Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-01
Manufacturers and Jobbcrs Pre-
pare to Ignore Regulations
Recently Adopted
INSTRUCT HOW TO EvADE
Government Said to Be Helpless Be-
cause of Lack of Machinery to En-
force Law-consress Neglected to
Provide Funds for Inspection and
Prosecution.

to enforce the provisions OF the pure
food and drug law, which is scheduled
to go into effect today. There Is no
machinery to enforce 1t. the only pos
sible manner in which 1t can be put
into operation being thru complaint and
prosecution by private citizens before
the United States district court.
There is no appropriation to pay in
spectors and superintendent and 1t
will be several months before congress
can make such an appropriation and
organization can be perfected in the
several states. There is no officer of
any sort in this city at present charg-
ed with enforcing the law.
There is a disposition on the part of
many dealers in drugs, groceries ana
spirits to evade the provisions of the
new law thru clever subterfuges. While
there is a large element disposed to
meet the law squarely and comply with
all of it's provisions there is an unue-
niably large contingent of merchants IN
this city who are willing to seize upon
plausible pretexts for evading the law
So, as in the past, consumers will con-
tinue to be sufferers.
The violators are egged on and coun-
seled by trade organizations. which
have issued bulletins and circulars adj
vising how merchants may safely defy
the law. This Is done under cover OF
suggestions for complying with the
law
In one instance grocers are advised
to continue coloring their products and
using questionable personalities unGer
the plea that the department. OF agri-
culture has not yet found out what coll
orings and personalities are injurious
and limiting that even when a coloring
material is declared to be harmful 1T
may still be used thru resorthng to the
subterfuge of labelling it truthfully and
selling 1t to the unsuspecting trade.
In other trades, particularly the IL
quor trade, circulars advise evasion or
downright defiance of the laws.
Meantime the authorities in Wash
ington are all at sea as to the inter-
probation of the provisions of the act,
and last Saturday admitted that they
could not advise the merchants of Ohio
and New York as to whether "blend,ed
whisky" should be SO labeled or wheih-
er it should be called whisky" at all.
The drug trade is in a chaotic state.
Some jobbing houses have advised the
retail druggists that the government
does not intend to enforce the provis-
ion of the law relating to labelling
drugs until October next, while drug
trade journals warn their readers that
Ethe government will sternly enforce
| every jot and title Of the law from to-
morrow morning on.
Some of the most famous lawyers in
the country, including Mr.. Chos.te.
have advised clients that the provis-
| ions of the law are so obscure, contra
dictory and impracticable that they
had best ignore them and await The
decision of government officials.
| In short, the grocery, drug. candy
and liquor trade is in a state of lln-
rest and uncertainty. There seems to
be no common ground upon which The
government officers and the dealers
may meet
While most reputable dealers pro-
fess to be anxious to obey the letter of
the. law, others profess to see obstacles
and loopholes which encourage them
to temporize and the honest dealers
feel forced to follow their lead.
The commission which sat in New
York last summer to determine and
adjust the interpretations of the law
have proved unsuccessful in convince
ing its own members in some instances
and Secretary Wilson of the DEPART
ment of agriculture, the administra-
ton official in charge. of the enforce
ment of the law, admits that he does
not know what it is all about, SO tar
as labelling blended whisky and other
knotty problems goes.