The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1910-1920, 1910-05-14
Oleomargarine and the South.
@HE AMAZING THING in all this oleo dis
NIX cussion is that Southern papers favor the
l3A9 removal of the tax on colored oleo for ths


u4NJ removal of the tax on colored oleo for the
benefit as they suppose, of the cottonseed oil
business. There is difficulty in any one getting
oleo cheaply IL he wants it. But in its I'M
colored state it is harder to pass 1t on as butter
Remove the tax and it would no longer be sold
cheap, but the maker would put the butter price
on it, and the guests at the hotels and restaurants
would be served with the stuff. The only possible
for coorng this grease is to enable 1t TO be
passed off as genuine butter. All talk about COM
polling it to be sold as oeo is pure nonsense. for
while the makers and the retailers may be COM
PEELED to sell it oleo some risk the
label will no longer be with it when 1t goes the
tables Of the hotels. 1t is far more important TO
build up the dairy interest in the South than to
help the trust that controls the oil business. But
ter is not colored to make it look like anything
else, while the grease of the packing houses mix
ed with little cottonseed oil. is colored to make
people think 1t is butter. while II is not. Remove
the tax coloring the stuff and the dairy inter
ess OF the country will die and will all have to
cat packing house waste for butter.
The Charlotte. n c.. Observer says that lone
American product seeks and actually enjoys
special privilege and protection at the expense of
another" Not The dairy interest simply
seeks to protect itself against the palming off of
an imitation in place Of the real product We have
no sort of objection TO the manufacture and sale
of oleomargarine in its natural condition, and the
only possible for coloring ii is to make IL
go as butter. Any American product should be
protected against something that tries to pass IT.
self off for the genuine article The dairy interest
has as good right to protection against fraud as
any other business. and one has right to i'm
pose on the public fraud at the expense OF a
legitimate product; and there will be no protec-
ton of real butter If the coloring of oleo is al
lowed.
The stock argument OF the oleo people Is tn a,
1t Is the poor mans butter. Well, IL the poor man
wants 1t, there is difficulty in his getting II
cheap In Its uncolored state. But once colored II
Will compete with butter and the fact is the poor
man does not want it or he would buy IL now The
effort Is to impose on everybody
AS the Editor of The Progressive Farmer and
Gazette has well said. the oleomargarine business
has no effect on the price of cottonseed OIL while
the purchase of cottonseed meal by the CROWNS
dairy interest of the South will make decided
difference in the amount of manure applied Il
Southern soils. and it is astonishing that South
ern papers will lend their aid to effort to de
stroy the dairy interests in the interest OF tn,
Western packing houses.
The greatest thing in the South-the creates
thing, for not only the farmers, but for all casse
of business men who are dependent the success
of agriculture-is the Improvement Of the soils O