Evening star., 1933-12-08
PURE FOOD BILL
POWERSPROTESTED
Foes AssaiI Advertising Pro.
vision Against "MisIead-
ing Impressions"
BY the Associated Press.

by the ASSOClateu rIesS.
Opponents of the Copeland bill to
supplant and broaden the pure food and
drug act, today assailed its advertising
provisions and urged their revision
along with other changes.
Charles w. Dunn of New York, coun-
sci for the Associated Grocery Manu-
facturers and the American Pharma-
ceutical Manufacturers Association, OBJ
jected to the definition of advertising
as false if, it created misleading i'm
preston"
He characterized this as unduly
broad and said q consumers impression
was "a state of mind and may arise
out of his own ignorance, stupidity or
misreading although the adve -t.sement
may be wholly true"
He proposed change that advertis-
ing be regarded false, IF it is false or
injuriously. misleading in any material
particular related to the purposes of the
act"
Powers "Too Broad"
Dunn. and a long line of other wit
nesses, said they recognized the need
for some change in the present 27-year-
old law, but objected to many provisions
in the bill Dunn said the measure gave
'too broad" administrative power to the
Secretary of Agriculture.
Sebastian Mueller, vice president OF
H. G. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh, said the
bill was not impracticable or unrea-
sonable, but that he preferred sepa-
rate measure to apply to food.
He urged change to define food
as adulterated If it contained arti-
fetal coloring, but would except food
from this restriction If it had no dis
tinctive color itself.
Obiecting to the provision for fac
tory inspection, he said Federal agents
should be given free access to inspect
methods and processes in factory
only if it was necessary to safeguard
the public health.
Would Revise Old Law.
Francis A. Whitmarsh Of the Ma
tional American Wholesale Grocers' AS
sociation urged revision of the present
law instead of enacting an entreiy
new bill.
John F. Anderson, spokesman Tor a
manufacturer of pharmaceutical sup,
plies, indorsed the purposes OF the Dill
to curb false advertising.
The present law, he said, leaves the
door wide open for the "quack and
faker." He urged legislation to>prevent
collnterfeiting of drug labels, prac-
tice. he asserted, had developed In
connection with the dying bootleg In
dustry and which has become wide
spread" -.
nesses desiring to be heard, senator
Copeland, Democrat, OF New YORK
chairman of the Senate Commerce SUB
Committee conducting the hearing, lin
tied today's testimony to Is minutes 1or
each individual and expressed the nope
the desire to present briefs would be-
come contagious"
Apply to File Briefs.
The following asked permission to file
briefs: American Medical Association,
American Drug Manufacturing Associa-
ton, American Social Hygiene Associa-
ton, National Apple Association, Asso-
ciated Manufacturers OF Toilet Articles,
National Association Of Broadcasters,
Pacific Coast Fruit Growers and various
chemical and cosmetic companies.
The Copeland bill gives citizens not
what they want but what the Secretary
of Agriculture thinks may be good for
them, DR.. James H Beal of Florida,
chairman of the Legislative Committee
of the National Drug Trade Conference,
told the committee yesterday.
DR.. Beal led the opposition which de-
'veloped late in the day after Secretary
Wallace. representatives Of organized
labor and many health experts had
urged enactment of the Copeland bill.
Objecting to the broad powers the
bill vests in the Secretary of Agricul-
ture, DR.. BeaI said, This new measure
is not merely correction of possible
defects in the present law. 1t amounts
in effect to an entire rewriting of the
law and introduces new principles"
Objects to Gaps"
DR.. Beal described the bill as q
Skeleton statute" leaving large gaps
to be filed with definitions and regu-
1ations by the Secretary of Agriculture.
IF enacted" he said, "the producer
of medicine could not determine his OBJ
legations by the text of the law, but
he would be governed by regulations
issued by the Secretary, which could
be fixed and changed at will"
1T means the practical annulment
of the vast mass of Federal and State
decisions and regulations now in force,
with which we are well acquainted and
with which the drug trade has been
able to adjust ITSELF" he said. There
will be constant turmoil in the next 5
or 10 years"
He argued the present law could be
amended to cover advertising by news
paper and the radio without rewriting
the whole act.
W. c. Roberts indorsed the measure
on behalf of the American Federation
of Labor. Others who favored 1t were
Prof Yandell Henderson of Yale, Prof.
Haven Emerson of Columbia and Prof
0f u, ivac