Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-07-03
UP TO IOWA TO SAY WHETHER
STATE WILL STAND BY QUEEN
OF THE DAIRY.
USE OF oLEoMARGARINE
BEING GREATLY EXTENDED
Political Pot Begins to simmer-Gov-
ernor Carroll Probably Will Have
Opposition From Several Quarters -
Clarke, Garst, Rathbun and Others
Being Discussed.
Special to Times-Republican.

Des Moines, July 3.-Iowa's cows
must put up the fight of their lives.
The contest is on and it remains for
time only to tell whether the peo-
uine cows butter or be content With
the near butter product of the pack
ing house, commonly called oleomar-
garine. Hoard's Dairyman, the publ
cation issued by Ex-Governor Hoard of
Wisconsin in its last issue analyses
the situation and tells of the impending
fight which the farmers must make
with the beef trust in order to have
their butter put on the market without
having to meet the unfair competition
of oleo wearing a butter disguise.
In the last report of H. R. Wright,
state food and dairy commissioner OF
Iowa, it is shown that already the
packing houses have conducted such
a campaign as to induce a large num-
Der of people to use oleamargarine even
if it is white. The sales Of oleo-
margarine in Iowa are steadily on the
increase says the report. The Iowa law
prohibits the. sale. of yellow or butter
colored oleonargarine 1t must be soil
just as it comes from the factory, in
which condition it is quite white. The
beef packing concerns which manufac-
ture oleomargarine as bi-product have
been conducting d campaign of educa-
In, -$Ct0
use this stuff on their bread instead of
good yellow cows butter.
Now from Washington comes the in
formation that Billy Lorimer was
made senator of Illinois by the beef
trust and that he has been put there
for the purpose of getting a repeal of
the ten cent tax on every pound of
oleomargarine or a reduction at least
to two cents pound. State Dairy
Commissioner Wright in his report
states that the increased sales in this
state are due to the fact that the man
ufacturers are pushing the product and
also that contrary to the state law the
product nevertheless has a yellow color
and readily sells for butter.
There are now in the state of Iowa
something like 200 or more licensed
dealers of oleomargarine and the num-
Der is on the increase The manufac-
turers are pushing the sales and are
putting the product especially in the
cities and towns which are noted as
creamery centers. A number of prose-
cutions have been made thru the state
food inspectors of dealers who sell
oleomargarine which is colored The
state law provides that whether natur-
ally or arti6cially the oleomargarine
can not be sold if it has yellow color.
The natural product often times is
slightly colored without additional COL
oring matter being added but the sale
of this is prohibited as much by the
Iowa statute as tho it were artificially
colored.
The state spent considerable money
in defending this statute thru the
courts The dairymen and creameriss
claim that people will buy butter in
preference to oleomargarine if the two
products are put before them on their
merits but with the oleomargarine
colored yellow in imitation of butter
they will buy that because it is cheap
err. Now, however, 1t seems that the
/ beef packers are conducting such a
campaign for their packing house
product that people are being educated
to buy the oleomargarine when 1t is
even white or only slightly colored yell
low. The situation is alarming in the
minds of prominent dairymen and
creamery men and efforts are being
made to devise some plan to head off
the oleomargarine sales. But If con-
gress repeats the 10 cent tax or reduces
it to 2 cents they believe that it will
be almost impossible to compete with
the packing house product.
Iowa cities are not doing as much
to develop the interurban industry al
are large cities in other states. De:
Moines is asleep compared with othel
towns. A case in hand is that of ST
Joseph, Mo-, which is planning to build
an interurban railway from ST. JOSEPH
to Shenandoah, Iowa. The south ant
northwestern part of the state ought t.
Ibe rich field Of trade for the mer.
chants of Des Moines. The railroad
facilities over the steam roads from
that section is not adequate and hav,
beeu a source of complaint before the
state railroad commission. Interurban
to that section would mean big in,
crease in business for Des Moines. Blu
Des Moines is doing little or nothing
and st. Joseph has the preliminary ar
rangements made for putting in tn,
line and work is to be started the com