ADMINISTRATION OF IMPORTANT REGULATORY LAWS /I 



of decision which controls when an act of Congress is as- 

 sailed as being unconstitutional ; that is, a regulation should 

 not be annulled unless in the judgment of the court it is 

 plainly inconsistent with the law.* 



Within the scope of its jurisdiction, the adjudications of 

 the administrative authorities is generally final, unless there 

 is legislative provision to the contrary.^ This is particularly 

 true in those rules which are of general application. 



Acting under the authority which has been delegated to 

 him by Congress, the Secretary of Agriculture has issued 

 numerous rules and regulations for the guidance of his sub- 

 ordinates and others affected by the operation of the various 

 regulatory laws. Sometimes these are called circulars of 

 the office of the Secretary ; sometimes they are issued as gen- 

 eral orders of the bureau immediately concerned. In either 

 case they must, of course, be authorized by the Secretary. 



In the enforcement of those regulatory laws which pro- 

 vide penalties for their violation, the Department of Agri- 

 culture, like the other executive units, must cooperate very 

 extensively with the Department of Justice. Indeed, it may 

 be said that the Solicitor of the Department of Agriculture, 

 in this work, is very much like an assistant to the Attorney 

 General. 



Under an agreement with the Department of Justice, ar- 

 rangements have been made for the more expeditious and 

 economical prosecution of criminal cases and highly tech- 

 nical cases arising under the food and drugs act and other 

 regulatory measures. By this arrangement the Solicitor of 

 the Department of Agriculture reports criminal cases to the 

 Department of Justice in the form of criminal informations, 

 which, if approved by the United States attorneys, may be 

 immediately filed in court. 



In the trial of the cases arising under these acts the points 

 at issue frequently call for a thorough understanding on the 

 part of the legal representative of the Government of highly 



* Bruce Wyman, Administrative Law, p. 290. 

 " Litchfield v. Register and Receiver, 9 Wall 575. 



