The Iola register., 1902-07-25

,ailer, every grocer will soon be
handling it instead of only one or two
IN a town as heretofore.
The REGISTER is not much given to
saying "I told you so' but in this
instance we find it pretty hard to re-
sist the temptation. AS representa-
tive in Congress the editor Of this
paper worked and spoke and voted |
against the Grout bill. He was Sc
verely criticised for this action by |
that the Grout bill was drawn in the
interest of the farmer, and that any
one who opposed 1t was an enemy
of the farmer. The Kansas State
Dairy Association even went SO
far as to send circular letter to
every delegate to the Republican
State convention demanding that he
be not renominated for Congress on
account of his vote on this measure,
But who will deny now that he has
been completely vindicated by the
tOklC vi ONOnbbE Ills WOO
that under this bill one OF two things
would certainly bappen: Either the
oleomargarine industry would be
injured or il would not be
If it we're injured, then Con
gress had used its power to tax, in an
oppressive and unjust way. If tit we're
not injured, then the bill would result
in no advantage to the creamery man
or the farmer. Experience thus far
has demonstrated the latter con lecture
to have been the right one. The bill
has not hurt the oleomargarine in
dustry. On the contrary it has
greatly helped it, Instead of paying
tax of two cents a pound, the manu-
facturer of oleomargarine hereafter
will pay but one.quarter of cent a
pound, and instead of paying an an
nual license tax OF forty eight dollars,
the retail dealer willhereafter pay but
six dollars a year. At KansasCity, for
example, the Government revenue col
lector reports that instead of collect
ing forty or fifty thousand dollars
every month hereafter from the packers,
s he has been doing, he will collect but
four or five thousand dollars a month.
In other words, taking the country
over, the first and most easily noticed
effect of the operation of the great
Grout bill is to take about two million
dollars year out of the treasury of
the United States and turn IL into the
pockets of the manufacturers of oleo-
margarine. In the light OF experience
who should have been accused of
working in the interest of the packers,
the,men who supported the Grout bill
or those who voted against it?
1t is easy enough to see now why
the packers had no lobby at Wash.
ington to try to defeat the bill. But
can anyone see why the American
farmer should have been SO anxious
to have the bill passed? With just as
much oleomargarine sold as before
and the prospect of largely increased
sales on account of greater profit by
reason of the reduced tax, it is likely
that it will be less a competitor of
country butter than formerly?
And what has the creameryman got
out of it? 1t is not denied that the
creameries are wholly responsible for
the agitation which resulted in the
passage of the bill. They Clipped in
and hired Mr.. Charles y. knight, of
Chicago, editor Of a dairy paper to
spend the winter at Washington lob
bying for the bin, Mr.. Knight kept
seven or eight clerks busy sending out
! literature which resulted in flooding
Congress with postal cards demand
ing the passage of the Grout bill. Men
who spoke and voted for the bill con
fessed to the writer of this afterwards
that their real sentiment was exactly
the same asours, but the pressure from
their districts was too strong for them
20 resist. The creamery men were re
sponsible for this pressure. They did
not deny that they wanted the law
passed in order that they might be rid
of the competition of oleomarg arine,
That is what they wanted; what have
they got? Well, they have acquired
the privilege of paying fifty dollars a
year to the Government for the right
to manufacture renovated or process
butter (worked over country butter
and OF paying tax of one-fourth of a
cent pound on all their product to
defray the expense of the rigid gov
ernment inspection to which they must
submit, We hope they will be able to
figure it out some way that they are
ahead of the game, but to casual
observer it looks like a case of poetic
retribution, with the oleomargarine
people enjoying the poetry and the