The Washington herald., 1912-01-30
IN
COLORED OLEO
TAXING Counterfeit Butter Does Not In.
crease The Cost Of LIIllg-DllT
Interests for Square Deal,

When oleomargarine first came upon
the market as a somewhat common
article Of commerce. II proved a great
temptation to many dealers. for the
reason that dash OF added color made
Il a good counterfeit OF butter. and
made possible the selling Of the imi-
tation at a near-butter price. conse-
quentIy, in many instances, producers
paid an extra 10 to 15 cents per pound
for the imitation. and many times they
were given oleomargarine when they
called for and preferred butter. This
fraudulent business was carried TO
such an extent that regulatory laws
were passed in a majority Of thesstates
and the aid Of the Federal govern
ment was invoked. through the ma
chinery OF the Internal Revenue Bureau,
in the shape OF 2-eent tax.
This Federal legislation did not work
as well as was anticipated. and the
law was amended in 1909. In that
amendment the dominant thought was
to draw a sharp line between honest
oleomargarine and the counterfeit OF
butter In order TO show the willing
ness OF those promoting this legisla-
tIon to put as little restriction as pos
sible on the sale of honest natural
oleomargarine. the tax on that product
was practically repealed-that is. IL
was reduced from cents per pound
TO a mere nominal amount for ad-
ministrative purposes: while on the
other hand the tax on the counter
felt was increased from cents TO 10
cents per pound. with the idea of de-
terring fraud.
The operation Of this law has been
dististefuI 10 the oIeomsrEarine In
tsrests, which are largely the packers
OF Chicago. and they have attacked IL
in courts and elsewhere because their
sales would be larger and their profits
increased II nothing restrained them
from counterfeIting butter.
LAtterIy. they have carried on q
shrewd and persistent propaganda by
putting out deceptive literature. espe-
eially to women's clubs, labor orgsnI-
nations, &c, in a determined effort to
create a popular impression that the
tax on oleomargarine Is responsible
for the high price of butter and en-
hanced cost OF living. The fsIsity OF
such claim Is proved by the fact that
81 per cent OF the oleomargsrine manu-
factured during the last fiscal year
l..
untaxed. and any person who preferred
oleomargarine at 20 to 25 cents per
pound to butter at the prevailing
higher price could get oleomarEarine
without any dificulty. The , per cent
counterfeit butter-that paid the 10
cent tax is a mere bagatelle. and can
have no possible influence on the leEiti-
mate cost OF living. This fact Is fur
ther proven by frequept statements in
the commercial papers relative TO the
trend of the butter market The New
York Commercial of Friday. January
-, said: That the price on best grades
OF creamery butter will not reach the
so cents a pound mark is the opinion
VI sChAN VI AAN bCGN pOsANo opNNaNoES
in the New York wholesale market.
Many big retail grocers are said to be
pushing the sale of oleomarEarine at
25 cents" A recent issue OF che New
England Grocer. one of the leading
trade papers in the country. said edI-
torially: we are pretty well satisfied
that the butter market has reached
about. II not quite. it's highest level.
This opinion is based upon the fact
that the rising trend in values has
been checked by an increased supply
and also by a marked falling on in
consumption. Many OF the large re-
tail grocers are pushing the sale OF
oleomargarine. which retails at about
90 to 2B cents a pound
This shows that oleomsrgarine. prac-
tieally untaxed. can be secured by
people who desire TO economize. as an
honest substitute for butter and at a
reasonable price. Were the ban on
colored oleomargarine removed. much
OF the kind now going into eonsump-
ton at 20 TO rs cents per pound would
cost the consumers 10 to Is cents more.
The Increase. taken from the consum-
ers. would go to swell the bank ae-
counts OF the beef packers and other
manufacturers
In spite OF the facts in the case. the
oleOmarssrine interests have sue
ceeded TO a considerable extent in
creating a popular prejudice against
the tax on the counterfeit article.
which. coupled with some administra-
tive defects in the law. has given rise
to an attempt In Congress TO change
IT, The attitude OF the producers OF
and dealers in butter is that color
line is vital in distinguishing between !
an honest. useful product and coun-
terfeit, and that the amount Of the
tax Is immaterisi. providing the basis
for honest dealing Is retained. The
butter interests are willing to have All
taxes practically eliminated II counter
teiting can be stopped.