Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-17
House Agricultural Committee
Split on Lever Bill.
REACHES NO CONCLUSION
Measure, Therefore, Is Not Reported
Today, as Was Expected.
COLOR UPsETS AUTHORITIES
Some Say Oleo Can Be Designated in
That Manner, While Others
Say It Cannot.

After being in executive session for
nearly one hour the House committee on
agriculture split itself in two and came
to no conclusion in the matter Of the
Lever bill. which was framed to impose
a tax on oleomargahne, and to place Ger
tain drastic conditions around its sale.
The bill. therefore, was not reported to
the House today. as expected. and at
present there is no telling what kind Of
compromise viii be made ne. TO- get ret, this or
The Lever bill has been strongly COM
bated by oleomargarine interests. and 1t
has also been opposed by butter manu-
facturers. who declare that the bill
graph providing that butter and oleo-
margarine should be Of different color so
that when it is served on table any one
could instantly detect the difference.
This paragraph is actually included In
the Haughen bill. which was discussed be-
fore the committee this morning to some
extent.
Previous to the vote Of the committee
on agriculture q general onslaught on the
boarding house and hotel habit of serv-
buffers commanded the attention Of the
committee for two hours and a half; and
this simple proposition was developed
into a series Of speeches on high
and lofty planes. from the argument OF
the simple agriculturist up to the techni-
cal argument Of an assistant physicist
OF the bureau OF standards.
Do Not Agree on Color.
One thing is clear. and that is that the
bureau of standards has little regard for
the opinion Of Commissioner OF Internal
Revenue Cabell, who said it Is not pos
sible or feasible to make a standard of
color whereby butter and Oleo could be
told apart at a glance. In fact. l. G..
Priest. assistant physicist at the bu-
reau. went so far as to state that Mr.
Cabell's testimony before the committee
is unintelligible to q scientist,
The men who appeared today were in
the main arguing from the standpoint of
dairymen. although each speaker claimed
that the entire world Of agriculture is In
favor Of color difference between oleo
and real butter. n. p. Hull. represent
ing the National Dairy Union. led the
butter forces. and laid down his PROPOSE
ton in simple form when he said that
"a man is defrauded when he asks for
butter and gets something else; and
there is opportunity for wholesale fraud
under the Lever BILL
DR.. Stratton, director of the bureau of
standards, says he can measure color
course. there is always a little differ
ence," he added. "All we want is a
regulation which will make 1t easy for
the man who wants butter to get butter.
The Lever bill will injure the dairy in
dustry because it does not protect the
dairyman. 1t will drive the dairy bust
ness off the face Of the earth, and will
drive the mother OF the beef steer out.
In the place of existing conditions we
will have no butter, no beef, and oleo
will rise to a price beyond that which
We pay for butter now"
Practical to Fix Color.
l. G. Priest Of the bureau Of standards
argued that it Is practical to fix a stand
ard Of color and that it would be easy
to maintain a practical standard so that
to all intents and purposes 1t would be
an easy matter to tell butter from 1mi-
tations. Prof. Oscar Err of the Ohio
State University said that the Danish gov
butter and limitations and that it Is rig
idly adhered to. e. c. Atkinson, pro
lessor Of animal husbandry at the West
Virginia State University. said:
"There is one point of irreconcilable
difference between butter makers and
proposition that the man who eats but
ter wants to know 1t and the man who
eats cleo wants to know it. Butter can't
be produced for less than 30 cents a
pound and cleo can be produced for II
cents. The actual result will be that but
ter will 20 out and cleo will be the only
thing we can get, and the price Of that
will be enormous
w. H. Vary. WATERFOWL. N. Y, master
Of the New York State Grange; William
Lee Saunders, dairy and food commits
sioner of the state Of Virginia. and
argued in favor of a color line between
the two products.