THE SOLICITOR. 797 



ment; the success obtained is believed to be due, in good part, to the 

 free interchange of views ^vith the prosecuting odicers of the 

 Government. 



As liereinl^efore stated, at the close of tlie year General Order No. 

 140 was issued by you, which will increase largely the duties of this 

 Office in connection with the food and drugs act, and is designed to 

 increase the elllciency of the Dejiartment in the work incident to its 

 enforcement. The order was issued to give eifect to the act of Con- 

 gress which directs that the legal work of the Department shall be 

 performed under the direction of the Solicitor, and requires the 

 Solicitor to examine the reports of the Bureau of Chemistry showing 

 the results of the examination of samples of foods and drugs and to 

 recommend to the Secretary whether citations shall issue and the 

 parties to be cited. After hearings have been held under the -supervi- 

 sion of the Board of Food and Drug Inspection, the Solicitor is 

 required to examine the evidence at hand and to recommend to the 

 Secretary whether the cases shall be reported for prosecution, and if 

 the Secretary determines on such action to prepare the cases for refer- 

 ence to the Attorney-General. Under the order the Solicitor is fur- 

 ther directed to make recommendations to the Secretary in the case 

 of all seizures proposed by the Board of Food and Drug Inspection 

 to be effected under section 10 of the act, and to exercise a general 

 supervision over the preparation of all food-inspection decisions issued 

 from time to time. Notices of judgment, provided for by section 4 

 of the act, will be prepared in the Office of the Solicitor as heretofore. 

 During the fiscal year 1910 tlie recommendations to you of action to 

 be taken in footl and tlrug matters were made by the Board of Food 

 and Drug Inspection. A considerable part of the Solicitor's time was 

 devoted to the work of the Board, including the consideration of cases 

 reported by the Bureau of Chemistry, the drafting of food-inspection 

 decisions, the conduct of hearings, and the supervision of the volu- 

 minous correspondence of the Board. 



The act provides two forms of procedure. The one is a criminal 

 prosecution against shippers in interstate commerce, or the vendors 

 in the Territories and the District of Columbia, of adulterated or mis- 

 branded foods and drugs. The other is a proceeding, by way of libel 

 for condemnation and forfeiture, against consignments of adulterated 

 or misbranded foods and drugs found in the channels of interstate 

 and foreign commerce or oifered for sale in the Territories and the 

 District of Columbia. Seven hundred and sixty-six cases were 

 reported to the Attorney-General for criminal prosecution. Of these, 

 246 resulted in convictions. In by far the greater number of these 

 ca-ses the defendants pleaded guilty. The comparatively small num- 

 ber of contested cases generally terminated favorably to the Govern- 

 ment. Of the total number of these criminal cases, but 8 resulted in 

 favor of the defendants. Fines were iin])Osed in criminal cases 

 amountincj; to S7,So8, and costs were assessed against the de- 

 fendants in equal or greater amount. Ninety-six were dismissed 

 on the recommendation or with the concurrence of the Attorney- 

 General or the United States attorneys to whom the cases were 

 referred for prosecution. The evidence available at the time in 

 each criminal case was carefully weighed before the case was reported, 

 and, with a very few exceptions, eacii one presented a substantial 

 violation of the law. Subsequent investigations by United States 



