Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-08
House Refused to Lay It on the
=. Table.
ADOPTED BY 4 DECISIVE VOTE
Ingredients Of the Product to Be
Furnished.
4 LIV ELY DEB A T E

Ao"HeS o1eoHiafgaflne resolution or IN
quiry came up for consideration This is
resolution calling upon the Secretary of
the Treasury to furnish information con-
cern1ng the kind and amounts of ingre-
dients used by manufacturers of oleomar-
garine.
The ways and means committee reported
adversely on the resolution, on the ground
that existing law prevents the Secretary
OF the Treasury from furnishing the infor-
nation. Mr.. Dalzell of Pennsylvania. who
presented the majority report, explained
this position of the committee.
MIR. Tawney's Contention.
Mr. Tawney, discussing the resolution.
said that if this resolution is defeated the
House will take the position that Congress
has no right to learn what are the ingre-
dients of food product which is manu-
factured for the people under the super
vision of the United States government,
and which the law contempates shall be
publicly supervised. Mr. Tawney said that
the friends of oleo must come with some
thing more than this flimsy excuse of law
before they can convince the people that
they ought not to know what articles go
into their food product.
Mr.. Tawney read the law to which Mr.
Dalzell referred. Analysing this he showed
that the law prohibits the divulging only of
information obtained by the personal visI-
tation of officers of the internal revenue
bureau, and touched only process of manu-
facture. Mr.. Tawney contended that the
furnishing the ingredients contemplated
making the process public so that the pub
thelic can know what they are eating.
Not n Trade Secret.
THE idea of claiming that that which is
patented can be treated by this House as
trade secret is ridiculous" said Mr.. Taw-
ney.
Mr.. Tawney said he had gone through
those patents and nowhere had he found
that they permitted the use of stearine,
yet stearine is used in large quantities.
Mr.. Tawney held up to view a chunk OF
this substance. He said it is indigestible
and will not melt below 150 degrees Fahren-
heit 1t has been stated that large guam
titles of this are used in the manufacture of
oleomargarine, and the country is entitled
to know, from the reports filed with the
Treasury Department, just how much OF
this deleterious substance is used.
Mr.. Ball of Texas argued in favor of the
majority report to lay the resolution on the
table.
Il ask this House. In the name of the
great cotton and cattle industries" said
Mr.: Ball, mot to enact this inquisitorial
legislati ton"
Mr.. Richardson of Tennessee said the
committee on ways and means held that
the matter involved was purely a legal
question, and that the resolution proposed
to repeal a statute.
In the Interest of Pure Food.
Mr.. Lamb. of Virginia said that the best
chemists of Europe had declared oleomar-
garine to be deleterious to the human sys-
tem He did not propose to wage war on
the cattle and cotton industries, but he
wanted. in the interest of pure food, to
know just how much cotton seed oil and
beef products entered into the manufacture
OF oleOmargar rine.
Mr.. Babcock of Wisconsin said he re-
GREETED very much the necessity of oppos-
ing this great committee of ways and
means, for the members of which he en-
tertafned high regard.
But said Mr.. Babcock 'the cattle In
terests' the cotton seed interests or any
other interests ought not to defeat this res
oioton IL oieomargarne is a good food
product; If it is not deleterious to public
health, and does not contain ingredients
winch are poisonous or dangerous to health
the people ought not to be cut off from
Knowing 1t. Give them the facts (ap-
piause). Ihat Is what they want to know,
and the people have right to know it"
Mr.. IaWney was then recognized. He
SAID he did not want the House to be fool
ed by the subterfuge advanced by the COM
mlttee on ways and means as to the alleged
point of law at issue.
Mr.. Tawney pointed out very clearly that
the law to which Mr.. Dalze,l referred ap-
piled only to Information obtained by the
personal visits of internal revenue officers
to the oleomargarine factories and related
to the machinery and methods of operation.
He showed that it did not refer to the
information furnished the department by
the oleomargarine act and which that act
intended should be public. :.
mo lawyer in this House." said Mr..
Tawney, will draw an indictment against
the Secretary of the Treasury for obeying
this resolution and furnishing the informa-
ton which law provides shall be put on
file"
MIR. DaIzelrs Closing Remarks.
Mr.. Dalzell closed the debate the reso-
luton with reiteration of the claim that it
proposed to betray trade secrets.
When the vote was taken on the motion
to lay the resolution on the table the noes
seemed to outnumber the ayes. whereupon
Mr.. Da1zell called for a division.
Let us have the yeas and nays then"
said Mr.. Babcock. This suggestion was
adopted and the roll was called.
Resolution Adopted.
By vote of So yeas to 1856 noes the House
refused to lay the resolution on the table.
Mr.. Tawney then moved to adopt the
resolution, which motion was carried by a
viva voce vote.
The resolution was as follows:
Resolved, That the Secretary of the
Treasury be, and he is hereby, requested 70
furnish the House of Representatives infor-
nation concerning the amount and charac-
ter of the material used in the manufacture
of oleomargarine by the several manufac-
turers, shown by the monthly duplicates
of pages one and two, of form two hundred
and sixteen for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1899: also for the month of December
of the same year, as returned by the various
manufacturers of olcomargarine throughout
the United States for the above periods"
Victory for Pure Food.
This is the first signal victory for dairy
and pure food legislation. 1t is considered
test Of strength and the advocates of re-
medal pure food legislation will now move
on the committee of agriculture in an en-
deavor to secure a report on the Grout bill.
Mr.. Charles Y. Knight secretary of the
National Dairy Union, who has been before \
Congress for the past two months in the in
terests Of the Grout oleomargarine bill,
said:
This is practically a test vote One or
two Of our friends from the ways and
means committee stood by the majority re-
port of the committee. but outside of that
the line closely drawn between the
friends and opponents of the Grout BILL
The roll call shows that practically every
member upon whom we count for two hun
dred votes for the Grout bill in the House
stood by the dairymen and friends of pure
food. Of course, we are all elated, and give
much credit to Mr.. Tawney for his SPLENDID