Mr. KELLY. No; that would not be necessary. He would know exactly how much we had put in, because the balance we would have to have left.

Mr. RAINEY. If there was any inspection at all of this product of yours as to whether or not it contained mineraline, that would not be performed by this inspector of the revenues at all?

Mr. KELLY. Well, I should not think we would be authorized to put mineraline in. I never saw it, and I do not know what it is

Mr. RAINEY. Yes; and that is what we are talking about. If you had put mineraline in there, this Government revenue man would not know it or have any way of knowing it, would he?

Mr. KELLY. I should not think he would.

Mr. RAINEY. If you had put in mineraline, however, the pure-food department of your State or the Pure Food Section here of the Department of Agriculture would discover it, if it was discovered by anybody?

Mr. KELLY. I presume so.

Mr. RAINEY. Then, what you millers rely on, in order to prevent adulteration by mineraline and other things is the food laws of your State and the National food laws?

Mr. KELLY. What we rely on, you say?

Mr. RAINEY. Yes; to prevent that dangerous adulteration.

Mr. KELLY. I do not know. We may be relying on it, but we do not know it, because I never heard of any mill putting it in. I never have known of such a practice, of putting barytes or mineraline in flour.

Mr. RAINEY. Even before 1898?

Mr. KELLY. Before or since.

Mr. RAINEY. I do not think it ever occurred, either; but they are producing a lot of evidence to show that it was, and they say that is the reason they want this tax imposed, for the purpose of keeping millers honest and preventing them from putting in this mineraline and ground barytes.

Mr. KELLY. I should think that the pure-food laws would reach that.

Mr. RAINEY. And that is the only thing that does reach it?
Mr. KELLY. Because the revenue act does not apply to that at all.
Mr. RAINEY. It does not apply to that at all?

Mr. KELLY. I should not think so.

Mr. FORDNEY. You would not know, however; while you do know that the Government inspector comes around and looks at your records and sees whether they agree with your reports, you do not know whether some customer to whom you are selling your products is each day and each week and each month sending a sample to the Agricultural Department to keep him posted whether he is getting just what he thinks you are selling him?

Mr. KELLY. That might happen. He would have that privilege, and it has happened.

Mr. RAINEY. The Government inspector, when he comes there, simply depends upon your books?

Mr. KELLY. Upon our books and taking stock of the stuff we have on hand. They have to check, you know.

Mr. RAINEY. Does he measure it up?

Mr. KELLY. He counts the packages.

Mr. FORDNEY. And if he discovers a discrepancy in your statement, you hear from the Agricultural Department?

Mr. KELLY. We would hear from the internal-revenue collector. Mr. FORDNEY. All he is interested in knowing is that you have so much of each product there and that you pay the taxes?

Mr. KELLY. I think that is all he is interested in; and he is interested in restraining us from putting corn flour into wheat flour and failing to pay the tax.

Mr. RAINEY. That is all.

Mr. KELLY. And this check is to prevent that being done.

Mr. DIXON. You said there was one occasion when the Agricultural Department called attention to an examination of your flour?

Mr. KELLY. Not the pure-food people. We have had customers say that they had sent samples of the flour to some laboratory for an analysis. He wanted to know if some customer might not do that. They might do it, and I know that they have done it. I know of one or two concerns that have written us that they did it.

Mr. DIXON. Do you report to your customers the amount or the proportion that you put in when you sell them this flour?

Mr. KELLY. The mixed flour?

Mr. DIXON. Yes.

Mr. KELLY. No, sir; we do not.

Mr. DIXON. You do not make any reports as to whether you put in 10 per cent or 20 per cent or 30 per cent?

Mr. KELLY. No, sir.

Mr. DIXON. And you get the best price you can?

Mr. KELLY. Yes.

Mr. DIXON. And let them have it investigated as to the proportions and let them come back and criticize you for not selling it as cheap as you could have sold it if you had told them it had more corn flour in it than they presumed it had? [Laughter.]

Mr. KELLY. Well, I do not know.

Mr. DIXON. That was the case, was it not, when that customer came back and criticized you-when he came back and said that you had more in than he presumed you had in?

Mr. KELLY. No, sir; they did not have this flour analyzed to find out about the corn flour, but they do send our flour to chemists. They want to know how it compares with other flours. There was a concern in Selma a few weeks ago, W. C. Agee & Co., I think, that sent a sample to Dr. Wesener's laboratory, was it not?

Mr. WESENER. I do not know.

Mr. KELLY. Anyway, he was complimenting us on the flour.

Mr. SLOAN. In selling people mixed flour, do you not make a statement to your customers as to the general proportions of corn and wheat flour of which your mixture is composed?

Mr. KELLY. We do not put that on the package. We have written them just what was in it.

Mr. SLOAN. They were advised, then, of the relative percentages? Mr. KELLY. We would not hesitate to tell them.

Mr. SLOAN. As a matter of fact, you did not?

Mr. KELLY. We do not, all the customers; no, sir.

Mr. SLOAN. Was there not a business inquiry, to find out what they were buying from you?

Mr. KELLY. No, sir. Last summer we had hard times down South. Cotton went down from 15 cents a pound to 5 cents a pound. Credits were disturbed. If they could get cheaper flour to furnish to their people on the plantations, they wanted it. That was what helped us sell mixed flour.

Mr. CONRY. It was sold cheaper to the consumer, was it?

Mr. KELLY. Cheaper to the consumer.

Mr. CONRY. It was delivered sufficiently cheaper to induce these people to purchase it?

Mr. KELLY. We had to make a difference in price or they would not have purchased an inferior article.

Mr. HELVERING. It was simply used in the emergency?

Mr. KELLY. That is all.

Mr. FORDNEY. Your pure-food law would not restrict the making of mixed flours so long as you do not put some article in the flour that is deleterious?

Mr. KELLY. Not if you brand the amount of mixing you do.

Mr. LANNEN. I should like to ask Mr. Kelly a question, if I may. Mr. RAINEY. You may proceed.

Mr. LANNEN. That mixed flour that you sell is a perfectly wholesome flour, is it not?

Mr. KELLY. I think so.

Mr. LANNEN, You do not think that hurts anybody?

Mr. KELLY. I would not sell it if I did. I do not think it is injurious to health.

Mr. LANNEN. Do you know the American Mills in Nashville, Tenn.?

Mr. KELLY. Yes; I know them.

Mr. LANNEN. Are you connected with them?

Mr. KELLY. Yes; that is my concern.

Mr. LANNEN. Do you sell a Yum Yum brand of wheat flour? Mr. KELLY. That is one of our brands. I am not quite sure; I think that is a mixed flour. It is either a mixed flour or a self-rising flour, I am not sure which.

Mr. LANNEN. Do you sell the Yum-Yum brand of mixed flour? Mr. KELLY. I think it is.

Mr. LANNEN. I will ask you to look at this exhibit and see if that is your mixed flour [handing photographs to Mr. Kelly].

Mr. KELLY (after examining photographs). Yes; this is our brand. Mr. LANNEN. That is an accurate picture of the front of the sack and that is a picture of the back of the sack [indicating].

Mr. KELLY. The Government reserves one side of the bag for their label. The revenue act requires that. They give us the other side for our brand. Do you want the committee to see this?

Mr. LANNEN. Yes; I offer that in evidence.

Mr. RAINEY. Let it be printed in the record so far as it can be. Mr. LANNEN. That is labeled under the present law in order to comply with all details; is that true?

Mr. KELLY. Yes.

Mr. FORDNEY. When you mix flour-when you mix 30 per cent cornstarch and 70 per cent wheat flour would the person who eats that get as much nutriment out of it as he would if it was all wheat flour? Does it repair the human system as much as the pure wheat flour?