The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-05-17
'FHE
OIEOMARGARINE AND THE
SOUTH

AHS
OIHOMAFGARINE AND THE
SOUTH
The amazing thing in all this eteo
discussion IS tina Southern papers ia
yor the removal Of the tax on colOred
oleo for the benefit, as they
of the c~ottonseed oil business. There
Is no difficulty in any one getting oleo
cheaply now if he wants it But in It's
uncoiored state it IS harder to pass 1T
eff as butter. Remove the tax and 1t
would no longer be sold cheap, but
the maker would put the butter price
on ii, and the guests at the hotels
and ~staur would be served with
the stuff. The only possible reason for
coloring this Tea Is to enable it to
be passed off AS genuine butter. All
talk about compelling it to be sold
as oleo is pure nonsense, for while
the makers and the retailers may be
compelled TO sch 1t as oleo or run
some risk, the label will no longer be
with it when it goes on 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 on
trolls the oil business. Butter is not
colored to make 1t look like anything
>-se, while the grease of the packing
houses mixed with 3 little ~cottonssed
oil, Is colGred to make people think
1t Is butter. while it is not. Remove
the tax on coloring the stuff and the
dairy Interests OF the country will die,
and We will all have to eat packing
house waste for outer.
The Charlotte, y. G., Observer says
fhat one American product seeks
and actually en- 1ys special privilege
and protection ut the expense OF
another Not so. The DAIRY interest
simply seeks to protect itself against
the palrning off Of an imitation in
place or the real product. We have
no sort OF objection to the m~anufac-
ture n sale OF oleonn argarine in It's
hatural condition, and the only posi-
Ole reason for coloring it is to make
II go as butter. Any American pro-
ducts hould be protected against sofne-
thlns that tries TO pass itself off for
the genuine article. The dairy inter-
est has as good right to protection
against fraud as any other business
ana no one has a right to impose on
the puDnc a fraud at the expense or
a legitimate product; and there will
be no protection of real butter il the
coior1ng OF oleo IS allowed
me STOCK of the oleo
people is that it is the poor mans
.utIef. Wen, II the poor man wants
w. there IS no difficulty in his getting
III us uhcoiored state. But
once coioTed it will compete with b,t-
tex, ana the tact is the poor man does
not want it or he would buv II nov
II effort is to impose on everybody.
AS the editor Of the Progressive
faFiher and Gazette has we'll said. he
oleoInargarlne business has no effect
on the price Of ~cottonseed OF, while
the purchase of cottonseed meal nv
me w dairy interest of The
oouth VIII make a decided diTerenca
~ the amount of manure appiie to
oouti1ern soils, and it is ~astonfsbino
Cial southern papers will lend their
ar TO an effort to destroy the dairv
interests IN the interest of the west
ern packing houses.
lhe greatest thing in the South
the greatest thing, for not ONLY the
FARMERS, but for all classes Of hi,s;nasS
men who are dependent on the s,,cceaa
~ aSflculture-is the Improvement of
me SOILS of the South by better farm
ing and the feeding Of cattle. Talk
aoout men having a right to color
tne!r grease because dairymen color
.helr butter TO maintain a uniform
80, no man has a. right to initiate
anoliier mans product with q spu-
rlous article, and l repeat that # is
only because they want to sell olao
as outter that they want to color II
~ uoes not cost o%ne-third as much
70 MAKE oleo as it does to make hut-
Ter, ano the butter makers have a ,1ebt
10 De protected against fraud. T,aws
requiring the labelling Of it have All
proven useless, and the prohibition
VI coio!ihg II, except at a cost that
WIN give the butter maker a fair
chance. Is the only way to prevent lie
running the dairy interests Of the
country. If the people wanted cleo
they would buy 1t as readily uncolor-
ed as colored, but the makers knou,