The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1900-10-25

sales or II 1,433, ,34l pounus OF oiev -
Pennsylvania referred to above were
made during the last year OF Governor
Hastings administration, and yet some
or the most persistent critics OF Gov
ernor Stone today are men associated
politically with Governor Hastings.
ANOTHER LIE NAILED.
Some yellow journals charge that the
present law was prepared by the de-
partment Of agriculture and was pur-
posely left defective in order to pro-
tect oleomargarine dealers against pun
ishment. This Is wholly and abso-
lutely false.
The license law Of May s, 1899, was
prepared by the Dairymen's union and
the State Grange of Pennsylvania at
their meeting held in Williamsport in
| December, 1898. 1t was brought to
Harrisburg by the secretary of the
Dairymen's union at the opening of
the legislative session in January, 1899,
and was submitted to the legislature
by the Dairymen's union and the legis-
lative committee of the State Grange,
! and its passage was urged by these
| bodies until it became law. The de-
partment Of agriculture had nothing
| to do with It's preparation or subse-
quent passage by the legislature. What
everVlrtues or defects may attach to the
new law are due to the organizations
that prepared 1t and urged its passage.
The charge, therefore, made by the yell
low 1ournes that the law was prepared
by the department of agriculture and
n1cgp1 hy irA
pose OF protecting dealers is without
foundation and utterly false.
Immediately after the passage of the
present law agents OF the department
were then instructed to collect samples
and to submit them to the chemists for
analysis.
TEST OF THE COLOR CLAUSE.
On the first OF August. 1899, a SAM
pie OF colored oleomargarine was taken
from J. X. Van Dyke, of Philadelphia.
who represented the Oakdale Manu-
featuring company, OF Providence r.
l. The defendant was fined 500 and
costs. An appeal was taken from this
decision TO the court of common pleas,
but was not substantiated by Judge
Arnold An appeal was then taken by
the defendant to the superior court of
Pennsylvania and the decision of the
lower court was affirmed by the su-
perior court in an opinion filed April
80, 1900.
This was a case to test the con-
stitutionality of the color clause in its
relation to the interstate commerce
law
The day after the decision was rem
dered letter was issued by the secre-
tary OF agriculture, directed to the
dairy and food commissioner, and a
copy OF the same sent to every agent
or the department, in which the de-
cision of the court was noted after ex-
planning the provisions of the act and
calling for the immediate gathering of
additional evidence.
THE GREAT CRUSADE.
TIIoT that day there has been no let
up by the department On the 2leomar-
garine traffic in this state. Thousands
OF samples have been taken and az
alyzed, and every dealer whose goods
were shown to be adulterated was
prosecuted criminally, there being al
most 700 prosecutions. every one on
criminal charge. The allegation,
therefore, that the department has
been inactive is utterly false, as shown
by the facts.
The facts set forth in the report Of
the dairy and food commissioner Of
1899 show that the activity of the Of
fcers and agents of the department
was not due to the sensational publ-
cations of yellow journals or their ad-
herents. In the year 1899, under the
disadvantages OF the change from the
Old prohibitory law to the new license
law, l,lG9 samples were taken by
agents of the department.; 341 Of these
were found to be pure, 6S5 adulterated
and 1i3 were tested by the agents and
found to be pure, and so were not sent
to the chemists.
Two hundred and fifty-six prosecu-
tions were brought against parties for
illegally selling oleomargarine, 81 for
selling impure food, 43 for adulterated
vinegar, for not complying with the /
cheese law, 12 for illegally selling
renovated butter and 10 for selling i'm |
pure milk.
One hundred oleomargarine cases
were brought to successful termina-
tion, penalties were imposed in many
cases, and some were discharged upon
payment or costs, and others were dis !
missed and in some cases the bills |
were ignored by grand juries; 76 cases
were dismissed for the above reasons,
and Sc cases were pending Jan. 1, 1900. |
WORK SINCE JAN. l.
From Jan. l, 1900, to Oct 10, 1900. the
department has brought over 935 suits |
and prosecutions, and taken over 5000 |
samples. The charge, therefore, that |
the department is doing nothing to
suppress the sale Of oleomargarine in |
this state is thus shown to be utterly
and maliciously false.
The fact Of the great number of sam
pies shown to have been taken and |
suits brought Is evidence conclusive of |
the competence of the agents of the |
department, and yet in the face of
these facts yellow journals continue to
assal the work of the dairy and food
division and beittle that which has
been accomplished, and continue to
cast reflections upon the competency
OF the agents.