Evening star., 1902-02-01
TO PREVENT FALSE MARKS
FAVORABLE REPORT ON THE BILL
MADE TO THE HOUSE.
How the Public II Deceived by the
Inscriptions Counterfeiting of
Brands and Labels.

A favorable report has been made to the
House by the committee on commerce on
bill to prevent the false branding or mark
Ing Of food and dairy products.
During the Fifty-sixth Congress this
committee gave hearings to persons ap-
pearing in favor OF bill Identical with
this, and the necessity for such legislation
was explained at length.
There are no interstate commerce laws
which adequately protect any state or ter
ritory from the efforts of designing un-
scrupulous dealers from outside the parttc-
ular state or territory to impose upon the
public food or dairy products. branded or
labeled as the product of state or terri
tory famous for the production of GER
tain commodity or luxury, which, In TACT,
not for such brand or label, could be placed
upon the market only at a less price, and
sometimes not at all, were its true charac-
ter known
Counterfeit Labels.
This fact Is particularly true of two ar
ticles-cheese and maple sirup. In almost
every store in any of the large cities may
be found packages labeled Vermont maple
sirup," which was never produced in Yer
| mont, and some of which Is entirely arti-
fetal. yet which is sold at the highest price
because OF the laDel WnlCn II CdETieS al
the matter of cheese and butter this prac-
tice is carried still further because of the
greater demand. The cheese producers OF
New York, Pennsylvania. Wisconsin and
other states have suffered much from this
evil in the past and, If the practice is con-
tinued in the future, there Is danger OF
many markets being lost to them. In New
York state alone there are nearly 2,e0e
cheese and butter factories and in Wiscon-
sin a considerably larger number. Each
factory in New York bears a number, and
is compelled. by state law to attach that
number to every box of cheese turned out,
so that the state authorities are enabled
to at once designate the factory which
produced either one or ,0CO cheeses. 1t Is
a well-known fact that New York state
cheese commands as high a price as any
made, either in this country or in Europe.
Inferior Sold for Genuine.
1t has been discovered that dealers prin-
cipaly in the west, have been counterfeit
ing these brands and have been shipping
very inferior grades Of cheese, labeled New
York state full cream cheese" with bo-
gus number. or count erfeit of the number
of certain factory, not only to New York.
but to Europe. much of it going across the
water via Montreal.
1t Is on record before the committee that
one dealer, who refused to fill an order with
the counterfeit label and number, lost q
large amount of business, which was taken
elsewhere, but such honest action unfor-
tunately, Is not always the rule. So far as
has been ascertained, there is at present no
legislation which can be successfully in
voked to put stop to such practices. That
Is the object Of this bill. Its passage would
entail no appropriation no establishment of
an extra bureau, or division in any depart
ment of the government, but the duty Of
carrying 1t out would rest principally upon
the departments of the various states af-
fected.
1t Is believed the enactment of the bill
INTO law would correct the evils which it
Is intended to correct