REPORT OF THE SOLICITOR. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Office of the Solicitor, 

 Washington, D. C, October 19, 1911. 



Sir: I submit herewith the report of the work of the Office of the 

 Sohcitor for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1911. 

 Very respectfully, 



Geo. p. McCabe, 



Solicitor. 

 Hon. James Wilson, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



OTJTLnJE OF OFFICE WORK. 



The greatest activity of this office since its creation in 1905 marked 

 the period covered by this report. The necessary administrative 

 machinery is now in working order to carry out the several regulative 

 acts of Congress enacted in the past few years and intrusted to the 

 Secretary of Agriculture for enforcement. Among these are the food 

 and drugs act, the meat-inspection law, the acts for protection of 

 the National Forests, the twenty-eight hour law, the live-stock quar- 

 antine act, the insecticide act, and the Lacey Act. The extent of the 

 authority of administrative officers under these statutes, techmcal 

 questions of procedure and practice in the trial of actual cases arising 

 under these laws, and the correct interpretation of the more im- 



Eortant provisions of the statutes have now, with a few exceptions, 

 een pretty well settled by the courts. As a result, the work of this 

 office has increased propo. tionately as the duties of administrative 

 officers, inspectors, and other agents have become more sharply 

 defined and better understood. The normal expansion along existmg 

 lines of activity in other branches of the department has also added 

 greatly to the work of this office. The placing of the legal business 

 of the Forest Service under my immediate direction has resulted in 

 still further increasing the duties of the office and in greatly enlarging 

 their scope. 



The food and drugs act has been enforced vigorously and effectively 

 during the year by the department and by the United States attor- 

 neys. There were prepared and reported to the Department of Jus- 

 tice 1,162 violations of the law, a larger number than in any one year 

 previous and approximately 40 per cent of the number reported in 

 the four and one-half years the act has been in effect. Of the whole 

 number, 825 were criminal cases and 337 were recommendations for 

 the seizure of adulterated or misbranded foods and drugs. There 

 were 684 cases prosecuted by the United States attorneys tluring the 



759 



