72 ANNUAL KEPORT OF THE Off. D*x- 



ol" the letnilei- tlic acceptance oC the hu-j^e respousihility imposed by 

 the law, and that he corresjxjndinj^ly take measures to protect him- 

 self by increased care in the purchase of the supplies which he selects 

 for (list lihul ion lo his customers. The jmblic education uj)on the 

 methods of tctcKl mauuracture, the nature of liie law material em- 

 ployed therein and the serious charactei- of the frauds which have, 

 in earlier vicars been per{)etrated ujiou the buying {>ublic, has dis 

 pelled the doubt as to the necessity of such iegislati(m and has made 

 clear the principle that the man who makes a business of manulac 

 turing on a lariie scale the foods used to maintain the vigoi- antl 

 health of the .people, occupies a position of trust in many respects 

 differing from that held by the housewife who i)repares the foods for 

 home consumption. 



These changes in the public attitude have appeared, not only among 

 those who are interested solely as consumers, but also among those 

 who are charged with the judicial proceedings under the Acts gov- 

 erning the sale of foods, whether as courts, members of the bar, or 

 jurymen; and, uu)st gratifying of all, the leaders in food production 

 and distribution have come to recognize not only their responsibility, 

 but their full measure of accountability to the public for the manner 

 in which they carry out their part in the important work of feeding 

 the naticm. This change in attitude and growth in the sense of re- 

 sponsibility is aj»{)arent in the proceedings of nearly all the organiza- 

 ti<ms of food manufacturers and dealers. 



The extent of public information upon food subjects at the present 

 day, as c(mipared with that of a decade ago, is almost a matter for 

 surprise. To the discovery and spread of this information many agen- 

 cies have contributed. Most conspicuous of all ihese agencies has 

 been the public press, to whose live and aggressive support of all mea- 

 sures looking to the more perfect control of food production and dis- 

 tribution a large degree of admiratiou is due. 



The success of the Bureau's work, must in the end, be judged, not by 

 the number of samples purchased and analj^zed, the number of viola- 

 tions of law discovered, or the number of cases prosecuted to a success- 

 ful issue, important as all these steps are as means to the main end. 

 The true measure of the success of this branch of the State's govern- 

 mental activities is to be found in the improvement of food commodi- 

 ties sold on the markets, both with respect to their purit}' and to the 

 truthfulness of labels under which the}' are sold. As we review the 

 conditions during rhe year })ast, we are satisfied that, while there is 

 still great room for improvement in some directions and on the part 

 of some producers and dealers, the conditicm of the food trade as a 

 whole is one of steady improvement. 



The work of every such administrative agency is, if successfully 

 conducted, of an educatiimal character. Many abuses against which 

 the public protests, have had their origin in manufacturing ])ractices 



