796 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The litijjjatioii in which this Department is concerned presents a 

 number of issues, highly imj)ortant and interesting, whicli wiU be 

 passed upon by the courts in the near future. Two cases arising 

 under the twenty-eight-hour hiw, 2 under tlie food and drugs act, and 

 1 case under an act passed for the protection of the National Forests 

 will be argued before the Su})reme Court of the United States this 

 fall; in addition, several noteworthy cases will be tried before the 

 courts of the District of Columbia and argued before the circuit courts 

 of appeals for dilVerent circuits. 



It IS extremely dillicult to convey an adequate idea of the volume 

 and character of the work of this Ollice in statistical form. The fore- 

 going brief survey of the legal business transacted shows that our 

 duties have practically doubled, since the publication of the Annual 

 Report for the fiscal year 1909, in respect to the enforcement of the 

 food and drugs act alone, to say nothing of the additional work being 

 performed for the forest Service and the normal expansion along 

 other lines of activity. At the last session Congress enacted the 

 insecticide law (act of April 26, 1910; 36 Stat., 331), effective January 

 1, 1911, which will materially add to our labors. It is, of course, true 

 that additional assistance has been provided, from time to time, but 

 the present force is barely sufficient to keep the work up to date, even 

 with the constant expenditure of extra time. 



It should be noted that in the following report no reference is made 

 to any case, in tabular form, nor is the name of any defendant stated, 

 unless an indictment has been returned or an information has been 

 filed in the case. The only reference to such cases is in the general 

 summary, where the statement is made of the number of cases 

 transmitted to the Attorney-General for appropriate action. 



ADMINISTRATION OF ACTS OF CONGRESS. 

 THE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT. 



Important progress has been made during the year in the enforce- 

 ment of the food and drugs act of June 30, 1906 (34 Stat., 768). 

 Experience has developed new methods of handling reports of viola- 

 tions, from the time samples are collected up to the time the evidence 

 is furnished to the Department of Justice. The results appear in tiie 

 increased number of violations reported and in the increased number of 

 convictions obtained in the courts. The volume of work of the Office 

 in this connection more than doubled during the past fiscal year. About 

 1,000 cases were reported during that time, in each of which the evi- 

 dence was carefully weighed. A considerable number of letters, in the 

 form of memoranda or briefs, have been prepared on important ques- 

 tions arising under the act, covering the interpretation of the provisions 

 of the law and questions of procedure. Early in the year, at the request 

 of this Department, instructions were issued to United States attor- 

 neys requesting them to proceed in cases under section 2 of the act 

 by information rather than by indictment. This practice is generally 

 followed and results in facilitating the prosecution of the cases, as 

 well as in a considerable saving to the Government in the expenses 

 and time of witnesses, who would otherwise be compelled to appear 

 before the grand jury as well as at the trial of cases. Full coopera- 

 tion exists between the Department of Justice and this Depart- 



