Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-01
President w. F. Jensen of Cream
cry Company Gives in De-
tail Some Causes
FOR RECENT RECORD RISE
Interesting Statements Regarding the
Oleomargarlnc ntcrcsts-Advanccss
In the Cost of Production.


price of butter continues unabated. In
accordance with Its policy of presenting
both sides Of a question. The News
prints the following article contributed
by Mr.. Jensen, president of the Jensen
Creamery company. giving his views
as to the cause of the high price of
butter:
Editor News-The price of butter is
now higher than II has been for Is
years. This necessary product has al
most become a luxury, and it is natural
that the public and the press arc seek
ing TO discover the cause of these high
prices. Having followed this business
for 20 years. and made study of same,
can perhaps give you the main CAUSES.
and will endeavor to do So
OLEo INTERESTS.
For many years there has been a
constant warfare between the producer
and dealers in pure butter and .he
imitation product called oleomarsarine
or butterine. Olcomargarine is MANU-
factured, principally. from taliow,
lard. cotton seed oil and a certain per-
centage OF butter. The best and sX-
tain 80 per cent of butter and fae
cheaper grades contain very little but
ter. Oleomargarinc is perhaps pure
product. but the public must remember
that 1t Is not an easily digested food.
The melting point of butter Is IS de-
grees, which is the temperature oil the
human body. making butter very
easily digested food and same can pe
fed to babies. II / remember correctly
the melting point Of tallow is 1l9 te-
grces, and thus oleomargarinc Is not
ain easy food to digest. Perhaps W per
cent of the oleomargarine Is manufac-
tured by Armour & Co.. the Swltt
Packing company. Cudahy. Nelson.
Morris and other large meat packers
The meat packers have also become
the largest buyers and distributors of
butter in this country. 1t is we'll
known among butter dealers that thcy
are today large owners of storage but
ter, so they are In a position to boost
the price of butter and thus open up
market for oleomargarine, which Is the
product they desire TO sell; and per-
haps through their publishing bureau
they expect to influence legislation 30
as to open wide the sale of oleomat-
garine for and in the stead of butter.
This winter the publishing bureau OF
the oleomargarine interests. through
the press of the country, is trying to
establish in the public mind that there
is a butter trust. and that the public
is imposed upon by said butter trust.
Aside from the influence the oleomar-
garIne interests can bring to bear In
advancing butter prices there is per-
haps no food manufacturers in the
United States that Is less under the
control of special interests. 1 know of
no man in this country that has made
much money from dealing In butter.
and the history Is complete with fall
ure. There is perhaps no industry IN
which the competition is so keen, and
the farmer. the producer of dairy prot-
ucts. is the man who is getting the
money. In all OF the intermountain
country the milk producer Is today re-
ceivIng from 36 to 42 cents per pound
for butter fat.
PUBLIC WANTS THE BEST.
Another cause of high prices Is the |
fact that the American public is moro |
and more demanding the best of every |
thing, and that is true of butter. There |
is practically no sale for the grade Of |
butter that does not possess the best |
qualities. The inspection of COWS for |
tuberculosis and the killing of stock |
found infected with this disease is |
necessary reform, but we cannot close |
our eyes to the fact that 1t has in |
troduced risk among the COW own |
ers. and is keeping many of them back |
and discouraging them / believe |
law should be enacted. and that the |
state should compensate the owners |
of tubercular COWS when Same arc |
killed for the public good
HIGH PRICED GRAIN
With corn go cents a bushel. wheat |
81 a bushcl. hay SIS to $40 per ton all |
over the Missouri and Mississippi val |
Ieys. there is not much encouragement
for milking COWS. The farmers arc |
becoming rich without milking cows, |
and all reports that we receive from
the east go to show that the great mid |
die west is now producing from 40 to |
90 per cent less butter than has been
produced IN the last four years. at this |
time OF the year. The middle west, |
by which I mean Illinois. Missouri. |
Iowa. Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Da-
Rotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklaho-
ma, is the only section in this country |
where more butter is produced than the |
states themselves can use for home 1
consumption: and this middle west Is |
supplying butter to all the other states |
In greater or lesser quantities; and |
when the production in these middle |
western states falls of or decreases
40 to so per cent. producing less but ,
ter than they have produced in 25 |
years, then we must expect an increase |
In prices and 1t becomes easier for |
the special interests, such as the meat |
packers who are Interested in oleomar-
garlne. to advance the price of butter |
beyond what Is reasonable and fair |
The late spring of 1909, when COWS |
were more or less starved In all parts !
of the country on account of shortage |
OF feed. has also been a factor in a |
small butter production. When a COW |
Is starved in the spring she does not
recover during that season How
ever. these high prices ought to be u
stimulant to the production, so we NAV
hope that in the future prices of but
ter may become more reasonable.
There is great need of education
and instruction among the milk and
cream producers so that dairy products
can be produced at lower cost Edu-
cation Will accomplish reform quicker
and better than fines and the force of
law. w. =. JENSEN. President
JENSEN CREAMERY COMPANY
A HORRIBLE HOLD-UP.