The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-10-16
The Dairy.
THE CIRCUIT BILL.

NCeGA-E
Correspondence Of The Progressive Farmer.
The Grout bill failed to pass at the
last session of Congress, but Deem
Der 9th IS the date set for it to be
taken I'D at the coming session. Why
it should then receive votes enough
to pass when it was not allowed to
pass at the last session Is not clear to
the writer, though doubtless it Is to
those who gave the matter closer at
tentiOn than he was able to give.
That it ought to become a law can
hardly be questioned by anyone who
understands the needs Of the dairy
interests of this country.
The agricultural and dairy jour
mails are entitled to a good deal of
credit for their constant efforts to
secure the passage of the Circuit bill.
Those publications have, almost
without an exception, been very
watchful and have lost no OppOrtun-
ity TO encourage and aid the friends
of the bill who were specially look
ing after its interest.
So many mentions have been made
in the agricultural and dairy papers
of the Importance of every dairy
man writing the Congressman from
his Own Congressional district that
it may unnecessary to refer to
it in this letter, yet reference is so
made. and, because it Is d matter Of
so much Importance and there IS
such an amount of capital pitted
against the passage Of the GrOut bill
that no stone should be left unturned
by its friends. There is no danger
of doing too much to secure its pass
age if done honestly and discreetly.
The friends of oleOmargarine and
the enemies of the GrOut bill and all
other legislation having for its OBJ
ject the requirement that it and
similar bogus products be sold for
what they really are, have the great
advantages of great wealth to aid
them in the support of their claims,
both as regards their own product
and as regards the character and OBJ
ject of the Grout bill-especially the
latter.
The efforts of the enemies of the
GrOut bill have been expended in
several directions, but the one quite
as noticeable as any is in deceiving
the general public as to its real ma
ture. They would have the non
dairying public understand that the
object of the GroUt bill is to tax cleo
margarine ten cents per pound and
thereby drive it out Of the market
to the great detriment of the poor
men who cannot afford to buy gen
uine butter.
Now the facts areas readers Of
agricultural papers knOw-that if
OleOmargarine IS cOlOred in a way to
resemble pure butter the tax is to be
ten cents per pound. But if not 50
cOlOred it is to be One-fOurth Of d
CCAI pei pJDAAA-dS 4CLL4CLL4DC1Cu II
the makers of oleomargarine want
to help the poor man, let them not
only put their product on the market
for what it IS, but also make it i'm
possible for the retailer to do other
wise. No one believes that the aver
age maker Of oleOmargarine will
violate the present law by selling
OleOmargarIne for anything other
than what it Is. But the trouble
comes later when the retailer palms
it off for genuine butter which he
can easily do because of its close e
semblance to that product Of the
dairy. When this trouble is cor
rected the poor man" for whose
welfare the friends of OleOmargarine
evince such great anxiety will be
able to buy that product several
cents lower per pound than he has
thus far been obliged to pay and then
he will not buy it unless he prefers
it to butter because the latter will
cost more. As it is now, he buys
Oleomargarine, ~supposing it to h
butter, and pays as much fori many
times as genuine butter Of Il g,<Ia
quality would cost, and this he a94<
because deceived by the rctniIer
Dairymen, see to it hat the Gr"at
bill becomes a law.
+. w. MOsKLEY.