Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-02-07
That is the Charge Against Salt
Lake Product Made In
The Senate.
COMPETITION IS DESTROYED.
Manufactures Suggests an Amendment
To Law Barring Wet Butter MS Well
As the short Weight Product.

salt Lake has not only been buying
fourteen-ouncc pounds of butter, but
apparently has suffered In addition from
having several ounces of the furteen
made up of excess water, making what
is known in the trade as water
logged butter 1t offectually drives
out attempts to make better goods at
honest weights for sale in competition,
Senator Seoly exposed the conditions
In the butter market III the rooms of
The senate committee Oh rnanufactur-
ers and commerce yesterday afternoon.
After making his declarations as to
butter frauds, he produced letter
from n prominent Utah manufacturer
declaring that he could not market his
goods in Salt Lake because water
logged' butter controlled the market,
He suggested that butter containing
more than IS per cent of moisture be
barred as an impure product"
DARYafAN's VIEW.
The letter is as follows:
Senator seely's measure in rea
ton to the weight of butter is good
measure and Will help us materially.
II does not go far enough. however.
The bill should provide that it will
also be unlawful to sell butter con-
tanning more than Is per cent of
water. The good people of salt Lake
today are paying for Ia per cent more
water in bulk Of the butter than they
should do. If the short weight and
water-logged butter is kept out it
may be that we can again get on the
Salt Lake market. we have not sold
a pound of butter on that market for
two years on account OF this unfair
competition.
II enclose you clippings from the
Dairy Press published at san Fran
cisco, stating that the people of that
city are getting tired of paying for so
much water. and that they are going
to get even by enforcing the national
law of 1902. OF course, we could do
the same, but inasmuch as this bill is
up we think 1t should cover this
point"
GRAFT IN BUTTER.
The article referred TO from the san
Francisco Dairy Review is as follows:
THAT number OF creamerles in
California are likely to contribute lib
orally. II unwiljngly 10 Uncle Sam 5
treasury seems to be indicated by re-
cent developments. The Review has
many times warned our creameries that
IN trying 10 crowd an excessive amount
of water into their butter they were
taking chances of getting into trouble
with the internal revenue department
of the federal government. owing to
the slowness Of these officials to act
the water fraud has been carried on
with extreme blodress. But while the
MA al ho oil tn, ,rti r,t,
there is something about them when
they do get into action, that never
stops half ways.
Although little or nothing has ap-
peared To attract attention, it has been
known that for some months that
agents of the treasury department have
been on the trail of a number OF the
creameries in California and have
gradually come so near to roundup
that it cannot be kept quiet any long
en- The work is being done under the
authority of the internal revenue dis
trict whose office in charge of Collector
John c. Lynch, Is located In San
Francisco. In addition to the local Of
flcers q special representative of the
internal revenue department at Wash
ngton has been on the ground to direct
the work and information has leaked
out 10 the effect that samples have
been taken from q number of creamer-
les and among them quite few have
been found 10 have eVaded paying the
internal revenue tax of 10 cents a
pound by reason of their having over l6
per cent water In their product. In one
case it is stated that over 30 per cent
has been found.
When the officers of the internal reve-
nue. service discover that butter
producer has been making a practise
of exceeding the lawful limit OF water
In his butter without paying the IL
censes and taxes required. his books
are seized and the amount of butter
made in this way is determined and
tax Is levied at 10 cents n
pound, which must be paid at once or
the creamery Is seized and put out OF
business and the owner goes TO jail. II
is reported that creameries In the east
have been compelled to pay large sums
in this way under protest, which they
can only recover by bringing suit
against the government There Is re-
port current To the effect that by the
time the officers get through with the
California creameries they have detect
cd In the Illegal business of loading
their butter with water that they will
have secured from $4,000 to 100000 In
taxes. Creameries that are involved
are located in all parts OF the state.
The action OF the government IN this
matter Is based upon the federal law
passed in 1902, which imposes a tax OF
10 cents pound on adulterated butter.
One feature that makes butter COME
under the head of adulterated goods is
when the water contained exceeds
certain maximum TO be prescribed by
the secretary OF agriculture. The max
imum decided on Is l6 per cent, il Is
for making this kind OF butter that
some Of our creameries win have 10
suffer.