missouri river because
of the absolute worthlessness of the
product on account of the passage of
the law and the actual loss would be
but &c for each head of cattle market
ed in Kansas City
''Three-fOurths of the cleo oil taken
from cattle is exported to foreign coun-
tries, to be used there, and if your oleo-
margarine factories were to shut down
tomorrow the price of Oleo oil would not
be affected to the extent of one cent Fer
head for your cattle.
This law does not close your factor
les. They keep on using the beef fat fer
their outside trade. At the close of 1898
there were in the United States 4,403
retailers of oleomargarine, who sold an
aggregate of 81, SIG, 1876 pounds of ole0-
margarine, or an average of 1905
pounds per dealer. OF this number los
were licensed to sell in Kansas and, il
they sold the full average, their aggre
gate sales would have been 1,40S, $50
pounds. or less than 10 per cent of the
output of your factories. Now, if ev-
cry pound of the oleo oil sold in the fin
ished product to be consumed in Kan
saS were to be thrown into the Missouri
river and destroyed the cost to each
head of cattle marketed at Kansas City
would amount to little more than a 2
cent postage stamp; to be exact, &c.
THE bill which we hear is to be pre-
sented by Senator Hanna as a substi-
tute for the new measure introduced in
the senate is condemned by every well
informed dairyman in the United States
and you will find that such laws have
never been worth the paper they were
written upon Were Senator Hanna in
the employ of the oleomargarine manu-
facturers themselves he could not be
doing them any greater good, and We
are at a loss to account for his attitude
upon this question
IF your stock interests are really op-
posing this measure, they are certainly
pursuing a very short sighted policy, as
the present demoralized condition of the
butter business is driving the dairymen
who formerly sold milk into raising
steers for the markets. and they will
find if butter doesn't do better in the
next few years that the supply of steers
from the dairy sections will demoralize
the market for cattle. The dairymen
are rapidly going into the live stock
business because dairying doesn't pay
at present low prices of butter"