Evening star., 1948-03-19
By Chalmers NJ. Roberts

One Of the most revealing public clashes
Of blatant self-interests seen on Capitol Hill
since vi day has just ended-the battle over
repeal Of the Federal taxes on oleomargarine.
The House Agriculture Committee, in five
acrimonious days Of public hearings, laid bare
the economic interests Of the two sides-the
dairy lobby backing butter and the soybean
and cotton Hobbies backing margarine.
The consumers Of the Nation-the millions
who buy and eat one or both Of the two
rival table spreads-received buckets Of croco-
die tears, but little real consideration.
On Tuesday the 27-man House COMMITTEES
voted, 16 to 10, to shelve the 10 margarine
tax repeal bills under consideration. With few
exceptions, the votes were cast In the interest
of one or another of the rival economic groups
rather than In the greater interest of the
public as a whole.
The butter market responded the next day
with whoop and holler-prices shot up as
much as 8 cents pound at the wholesale
level. The housewife is paying the bill today
In higher retail prices.
Since 1902 there has been 10-cents-a- pound
Federal tax on colored margarine and o quar-
ter-cent tax on the uncolored type. Hence
most housewives mix In the color themselves.
Along with the taxes are high license fees
designed to discourage and limit the number
of stores in which margarine can be bought
especially yellow margarine.
Yet according to the butter people. the sale
Of margarine in January Of this year was
greater than the sale Of butter for the first
time in history.
From the consumers standpoint-in the Dis
trict and in Virginia, for example-the question
is simply how to obtain margarine already
colored yellow and packed in convenient quar-
ter-pound blocks Just like butter.
State Laws Aggravate Problem.
In Maryland-and In "a other states-there
are State laws which forbid the sale Of col
ored margarine at any price Federal tax re-
peal would not affect the State laws, Of course
These State laws were enacted at the demand
Of the dairy and butter lobbies to buttress the
Federal laws in holding down-or killing of
the sale Of margarine.
But were these the issues debated" during
the five days OF House Agriculture Committee
hearings9 They were not.
On one Of the five days, some IA witnesses
who spoke for the consumers as such testified
for the tax repeal bills an average Of about
minutes each. That's all the committee heard
from the consumers.
For years the cotton interests in Congress
have tried to repeal the tax laws because one
Of the major ingredients in margarine is cotton
seed oil. They hope for an enlarged market
for their product.
In this years hearings they led the nght for
repeal. Most vocal Of their leaders were Rep
resentatives Poage Of Texas, Pace Of Georgia
and Abernethy Of Mississippi, all Democrats.
Leading the fight against them were Repre-
sentatives Andersen of Minnesota and Murray
Of Wisconsin. Mr.. Murray at one point said
he would prefer to eat lard rather than mar
garine. Both frankly represent the dairy
farmers and dairy interests.
But new factor was added this year-the
factor which really raised hopes that the Fed
eral taxes might be repealed.
The high price of butter? The rising wrath