REPORT. 



The membership of the Bureau has remained unchanged 

 during the past year. The administrative work has contin- 

 ued in the same hands as heretofore. This officer the past 

 year concluded ten years' service in the work of the Bureau ; 

 the present report, however, is the eleventh, because the 

 Bureau began its existence in September, and the first report 

 was for part of a year, — the last four months of 1891. No 

 new chemists or regular inspectors have been engaged during 

 the year. As previously reported, special inspectors are em- 

 ployed temporarily from time to time in emergencies, when 

 a face unfamiliar to the dealers in counterfeit or adulterated 

 products is needed. 



The past year has been a record breaker, as far as tangible 

 or reportable results is concerned. We have more to show 

 in evidence secured, in court cases and in educational work 

 than has been accomplished in any previous year of the Bu- 

 reau's history. But we do not speak of this in a boastful 

 spirit, or with unalloyed satisfaction. The fact that we have 

 secured an unusual amount of evidence of law breaking pre- 

 supposes the existence of an unusual amount of law break- 

 ing, and that is not pleasing to contemplate. Just as faithful 

 work was accomplished, we have every reason to believe, in 

 1897, when we had only 27 cases in court, as in 1901, when 

 we had 252. The conditions would be more satisfactory in 

 a broad way if there was such a law-abiding spirit in the 

 community, or if the law had such a deterrent effect, that 

 efficient inspection could find no evidence on which to put 

 cases into court for prosecution. But under prevailing con- 

 ditions, when the love of unjust gain leads grasping men to 

 push the sales of dishonest products, we feel some satisfac- 

 tion at what we have accomplished by way of punishing such 

 acts. "We are sorry to add that the desire to sell fraudulent 

 products is such that we could have done much more, and 



