Evening star., 1909-09-03
BITTER FIGHT AHEAD
Butter -OIeomargarine Clash
in Next Congress.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO PUBLIC
Secretary MacVeagh Favors Lower
Oleo Tax.
WANTS STRICTER LABEL LAW
Dairy and Cattle States Will Prob
ably Join the Issue-South
Interested, Too.

The oleomargarine and butter interests
of the country will fight bitterly in the
next Congress The forces are already
shaping up for the fray, and they repre-
se:r millions of money and thousands or
people on both sides.
The oleomargarine manufacturers Will
seek more reasonable laws while the
dairy and butter interests viii strive to
strangle the opposition by still more
stringent enactments by Congress. 1t VIII
be fight. too. of Importance to the pur-
chasing public, and it may make or un-
make a number of politicians who are
certain to become involved before it is
over.
Seven years ago the manufacture of
oleomargarine in the United States reach
ed 125,OoOOOO pounds year Then fol-
lowed the law put through Congress by
the dairy interests heavily taxing oleo-
margarine and making other requirements
that practically ended the industry for a
while. From 125,OOO.000 pounds a year
the output decreased until the total
amount annually was around JO.o0.Oo
pounds or less. with difficulty in diSposlnS
of the product.
Gradually the business has once more
increased, in spite of prejudice, until the
output of the product is over loo.Vo'ooo
pounds and the consumption is greatly
increasing. Two or three reasons are
given by experts for the increase. One
Is the disappearance of prejudice against
the product and another is the fast grow
ing prices of butter. In the big cities OF
the country butter will go beyond ~
cents a pound within a month, according
to butter dealers, and by the middle of
winter will probably go to 10 and %
cents, unprecedented figures
Butter Going Up.
The price of butter has steadily in
creased since the oleomargarine business
was first crippled The majority of the
restaurants of the country can't pay for
butter for their customers and serve
oleomargarine. Only an expert can tell
the difference and the average man eats
oleomargarine, when he doesn't know II,
with the same relish as butter. In the
city of Washington. despite the fact that
the government discriminates against
oleo, one large government institution.
with thousands of inmates, buys oleo by
the thousands of pounds year Char-
liable institutions here and in all parts
of the country buy the product and serve
it to their inmates. The institutions are
often hard pressed to meet their obllga-
tions and they can afford to buy oieo.
colored in imitation of butter, for % to %
cents a pound, when they could not give
80 TO 40 cents a pound for the product OF
the COW.
Seven years ago the oleo business was
in the hands of scattering manufacturers
Now 1t is being concentrated in the
hands of the great packing interests OF
the country. In few years 1t VIII be
almost exclusively handled by them. 1t
is these big concerns, with their millions
of money and great influence. that Will
lead the fight for more liberal laws. They
claim that but for these restrictive laws
millions of pounds of oleomargarine could
be imported from this country Curiously
enough, these big trusts now pose as the
poor mans friend They claim that but
ter is getting beyond the reach of the
poor man, and that if Congress will give
liberal laws oleomargarine, just as pure,
just as healthful, can be furnished to the
poor man for less than 20 cents pound,
and that no one beyond the purchaser
himself will know the difference.
The dairy interests will fight any change
in the laws. If they are TO be changed
at all they want stricter laws. with
heavier taxation. In Pennsylvania, New
York, part of the middle west and most
of the northwest the dairy interests are
strong and well organized. What they
say will go with senators and representa-
tives of their states. But the oleo peo-
pie are relying upon the cattle states of
the west and the south to furnish the
votes to make more favorable laws. The
south furnishes the cotton seed, forming
part of the makeup of oleo. while the
west furnishes the cattle, from which
another ingredient is had.
MacVeagh Favors Change.
Secretary MacVeagh favors a change
in the laws. and has had a bill drawn
up that will be presented to Congress
with his approval. The present law
taxes uncolored oleomargarine, which
looks something like lard, and is never
sold in the markets for butter. Il of a
cent per pound. The colored oleo. look
ing like butter is taxed 10 cents pound
Mr. MacVeagh proposes to tax oleo of
any color cents pound fiat, but at
the same time he proposes to make the
laws more stringent as to marking and
labelling.
Where colored oleo can now be passed
around as butter in quiet sort of way.
Mr. MacVeagh would have it that every
package should be carefully labeled, SO
that everybody would know what he was
buying. There would be no misrepre-
sentation, and if people want to use oleo
knowing it to be such, they ought to be
allowed to do without the heavy tax
alton now existing. This bill of the Sec
retary does not suit the butter people.
They want not only high taxation, but
stringent laws for marking so as to