Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-01


ing. under the United States statutes.
Violations of the pure food and drugs
act and prosecutions under recent inter
state commerce provisions affecting
street car traffic in the city have been
among them.
The Harper Case.
Perhaps the most important case of the
year was that in which Robert \. Ilar-
per was accused of violating the pure
food and drug act in the manufacture OF
a mislabeled headache remedy and the
sale OF a misbranded article involving
the same remedy.
The trial was unique in that it was
the first arragnment of a defendant un-
der the law and the legal phases 1t devel-
oped The defense attacked the consti-
tutionality OF the law.
The trial began before jury in the
middle of February and continued for
over four weeks. verdict of guilty
was rendered on two counts of the in
formation filed.
The course o; the trial was marked by
possibly the best expert testimony availa-
bic in the country to the relative
merits and the poisonous qualities OF the
several drugs in the compound. and
whether or not any of the drugs or GER
tain ones in the remedy possessed dis
tinct food value The government phar-
macologists appeared for the prosecution.
At the conclusion of the taking of tesu-
mony the usual motions preparatory TO
carrying the case to the upper courts were
made. These were overruled in the early
part of April. Several days later fine
Of 500 was imposed on the defendant.
Because of a desire to eliminate the
criminal character of the proceedings, IN
which the defendant was involved as a
result of the seizure Of quantity OF ms
headache remedy. the fine was paid. The
questions involved in the appeal were left
to be settled in a civil action.
Other Pure Food Cases.
Following the Harper trial fully twenty
cases of violations of the act have been
filed up to the present time. With but
two exceptions verdicts of guilty in all
these cases have been obtained by AS
sistant United States Attorneys Ralph
Given and James Proctor. A number of
other cases are awaiting trial.
Among the alleged offenses of this
character were the manufacture of and
misla being old butter, mislabelins min
eral waters. msabeling lard, mislabeling
eggs and manufactures of and mlSIaDel-
ing -four.
Practically all cases of milk and cream
adultera ton in the District have been
prosecuted under the pure food and drugs
act. on the allegation that adulterated
milk or cream is q mislabeling as a pure
the prosecutions under the act is assum-
ing large proportions. About 90 per cent
of the cases already filed are what are
known as milk cases.
In disposing of several such cases re-
Gently Judge Mullowny sitting in the
United States branch of the court. scored
wholesale dealers who refused to give a
guarantee of purity of their milk TO retail
men they supplied. AS a consequence
the retailer, compelled to buy adulterated
,.,sI, f,- n
milk adulterated by those who supplied
them.
The court announced that if any one
was brought before him caught in the
act of adulterating dairy products the
severest penalty under the law would be
melted out upon conviction.
Few Street Car Gases.
OF interstate commerce cases fully fif-
teen defendants have been arraigned.
Fine ranging from $40 to S. have been inn
posed following convictions.
In each case the accused were motor
men of the Washington street railway
lines, and were hailed into court for violat-
ing the recent set of rules and regulations
promulgated at the. instance of the inter
state commerce commission regulating
Washington street car traffic. The spell c
illegal acts were excessive running ana
crossing intersecting tracks at a greater
rate of speed than permitted by the resu-
la tons in question.
The, first case was called for trial in
July last at which time there seemed to
be disposition to attack the law by the
defense Consequent conferences, now
ever. between attorneys for railways and
prosecuting officers disposed or TINS
aspect.
Probably the largest number of cases
before the United States branch of the
court have been assault cases with lar
ceny cases "A close second. About one
third the defendants arraigned have been
l,pon the charge of assault. Sentences
have been imposed ranging anywhere
from fifteen days in Jail in default or
nominal fine to eleven months and twenty
nine days Eighty-five per cent of these
cases have resulted in convictions.
Larceny cases have numbered about 10
less than assault cases. About the same
ratio of convictions has obtained.
Held for Grand Jury.
The number of defendants held for the
action of the grand jury has been large.
compared with the figures of previous
years, and number about 4C0. In each
instance the different defendants have
been held in bonds ranging from 500 to
5000.
The crimes alleged against these 400 OF
more defendants, include assault with
dangerous weapon, embezZlement, forgery,
bigamy arson, rape, seduction, false pre-
lenses, highway robbery and grand lar
ceny Among the highway robbery cases
there have been dozen or more colored
men held, charged with snatching pocket
books.
Decided increase has been noted in cases
of threats and have been principally
where men have menaced their wives or
children with bodily injury. Whisky Or
drugs are usually the basis of these cases.
Comparatively light bonds, ranging from
500 to $500, to keep the peace are re-
CURED Wherever the opportunity pre-
sents itself and the case is not of vicious
character the defendant is allowed to go
upon his personal recogniZance
Among other offenses have been fish law
violations and violations of the law regu-
lating the sale of tobacco to minors. In
the former sort there were between TWEEN
ty and twenty-five cases presented for
consideration last spring and summer,
the defo ndants principally from George
town and that section of the District lying
Twenty convictions were obtained and
heavy penalties imposed.
There have been an unusually small
number of cases where defendants were
charged with selling tobacco to minors,
the total being about seventeen, of which
fifteen were convictions or formal for
FIXTURES Of collateral.
United States Branch Busy.
The business Of the United States
branch has been heavy, the summer par
ticularly being the busiest for years. The
cause of This increase is attributed to the