THE SOLICITOR. 763 



The foregoing summary of the legal business transacted by this 

 office on behalf of the department, while giving as much as can be 

 expressed statistically, does not convey an adequate idea of the 

 volume or character of the work actually done. An examination of 

 the reports of the various United States attorneys will show that the 

 legal business of this department has increased in volume and impor- 

 tance to a very marked degree during the fiscal year 1911, This, of 

 course, does not take into account the legal business of the department 

 which is not ultimately referred to the United States attorneys. I 

 desire to make it a matter of record that the prompt and, I believe, 

 efficient transaction of the legal business of the department has been 

 effected through the devotion of the clerical force of this office. 

 The work is current and as nearly up to date as conditions will 

 permit. 



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

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

 stated unless an indictment has been returned or an information 

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

 summary, where a statement is made of the number of cases trans- 

 mitted to the Attorney General for appropriate action during the 

 fiscal year covered by the report. 



ADMINISTRATION OF ACTS OF CONGRESS. 

 THE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT. 



The new method of handling reports of food and drug cases, pre- 

 scribed by General Order No. 140, effective July 1, 1910, has 

 produced good results. This is evidenced from the increased number 

 of cases reported and prosecuted during the year. Under the prac- 

 tice outlined by the order, complete reports have reached the hands 

 of the prosecuting officers of the Government within a brief time 

 after the violations have been committed. The cases have been 

 handled promptly, and objections formerly raised to proceeding with 

 the cases on account of the staleness of the offenses nave been prac- 

 tically negligible. Full cooperation has existed between the Depart- 

 ment of Justice and this department during the year. Several 

 briefs have been wTitten bv the Solicitor at the request of the Attorney 

 General and the United States attorneys, and frequent correspond- 

 ence LQ legal questions presented in pending cases has contributed, it 

 is beUeved, to the eifective enforcement of the law. 



In accordance with General Order 140, the Solicitor has examined 

 the evidence of violations of the law reported by the Bureau of Chem- 

 istry to determine whetlier prima facie cases are presented and make 

 recommendations to tlie Secretary of Agriculture whether citations 

 should issue, and, after hearings had been held, whether cases should 

 be reported to the Department of Justice. In making these recom- 

 mendations the findings of fact by the Bureau of Chemistry have been 

 accepted, and all the evidence available has been considered to deter- 

 mine whether violations of the law have been committed such as to 

 warrant prosecution. No leniency has been shown in any case based 

 on foods alleged by the Bureau of Chemistry to contain added poison- 

 ous or deleterious ingredients which might render them injurious to 

 health. Regard has been had to the declaration of the Committee on 



