Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-06
MORGAN IN NITRATE FIEL
New York Banker is Organizing Big
English Syndicate.
BLOW AT ALLEGED BUTTER TRUST
Effort VIII he Made Mt Present Ses-
sion to Reduce the Tax on Col
Ored OIeOmarEarine -
"what is a Quartz"
From a staff Correspondent

OTrom a staff correspondent)
WASHINGTON. Jan. 5-(Special)-Press
dispatches from Valparaiso. Peru, an
nounce that there is a report current there
thai ]. Pierpont Morgan is organizing ar
English syndicate with a capital Of some
thing like ESQ, 600. 900 sterling to cover the
nitrate products Of the world. The islands
off the Pacific coast OF South America
have for years furnished practically all
the nitrate deposits of the earth, and PERU
and Chilli have fought several wars over
the control Of some Of these islands.
The recent death OF General w. w Dud-
ley, former commissioner Of pensions. com
bined with a report that Banker Morgan
is engaged In a plan to control the nitrates
Of the world, calls to mind the fact that
the so-called Landreau claim Is still I'M
settled. Landreau was an American citi-
zen who purchased q concession covering
one of the Peruvian islands rich In guano
deposits, and, as II is alleged, was deprived
Of his holdings. So far back as the days
Of Secretary Blaine this claim was a cause
celebre. 1t has been a subject of negotia-
ton for upwards Of three decades, and 1t
Is alleged that the Geneva tribunal de-
cided in favor of Landreau a year or two
ago, But the claim has never been settled,
Inc original LanuTedu Is ueau, MS grand
son has passed on, and one Of his attor-
neys, General Dudley, was buried here only
last week. General Dudley's surviving
partner, General Mitchner, is Of the opin-
ion that the attempt Of the Morgan syn.
dictate to control the nitrate deposits may
possibly result in the ultimate settlement
Of the Landreau claims. But "manana" is
the motto of the South American countries
and unless some vigorous Knoxian policy
is marked, 1t may be that several genera
tons will pass away before the Landreau
claim is settled, in spite Of the fact that
j. Pierpont Morgan is trying 10 control the
nitrate deposits of the world.
Now It's what IL Quartz"
President Taft answered the question
What is whisky greatly to the satisfac-
ton of the gentlemen engaged in combin-
ing two or three different Installations. At
torney General Bonaparte insisted that
whisky was the direct product of the still,
with no extraneous substances incorpo-
rated. Any product Of a rectifying estab-
lishment which contained more or less than
was produced from the dlstiller's worm was
according to Mr.. Bonaparte's ruling a com
pound and not whisky, but President Taft
has decided that what is known as whisky
commercial is whisky official from this
time on, and now he and his cabinet are
confronted with the question, What is a
quartz"
The new penal code which went into eff
feet January 1 provides that when liquors
whether splrituous, vinous or malt, are
shipped from one state to another the pack
age in which they are sent must in addi-
ton to giving the name of the consignee,
show plainly on the labels the character of
the contents and the quantities of same.
Ordinarily whisky is put up in bottles
five to the gallon. Commercially these
bottles are known as quarts, but the ques-
ton arises as to whether or not a ship
ment containing six OF these bottles can be
designated as six quarts or whether the
labels must show that there are exactly
six-fifths Of a gallon in the package. APP
parently there is no one yet competent to
answer that question. The railroads and
the express companies who are held re-
sponsible under heavy penalties for the
transport of shipments improperly labeled
have declined to render an opinion, the
law officers of the government will not an
swer questions from parties outside the ex-
ecutive departments, and the consequence
is that shippers are in a qaundary as to
where they stand. 1t is probable, therefore,
that President Taft will have to supple
ment his decision on the question Of What
is whisky" by deciding what is a quart"
Hit at Butter Trust.
Recent press dispatches have asserted
that there is a great trust in existence to
control the price of butter. 1t is asserted
that some Of the Chicago houses dealing
in dairy products have practically cornercd
the butter market with the purpose of
Fa-,Er- A. -. - tLl, ,zI-I $500
sity to a figure which will net them enor-
nous profits, which the consumer must
make good. on top of that statement Rep
resentative Burleson of Texas has intro
duced a bill which will shortly be consid-
cred by the committee on agriculture of
the house to reduce the tax on oleomar.
garine from 1c a pound to hc a pound.
The present tax Is Nc on uncolorcd oleo-
margarine, but II any colored matter what
ever is incorporated into the product II
will pay a tax of 10c a pound. Secretary
McVeagh is understood to endorse this
bill heartily on the ground that the lower
tax rate, providing some amendments to
the present law are adopted, will assure
the sale OF oleomargarlne for exactly what
It is and will at the same time increase tho
revenue. The Burleson bill will undoubt-
eddy meet with strenuous opposition on
the part or the so-called butter trust, hut
at the same time the high price Of butter
has induced many labor organizations and
other combinations OF consumers to urge
that the tax on the imitation product be
reduced, so that those who desire to lubri-
cate their food with a wholesome article
Of may not be forced to pay the
exorbitant tax Of 10 cents a pound for the
privilege of doing so. The present agita-
ton promises to be as acrimonious as that
OF 1890 which resulted in the forcing OF the
Grout bill through congress In spite OF the
fact that at least so per cent OF those who
voted for that measure were honestly Cd.
posed to its principles.