Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1900 — OLEO BILL WINS OUT. [ARTICLE]

OLEO BILL WINS OUT.

Grout Measure Taxing Colored Butter* in# Passed bj a Decisive Vote. The Grout oleo bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 198 to 92. The bill was fiercely contested and the vote surprised the advocates of colored butterine, who did not look for such a decisive defeat. Representative Lorimer’s substitute bill, to prevent the sale of oleomargarine as butter, was defeated by 17ff to 113. Several heated personal encounters between Mr. Lorimer and his opponents marked the course of the debate. The bill as passed makes all articles known as oleomargarine, butterine, invitation butter or imitation cheese transported into any State or territory for consumption or sale subject to the police power of such State or territory, but prevents any State or territory from forbidding the transportation or sale of such product when produced and sold free from coloration in imitation of butter. The bill Increases the, tax on oleomargarine colored in imitation of butter from 2 to 10 cents a pound and decreases the tax on oleomargarine uncolored from 2 cents to *4 cent a pound. Mr. Grout produced figures to show that oleomargarine cost less than D cents a pound and was worked off on the public'" by the retailer at from 18 to 30 cent# a pound. He gave a practical illustration Of the manner in which— oleomargarine Is sold by having brought into the House a boxful of packages of what looked like butter. Each was wrapped in brown wrapping paper. The packages were passed around, and after they had been examined Mr. Grout defied any one to tell whether they contained butter or oleomargarine. Then he turned up a corner s’ ibe wrapping paper which had been apparently carelessly folded down and displayed the printed sign “Oleomargarine.”