72 THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



technical questions of chemistry or other science. In cases 

 where such questions are involved, arrangements have been 

 made whereby the Solicitor and his assistants will assist the 

 United States attorneys in the actual trials. In this way 

 there will be placed at the disposal of the Department of 

 Justice the more intimate knowledge which must necessarily 

 be obtained by the law officers of the Department of Agri- 

 culture in the preparation of the cases than can be acquired 

 by the United States attorneys through correspondence or 

 in the brief time at their command. 



With this brief introduction, let us now turn to a consid- 

 eration of the actual administration of a few of the most 

 important of those regulatory measures whose enforcement 

 has been committed to the Department of Agriculture. 



AIeat Inspection Act 



Since the establishment of the Bureau of Animal Industry 

 in May, 1884. numerous laws relating to the live stock in- 

 dustry and its products have been passed by Congress. At 

 first, the primary, if not the sole object of this legislation, 

 was the giving of encouragement and and protection to the 

 industry itself. Generally, the object was to be attained 

 either through the suppression or eradication of animal dis- 

 eases ; or by extending and protecting the foreign market 

 through a rigid inspection of animals and animal products 

 intended for export. 



However, as early as 1891, the Secretary of Agriculture 

 was instructed to inspect, prior to their slaughter, " all cattle, 

 sheep, and hogs which are subjects of interstate commerce 

 and which are about to be slaughtered . . . the carcasses or 

 products of which are to be transported and sold for human 

 consumption in any other state or territory. . . ."" 



The making of post-mortem examinations, which now 

 constitutes the most important feature of meat inspection, 

 was left entirely within the discretion of the Secretary of 

 Agriculture. The law of 1891 was supplemented by subse- 



"26 Stat. L. 1090. 



