Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-01-27

and the strength ana SOnQltN OF tlleli
national character are widely recos-
nized.
THE oLEOMARGARINE TAX. :.
ISiouX City Journal
The present high prices for butter,
which it is predicted will continue un-
til we'll along IN the spring, have come
just in time to put in boost for the
Burleson bill reducing the tax on col
, ored oleomargarine. The bill fathered
by the Texas representative repeats
the present tax OF ]. Of / cent per
pound on uncolored oleomargarine and
10 cents per pound on colored oleomar-
garine, and substitutes flat tax OF
cents a pound on oleamargarine, col
cred or uncolored. The bill is now be-
fore the house committee OF agricul-
ture. from which it is sure TO emerge
with a favorable report. possibly with
the flat tax cut to cent per pound.
The democrats are said to be ready to
rally to its support. and the prediction
is that the bill will have no trouble
passing the house. What will happen
TO it in the senate is not known, but
ii is believed to stand a good chance
OF enactment
AiS ~ SSCilt lon VII NS-S->o
oleomargarine, accompanied by q nom
inal tax on the uncolored article. rep
reseats an effort to protect farmers
and dairymen from competition of the
oleomargarine manufacturers. Oleo is
IA cheaper product than butter. Col
ored with the same ingredients used
for coloring buttr, it can not easily be
told from butter, either by its appear
ance or flavor. Before the tax was
put on it was claimed that oleo often
vas sold as butter. Such a transaction
was held to be fraud. both upon the
consumer and the buttermaker. The
butter interests contended that they
had a right to be protected from this
fraudulent competition, which reduced
the price of butter by giving to
cheaper substitute large part of the
legitimate butter market. Efforts to
prove that there was anything in
furious or On Hholsome in oleo failed
All that was 'prbved against it was that
il was a cheap substitute for butter.
sometimes painled off as butter, and
I that its competition was hurting the
butter makers. The case as thus de-
veloped was sufficient to induce con
gress to impose what then seemed to
| he prohibitive tax on colored cleo.
The supposedly p-ohibitive tax has
not proved wholly effective in pre-
venting the use Of oleo as substitute
for butter. While the sale Of the COL
cred product by manufacturers was
suppressed. the way was left open for
the sale Of uncolored cleo. to be colored
| by a simple process in the hands OF
either the middle man or the con-
sumner. If a boarding house keeper
| wanted to serve oleo instead of butter
! he could buy uncolored cleo at say 90
cents a pound, work in a little ordi-
| nary butter color and serve the beard
ers something that looked like and
tasted like butter. Grocers who cared
| to take a chance could DO the coloring
and profit to the extent of 10 cents a
pound by the process. While the manu- :
| facturers for the most part have strict
| ly obeYed the law, the internal reve-
nue. department admits that it has not
! been possible to enforce 1t against
middle men who could make large
| profits by violating the law with slight
chance of detection. The revenue au-
thorities also admit that flat tax of
! ] or cents pound would yield much
more revenue than the low tax on UNI
| colored and the high tax on colored
cleo
! Oleomargarine manufacturers have
all along insisted that they were done
IN injustice when the effort was made
20 tax the colored product out Of ex-
istence. They could not, Of course
stand up for the right to let it mas
querade as butter. But so long as un-
wholesomeness could not be proved
against it they contended for the right
to sell 1t for what It was to those who
cared to use it as cheap substitute
for butter. The manufacturers are
willing now to meet any regulations
the government may prescribe in the
way Of having every package stamped
and otherwise identified as oleomar-
garine, SO that the buyer can not be de-
ceived into thinking he is buying
butter
The question OF readjusting the olec
tax has come up at a time when there
is much complaint about the cost OF
, foods. Unrestricted competition be-
) tween oleo and butter would have tbs
) effect Of pulling down the price o.
, butter. This looks bad from the view
; point Of the dairyman. and represen.
tatives Of the dairy interests In con
gress will oppose 1t. But cheaper but
| ter may look pretty good from thu
5 standpoint of the consumer and thos,
t statesmen who care to pose as repre-
e sentatives Of the large army Of con
j sumers. Thee nance for q decision II
: favor Of cleo is much brighter nov
j than when the battle was nrst Tough
t in congress.
PIONEER NEwsPAPERING.
(Ocheydan Press.1
n The following article was written >
: VIII NJ. Dunn, who in the long AZ