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290
1913]
notorious. It is true the vendors generally comply with the law by wrapping
the article in a paper with the word "margarine" stamped on it in letters of
a certain size; but even this law has been practically evaded by some cunning
traders who stamp the word on the bottom of the bag in which the article is
wrapped so that when the purchase rests on the counter the word is not seen;
and, indeed, the customer may never notice the stamp, or only see it on
arrival at home, if even then. And yet the full price for butter had been paid.
Private sampling in Islington has revealed that certain traders in poor neighbourhoods
are continually palming off margarine for butter, at the same time
charging the price of butter for the article. The efforts of our Inspector to
detect these culprits are constant, and it is a satisfaction to know that more
than one has had to leave the Borough because of his efforts. Indeed, during
the year, two of these dishonest traders, one of them a well-known man, living
in the same road not far from each other, were convicted for fraudulently
selling margarine for butter, with the result that the man above mentioned
has now left the neighbourhood, and when it became known another trader,
who had often complained of their dishonest dealings, found that his trade
went up ten pounds a week. There is no reason why margarine should not be
sold to-day for what it is—a good, wholesome nutritious article of diet.
Labelling should be abolished, and if it is to be earmarked at all it should be sold
uncoloured, although this is not recommended. It is a distinct article of food, and
its manufacture on a large scale is generally conducted with scrupulous cleanliness,
There is a wonderful difference between what it is now and what it
was when it was first made in Paris during the dark days of its siege by the
Germans. No person imagined then that its manufacture would become a
staple industry. This is one of the romances of trade, and, indeed, the story
of its growth, improvement and popularity forms a most interesting and
instructive chapter in the history of the foods of the nations. Sago and
tapioca are not labelled, although so much alike, nor are several other articles
which resemble each other. Why, then, should margarine be? Let the
article be sold for w hat it is, and let those who substitute it for butter bear the
penalty that the law exacts; but at the same time let that penalty be a fixed
and deterrent one, and not left to the discretion of a magistrate or a bench of
justices, all of whom very frequently inflict the most inadequate penalties on
the offenders against the law as it exists to-day. It might be even enacted
that the offenders might be let off for a first offence, with a warning that if he
came before the Court again the full penalty would be inflicted, which being a
heavy one would make him consider many times before he again engaged in
his dishonest trade. And on the other hand, let the Board of Agriculture and