THE SOLICITOK. 897 



This case was tried in the United States District Court for the Southern 

 District of New York, and grew out of an investigation by the depart- 

 ment into the shipment by the defendants of hquor which was danger- 

 ously adulteratea with methyl alcohol. The case was reported for 

 prosecution under the food and drugs act, but the facts also showed a 

 conspiracy on the part of the defendants to evade the provisions of 

 that act by secretly shippmg liquor from New York to tnemselves at 

 rented premises at Hoboken, N. J. The United States attorney there- 

 fore proceeded under section 37 of the Criminal Code, with the result 

 that Alberto Milanesi, the principal defendant, was sentenced to 

 serve a term of seven months' imprisonment at Blackwell's Island. 

 (Notice of Judgment No. 1754.) 



In United States v One Hundred Barrels of Vinegar, Spielman 

 Bros. Co. (188 Fed. Rep., 471; Notice of Judgment 1159), the 

 Government succeeded, alter a contest, in establishing the view of 

 this department with respect to the adulteration and misbranding of 

 cider vinegar. In this case the departmental methods of analysis 

 and the expert testimony submitted by the department were vigor- 

 ously attacked, but the verdict and judgment sustained the Govern- 

 ment's position. 



In the case of United States v. Seventy-five Barrels of Vinegar, 

 Spielman Bros. Co., claimant (192 Fed. Rep., 350; Notice of Judg- 

 ment No. 1441), a seizure proceeding instituted in the United 

 States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, the Govern- 

 ment, after a contest by the claunant upon practically the same 

 questions raised in the Minnesota vmegar case, secured a verdict of 

 the jury sustaining its contentions. The court in this case in explicit 

 terms refused to follow the opinion of the United States Circuit Court 

 of Appeals for the Second Circuit m United States v. Twenty Cases of 

 Grape Juice (189 Fed. Rep., 331), which at the time was being ac- 

 cepted as authoritative in other jurisdictions on the question of 

 compelling a preliminary hearing by the Secretary of Agriculture in 

 seizure cases as a condition precedent to filmg a libel against adulter- 

 ated or mis branded articles of food. 



In seizure proceedings instituted by the department involvmg 

 confectionery, in the District Court of Massachusetts, claimants ob- 

 tained a verdict from the jury on the question of adulteration of the 

 products. The Government contended that the products in ques- 

 tion, candy eggs, candy peaches and pears, were adulterated by 

 reason of contaming talc, an ingredient deleterious and detrimental 

 to health. (Notice of Judgment No. 1642.) The Government has 

 perfected an appeal in the above cases, and the same is now pendmg 

 m the circuit court of appeals for the first circuit. 



The Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, after a contest, 

 entered a decree of condemnation and forfeiture of 350 sacks of Prin- 

 cess flour and 50 sacks of fancy Melba flour found to be adulterated 

 by the department by reason of being infested with worms and 

 worm excreta. Claimants have appealed from the foreo;oing decree, 

 and the case is now pending on appeal m the court ol appeals for 

 said District. 



In the case of T'^nited States v. Miirchesini (Notice of Judgment 

 No. 1624), a criminal ])rosecutiou for an interstate shipment of adul- 

 terated and misbranded olive oil from New York to Pennsylvania, the 

 defendant was convicted after a trial by jury in the District Court 



70481 ° —AGB 191 2 57 



