The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-05-15
OLEO

SlCn D0UW0OhD 44O OAAAOAGOAo III
and Food Commission, and that the
Pure Food laws of Pennsylvania
were being violated, determined on
an investigation of it's own. Re
porters we're put on to an original
method to find out the details OF the
business. Two men, one hailing
from New York, joined the original
promoters and a business was started
and run two months. In finding out
how they would be treated by the
officials, the following verbatim re-
port of q conversation between one
of the men and Ambrose Little, Chief
Inspector of the Dairy and Food
Commission for the Philadelphia
district was made. Little was asked
whether it would be safe to invest
any money in the OleO. business at
present and said:
''Well, you know what the law is.
It is pretty hard to do business I'M
der the present law"
eyes, but is the law going to be
e~nforced?"
ssWell, you know the law is sup
posed to be enforced"
care you going to enforce the
color clause of the law"
ssThere is a test case in the courts
now"
Eyes, and if we succeed in keeping
the test case in the courts for two
or three years, will you make us any
trouble in the meantime?"
1.-The chemist is busy just now,
and the department Overworked. If
there We're only a few cases, we
might stop them until the test case
had been decided, but where there
are so many, it can't be done"
"Would you advise a man to start
in business nOw?"
Il shouldn't hesitate to start into
business now if [ wanted to-"
I'm this interview Little said that
there were numerous dealers now
selling without properly stamped
wrappers, but that the chemist was
so busy that he could not take care
of them all also that the govern
ment and the State we're receiving
such large revenues from the sale of
cleo. that they will stop it,
and that he personally was in favor
of OleOmargarine."
Edwin SlOcum, a reporter, started
a store in a thickly-populated dis
trict at 1856 Kensington Avenue,
Philadelphia, in January, 1900. In
February another reporter, j. E.
Whitley, came from New York to
help. They opened as Slocum &
Cotton on February 10th, under the
name the National Butter Com
pany." SlocUm had purchased his
first lot of "butter," (colored oleo.,
of course) ''frOm the National Dairy
Company a wholesale concern"
The firm did a thriving business
for two months. Large quantities
were sold. They learned from Chief
Inspector Little that another house,
Callahan & Sons, would be a better
place to trade. Little took their
card with something written on it
and soon Callahan & Sons salesman
came round 10 see them, bringing
the self-same card. They agreed
with Mcdowell, the salesman, to &C
cept goods at the protected price of
14& per pound. Without protection
from molestation by inspectors the
price would have been Is cents.
Here is how the business was fixed
up for regular business and did pass
Inspector Little's examination on
March 5th. The two required signs
denoting United States license were
tackled up wrong side up and coat
nails driven above. Coats were kept
these nails.
II bought several hundred satchel
bottom paper bags. On the bottom
of each bag [ stamped, very lightly,
and almost illegibly, the word 'oleo-
margarine Directly over the word
'oleomargarine' I stamped the word
'b~utterine.' The result was that
both words were made exceedingly
obscure, and could be deciphered
only with great difficulty. In fact,
not one of the customers, numbering
between 5000, and 5000, to whom
we sold o1eo. ever mentioned having
noticed the stamp"
The signs were freely disposed