REPORT OF THE SOLICITOR. 



357 



Senate and House (S. 6076; H. R. 11957) at the past session, and is 

 pending before the Judiciary Committees of the two bodies. Its 

 passage was requested by the National Forest Reservation Commis- 

 sion, the Attorney General, and yourself. Because of incurable 

 record defects, and in order to secure safe title, up to the end of the 

 fiscal year 1916, it had been necessary to resort to or recommend to 

 the Department of Justice condemnation of more than three-fourths 

 of the lands examined under the Weeks law. The enactment of the 

 proposed legislation would effect a great saving of expense and would 

 much reduce the time between the making of contracts of purchase 

 a^id the payment of vendors. 



THE FOOD AND DRUGS ACT (34 STAT., 768). 



Nine hundred and seventy-eight cases were transmitted to the 

 Department of Justice, in 401 of which criminal proceedings and in 

 577 of which seizures were recommended. The 401 criminal cases 

 embraced 787 alleged violations of the food and drugs act. 



At the close of the fiscal year 1915 435 cases were pending, of 

 which 233 were criminal prosecutions and 202 were seizures. 



Three hundred and sevent}'-two cases pending at the close of the 

 fiscal year 1915 and 664 reported during the fiscal year 1916, in all 

 1,036, were terminated in 1916. Of those terminated 434 were crimi- 

 nal and 602 were civil. 



In 330 of the 434 criminal cases fines were imposed; in 3 the 

 informations were placed on file; in 1 the judgment of conviction of 

 the lower court was affirmed; in 1 the court refused leave to fiJe the 

 information ; in 6 demurrers to the informations were sustained ; in 7 

 there were acquittals; in 32 there were nolle prosequis; and 54 were 

 withdrawn, dismissed, or barred by the statute of limitations. In a 

 majority of the cases in which fines were, imposed pleas of guilty, 

 nolo contendere, or non vult were entered. In 11 pleas of not 

 guilty were entered, and the defendants were convicted after trial. 



In the criminal cases in which convictions were obtained, the fines 

 were as follows: 



• In this case there were six counts in the indictment, a fine of $103 being imposed on the first count and 

 $125 on the other five counts. 



2 In this case there were two defendants, one of these being fined $200 and the other $100. 



3 In this case the court fined the defendant 8175 on each of two counts oi the information. 



* This fine, with a sentence of imprisonment also imposed, represents a second conviction under the food 

 and drugs act. 



5 In this case there were three counts in the information and a fine of $200 was imposed in each. 



6 This number represents 330 eases reported to the Department of Justice, some of which were consolidated 

 by the United States attorneys for trial. 



