Mexico weekly ledger., 1912-03-14
BILL MUCH
OPPOSED BY DAIRY
MEN IN MISSOURI

The Lever Bin which is designed
bs the Beef Trust to remove me
tax IN colcred oleomargardne, plac-
ing il o a plane with butter, is
meeting with much opposition espec.
tally among the dairy men The DEL
which Is now In the hands Of me
Committee on Agriculture is about
to be released.
'The passage OF this bill win XII
the dairy industry in u state
sags p. w. Brandt, secretary Of
State Rairy Association.
In a letter TO ]. T. Van Note, Of
this city, Mr.. Brandt says:
Columbia, Mo-, Feb. 20. 1912.
Mr.. /. T. Van Note.
Mexico. Nc.
Dear sir:-
The Lever Bin which ] wired you
about Is designed by the Beef
Trust to remove the tax on colored
oleomargarine. placing it on a
plane with butter. The bill Is about
Ito be released from the Committee
on Agriculture because of political
pressure. 1t was understood by
dairy interests that a compromise
would be effected In the Committee.
a telegram informed us Of the
change. /
The passage OF this bin will KIN
the dairy Industry in our State, As
$40 900 goo worth Of dairy pro
ducts were produced IN Missouri
last year you can Q what that
means TO the farmer.
Please have all Influential farm
ers wire or write to their congress-
man as 10 the attitude of the farmer.
Many OF our representatives do not
know how large the dairy industry
lie In Missouri. We must let them
know at once.
Trusting that you wal cooperate
] am
Yours very truly,
p. NJ. BRANDT,
Sec'y state Dairy Assn
/. r. Van Note told a Ledger re-
porter that dt is not the
tax that is the subject Of conten-
ton. u is the color problem. Mr.,
Van Note said.
Butter producers are much mis-
represented In their position on the
oleomangarine question.
They have been accused Of al
most everything. from combining in
Interest to willfnlly getting togeth.
Ter to boost the cost OF living The
a~bsurdity OF such accusations
apparently is not appreciated by
some consumers who have gotten
into their heads that the tax on
colored oleo is responsible for the
high price of butter. The absolute
faHsity of such impression is proved
by the fact that 81 per cent o
the cleo manufactured during the
past year was uncolored. therefore
taxed and that anyone ~preferring
oleo at Is cents per pound to butter
at prevailing prices could get il
with out any difficulty.
1T is ct the tax that is the bone
Of contention in proposed oleomar
garine legislation. 1t is the color
question. II oleo is not colored and
not sold as butter. there wia be no
demand Cor taxing It. It Is the
wholesale countcrfeiting OF the pro
duct that the dairy men obieet to.
There Is no eason FOR the adyo-
cacy Of an excessive tax except that
1t serves as The hest method for
prohibiting Imitation.
III this can be prohibited BY any
other method well and good. The
dairy mems interest in the whole
question begins and ends in the sim.
pie and righteous demand that oleo
be sold as oaeo, and not as butter
the product to stand on It's own true
merits.
There Will be nc objection to re-
ducing the tax. for which oleo inter.
esss are SO strenuously contending.
providing a law bo substituted and
enforced which viii prohibit the
manufacturing and sale Of the pro-
duct in semblapce or imitation Of
This cleo question IS not only of
Interest to the dairymen but to ev-
cry farmer and consumer who
feels that in order to keep out monor
cliles there must be competition. l
do not think that to repeal the tax
oleo and allow It to be sold as
butter viii not make it cheaper to
the consumer but Will add one more
monopoly to the already to many"