A plausible pretext for such legislation is afforded by the
fact that the butter substitutes are so much like butter that they
cannot be easily distinguished from it unless the use of annatto is
permitted to butter and prohibited to its competitors. Fradulent sales
of substitutes of any kind ought to be prevented, but the recent pure
food legislation in America has shown that it is possible to secure
truthful labeling without resorting to such drastic measures. In Europe
the laws against substitution were very strict, but not devised to
restrict the industry. Consequently the margarin output of Germany
doubled in the five years preceding the war and the output of England
tripled. In Denmark the consumption of margarin rose from 8.8 pounds per
capita in 1890 to 32.6 pounds in 1912. Yet the butter business,
Denmark's pride, was not injured, and Germany and England imported more
butter than ever before. Now that the price of butter in America has
gone over the seventy-five cent mark Congress may conclude that it no
longer needs to be protected against competition.
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