No. 4.] KEPOKT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 380 



State, we have in previous reports called attention to the 

 good which might be accomplished by some system of 

 inspection of dairies, which would not l)c burdensome, and 

 which would be helpful and educational, without any ar- 

 bitrary or unpleasant features. We still hold to these sug- 

 gestions, previously expressed. The general agent of the 

 Bureau has been again called upon to award the dairy sweep- 

 stakes for the Worcester South Agricultural Society. 



Laws may be enacted creating misdemeanors and impos- 

 ing penalties, but real progress must rest on educational 

 work as a basis. A law in advance of or in conflict with the 

 average intelligence of a considerable portion of the people 

 is a dead letter. Consequently this division of the work of 

 the Bureau is very important, and deserving more attention. 



Massachusetts Courts. 

 AVe desire to say one word in commendation of some 

 features of the Massachusetts system of criminal courts, 

 particularly the local district and police courts. In many 

 States the dairy commissioner, or other officer entrusted 

 with the enforcement of the dairy laws, on securing evidence 

 of violation of law turns the case over to the public prose- 

 cutor (State or district attorney), and the case gets into 

 court only on a grand jury indictment. In Massachusetts 

 all cases are first tried in the local court, being prosecuted 

 by the department bringing the complaint. These cases 

 go direct to the superior court if appealed. Only appealed 

 cases are prosecuted by the district attorney, and even then, 

 under our Massachusetts custom, the administrative head 

 of the department where the cases originate follows them 

 up and is of material assistance to the district attorney, 

 not only in laying before him the evidence in the case, 

 but in bringing to his attention the points raised in the 

 lower court and the result of experience in other counties. 

 All this tends to promote the efficiency of the enforce- 

 ment of the law in Massachusetts. In Pennsylvania, for 

 instance, where there has been some public criticism of the 

 administration of the office of dairy commissioner, his de- 

 fence was that his work had been faithfully done, but that 

 for any failure to bring the parties into court the district 



