The Conservative.
Frequently the
. ' < , " CASH SEED. urbane members
' of congress , from
* - :
eastern centers of population , swap
their seed quotas | with bucolic repre
sentatives , from agricultural districts ,
for public documents. Sometimes ,
however , the seed 1ms been sold for
, A. & cash. The Conservative remembers
tracing up one batch of scedbolonging
to a congressman from a New England
state , which was alleged to be for sale.
It was found. It was for sale. It
was sold forsoventy-five dollars. The
owner was given a check for that
amount payable to his order. His
honorable name was put on the .back
of the check and it was paid. He
was a reasonably patriotic statesman
and reputed to be worth a million of
dollars.
Gratuitous seed distribution is profit
able to thrifty patriots.
The editor of
SUCH IS FAME. The Conservative
has been the recip
ient of many honors , both as a pub
lic official and as a private citizen ;
but no compliment heretofore paid
him has caused such gratification to
The Conservative as that implied in
the letter of an admirer undergoing
punishment in a Montana prison , who
writes to ask if the 'esteemed chief of
The Conservative staff could raffle off
a hair bridle for him.
IW ' - It is unfortunate that the Morton car
left Kansas City before the receipt of
this communication ; otherwise Mr.
Morton might have advertised the
bridle industry in an after-dinner
speech before the Knife and Fork
Club , of that city.
However , it is never too late to do
good , and readers of the great daily
papers may expect to soon be favored
with sketches of Mr. Morton appear
ing before the Grandees and Hidalgoes
of Mexico which republic ho is now
touring delivering felicitous ad
dresses , with a hair bridle prominent
ly displayed across one arm , and a
box of numbered gun-wads tucked
tightly under the other.
Minister Wu is
AS OTHERS quoted o r m i s -
SEE US. quoted as having
accused the Ameri
can people of being stubborn , willful
and blind to reason , when once fairly
started along a favorite pathor words
to that effect.
Were it not for the many extremely ,
gratifying expressions of the really
high regard in which we are hold by
this polished , scholarly and popular
diplomat , one might bo tempted to re
mark that with "stubborn , " "will-
ful"aud "blind to reason" arise vis
ions of a Celestial Empire , where blind
dogmatism and unreasoning prejudice
\t \ _
take precedence over statesmanship
and executive ability among those who
sit in high places ; where absolute
fanaticism sways the masses ; where
the process of introducing an innova
tion or inaugurating a reform , is much
like the process of thawing dynamite :
where lack of calm , sober judg
ment , and discernment , on the
part of the government and the
governed , reduces a populous and nat
urally great empire to such depths of
degradation , that it becomes the cheap
play-thing of any government , greater
or small , which has an idle hour to
spend in buffeting this shriveled mum
my about , for the edification of an
amused world of spectators.
But , of course , comparisons are
odious.
The committee on
REASON VERSUS agriculture , of the
PREJUDICE. house of re p r o -
sentatives , has
boon taking testimony regarding the
respective merits of butter and oleo
margarine , as fatty foods.
Among the many distinguished and
learned chemists who testified , there
are , perhaps , none who are entitled to
more consideration , and whose ideas
should carry greater weight , than
Prof. Kober , of Georgetown Univer-
sity.
sity.That
That Prof. Kober is eminently quali
fied to handle this , or any other ques
tion of hygiene , is proved by the fact
that ho was elected , last year , to de
liver the lecture on hygiene and sani
tary science before the American
Medical Association.
Before the committee , ho threw a
side-light on the butter traffic when
he said :
1' Of late years high-grade butter has
found a formidable competitor in
what is known as
Butter as it is. ' renovated or pro
cess butter. ' The
butter from which it is made has be
come tainted or rancid , and differs
widely in color , texture , ago and flav
or , and is , of course , totally unfit for
sale. It is sold by dealers and dairies
at from 10 to 14 cents a pound ,
shipped to some factory , where it is
melted at 110 to 180 degrees F. , puri
fied of its rancidity by washing it
with water , and so obtaining a neu
tral oil and churning the resulting
fat , after giving it the proper butter
color , with milk , cream , or even
skimmed milk to give it the butter
flavor. "
After showing that various epi
demics had , at various times and in
various places , had their origin in
the milk and butter supply of the com
munity , Prof. Kober turns to oleo
margarine and says :
"Oleomargarine has been misrepre
sented to the public to a greater , ex
tent , probably , than any other article
of food. ' . From the time of its first
appearance in the market as a com
petitor of , butter there has been a con
stant attempt to create and foster a
prejudice against it as an unwholesome - .
some article made from unclean refuse
of various kinds , a vehicle for disease
germs , and a dissemination of tape
worms and other unwholesome para
sites. It has been said to be made from
soap grease , from the carcasses of ani
mals dead of disease , from grease ex
tracted from sewer sludge , and from
a variety of other articles equally tin-
adapted to its manufacture.
' ' The most absurd statement which
the author has seen appeared in the
annual report of
Ignorant Misthe board of health
representation. of a community
large enough and
rich enough to be able to afford better
service ; tins was , that a large part of
the annual output was made from the
grease of dogs shot while suffering
from rabies by the police in the
streets of large cities.
"The publication of a great mass
of untruth cannot fail to have its de
sired effect , not only on the minds of
the ignorantbut oven of some of those
of over average intelligence. So it is
that a prejudice was created against
this valuable food product , but it is
gradually becoming less and less'pro
nounced.
"The truth concerning oleomargarine is
that it is made only from the cleanest
materials in the
The Real Truth , cleanest possible
manner , that it is
quite as wholesome as butter , and that
when sold for what it is and at its
proper price it brings into the dietary
of those who can not afford the better
grades of butter an important fat food
much superior in flavor and keeping
property to the cheaper grades of but
ter which bring a better price. Ole
omargarine can not be made from
rancid fat , and in its manufacture
great care must be exercised ! to ex
clude any material however slightly
tainted.
"It is not and can not be made from
fats having a marked or distinctive
taste , and its flavor is derived wholly
from the milk or genuine butter em
ployed in its manufacture. It con
tains , as a rule , less water than does
genuine butter , and consequently any
difference in its food value is in its
favor. It undergoes decomposition
much more slowly , and , indeed , may
be kept many months without becom
ing rancid. Much has been said con
cerning its digestibility , and alarmists
have gone so far as to claim that it is
quite indigestible and likely to prove
a prolific cause of dyspepsia , quite
forgetting that the materials. from
which it is made have hold a place in
the dietaries of all civilized peoples
since long before butter was promoted
from its position as an ointment to
that article of food. "
Having used up
IRONY. all of his earthly
contemporaries by
his sarcasm , the editor of the Colum
bus ( Neb. ) Telegram has now turned
his batteries of irony upon God. 3.