The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-06-14
washington time q p. m. st. Paul..
WHAT IS GUTTER CoLoR.v

Ever since the chemist discovered that
of which 1t is an extract, could be con-
Verted into a substance so closely re-
sembling butter as, when fresh, to de-
ceive all but the chemist, and him except
ne put 1t under analysis, the dairy inter-
ests. who saw, or thought they saw, in
1t a dangerous competitor, have been Sc
curing legislation against it. They got
the ear Of the press and raised tre-
mendous rumpus, terming it vile and
filthy stuff, inimical to health, the refuse
OF the rendering vats and demanded pro-
hibitive laws in behalf of the common
health. Congress was assailed and It's
taxing power invoked to stamp the in
Yader out. but. in spite of the aid given
by congressman with agricultural
constituencies, nothing more was done
than to tax the cleo two cents
q pound and its makers and
dealers a round annual sum- AS vicious
a bit of class legislation as was ever en-
acted. but when laws of that kind were
the fashion the farmers, who for years
had been its victims, can hardly be blap1-
ed if they went in for their share
Oleo grew and thrived in spite of this
hostile legislation. 1t utilized product
that was largely a waste, and, 1t is
claimed, in its reaction, helped to main
tain the price of the cattle from which
1T was derived. However that may be,
the dairymen continued their attacks
wherever they could find a compIaisant
legislature, and various devices were re-
sorted to, among them what was termed
the pink" law, which required o!eo to
be cOlored pink. Minnesota had such a
law on its books until this last winter,
when it was repealed, the supreme court
of the United States having held a similar
act in Pennsylvania to be void. But the
general dairy act of last session con-
tains provision prohibiting the use of
coioring matter in butterine or oleomar-
garine lin imitation of butter color" Suit
has been brought to recover the penalty
provided in the municipal court of Min
neapOlis against one of the big-four pack
ing houses for violating this law, they
having given their oleo, by the use of
annatto, the color of butter attained
when COWS are turned onto June pas
lures
A very nice question may be presented
to the trial court in this case by the de-
Tense, and again it may not be, but it
exists nevertheless, and Is a pertinent
one What is butter color? Everyone
who knows anything about butter MAX
ing knows that the rich yellow color
comes, naturally, only during the months
when the cows are feeding upon the sue
culent grasses, and that during the other
seasons of the year the color is white.
1t is also well known that butter makers
make use of annatto during the periods
of the white product to give the butter
the summer color Oleo is of light yell
low color in its normal condition, being
neither the white of the butter in the
months of sere vegetation nor the rich
SOlAOH u luo SuAufLeI IlOHlIlS. AS IOr
about eight months of the year the nor
NAL butter color is white and for four
months yellow, will it not be a question
to puzzle Philadelphia lawyer to deter
mine what is that butter COLOR which
Oleo must not wear? If the rule of the
preponderance of testimony is applied,
then it would be held that, as the normal
butter color is white for eight months,
that must be the color intended by the
legislature. Again, if it is admitted that
all butter makers use coloring matter in
their butter and this use is legitimate.
how can it be illegal, in the absence of
deception, to use it in coloring cleo?
Would not provision be quite as reason
able that forbade the makers of oleo TO
put upon their product those little orna-
meptations, those prints which but
ter makers use to give their product a
more attractive appearance? But by the
time this Minneapolis case shall have re-
ceived the impress of the various courts
between the municipal court of that city
md the supreme court of the United