Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-05
Not Regarded as justified.

lie maintenance OF a Spepclai federal
force for the control Of commerce lying
wholly within the District of Columbia is,
so far AS can discover, so utterly devoid
Of Justification iT~anything in the history
or present condi' -3n of either the United
States or the District of Columbia. and so
manifestly Incompatible with that juris-
dfction which the federal government has
accorded to the local authorities. as not
reasonably to be expected: and to allow
deterioration from the present methods Of
inspection would be unsafe
considered from the standpoint Of adap-
tation to local needs. Certain of the pend
ing bills are apparently not well suited to
a municipal food inspection service, such
as necessarily exists in the District of Co
lumbia. This is well illustrated by the
procedure which would have to be follow
ed under the proposed law in the inspec-
ton of meats fish, vegetables fruit, milk,
eggs, etc. A bunch of fresh fish, for in
stance. having been purchased by in
spector, would have to be delivered to the
analyst for examination. The analyst,
having examined them. would report the
result to the Secretary of Agriculture Cor,
under Fl. r. 1914, to the food commission
err. the report being under oath If 'adul
teration' had been detected. The Secretary
of Agriculture Cor the food commissioner
would. in case Of 'adulteration.' certify the
result of the analysis to the United States
district attorney.
I'm the District of Columbia the District
attorney, acting under local statute. which
authorizes prosecutions for such offenses
TO De on information IN lieu OF lnQlCCmenI,
would notify the proper or1cer Of the Agrf
cultural Department to appear and swear
to an information against the offender, and
the case would then follow the usual
court channels.
Open to Objection.
"a side from such questions as might arise
as to whether the fish when examined by
the analyst were in the Identical condition
in which they were when offered for sale
by the vender, the procedure would be open
to objection In that there Is no practicable
legal guarantee vesting In the vender the
right to a fair opportunity to appeal from
the decision of the analyst or to have the
fish examined by experts Of his own selec
ton after their purchase by the inspector.
If the federal inspector desired to condemn
any particular food which came to his at
tention, say a cargo of oysters. in addition
to or in lieu OF proceeding against the
owner he would. under any of the pending
bills. have to proceed against 1t by pro-
cess of libel for cOndemnatio and at
proper stage In the proceedings it might be
seized for confiscation II the owner had
not in the meanwhile disposed of it. What
is to restrain the owner from so disposing
of 1t, or how the f,spec LOT Is to care for,
say a cargo Of spoiled oysters or fish,
pending the outcome of condemnation pro-
ceedings, is not apparent.
Comparing the procedure outlined above
under the proposed federal law with that
now in vogue in the District the advantage
of the present method at once becomes ap-
parent. Articles requiring analysis are de-
livered to the analyst by the inspector who
collects them. If they are found adulter-
ated the Inspector, acting under direction
of the health officer. promptly swears to
the necessary information. naming the an
alyst a witness, and the is proceed
ed with without delay. In cases where
chemical analyses are necessary the de-
PENDANT, under existing law. has the right
to have a portion of the sample on which
the prosecution is based so that he can
have an analysis made by an analyst of his
own selection.
More Expeditions.
'In dealing with articles such as meats.
fish, ETC., the process Is even more expedi-
tious The inspector, who is appointed be-
cause of his Familiarity with articles of
this sort. IL satisfied that any particular
lot is unseund and unfit for sale, condemns
1t and sees that 1t is at once SO disposed OF
or treated as to render subequent sale ex-
tremely unlikely. il not impossible. The
vender, however, may appeal to the health
officer from the decision Of the inspector
and secure an examine ton Of the article by
other inspectors and by the health officer.
Should he however, refuse to abide by the