Evening star., 1935-04-03
LAW
! ABUSES FEARED
Mead Measure Declared
Preferable to Cope
land Bill.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The issue raised oy Jne ueodUe over
the food and drug bill pending in the
Senate is not whether misbranding
in food and drug labelling or misrepre-
sentation in advertisements shall be
prohibited by Federal law.
That was the question wheu the
agitation for a new food and drug
law started year ago Today the
controversy has narrowed to the kind
of law that shall be enacted; that is,
how enforcement shall be attained
without demorahzing large business
and throwing it into confusion.
The reason for this fear is that the
bill sponsored by Senator Copeland of
New York at the request of Under
secretary Tugwell of the Department
of Agriculture has in it several fea-
lures which are so plainly unconsti-
rutional and at variance with the
decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States on the matter of dele
eating power that the whole Senate
bill, if it becomes law. is bound TO be
thrown into the courts.
Mead Bill Is Clear.
The BILL on the other hand. intro
duced in the House by Representative
Mead Of New York, seeks to attain
the same objectives as that of Senator
Copeland's measure, but insists that
the matters to be prohibited shall be
specified and enumerated and that
the Federal Trade Commission, which
already has had considerable expert
ence with trade practices, shall be
ment of advertising regulations.
Various issues are wrapped up in
the pending bills, but many of the
differences of opinion have been
ironed out to such an extent that
nearly all the interests affected-the
advertising associations. the food in
dustries and the leading proprietary
medicine manufacturers-agre that
any false labels or advertising which
are deleterious to public health should
be sternly dealt with.
1t is interesting to note that on ali
sides there is feeling that the Wiley
food and drug law of 1906 should be
revised. Hence. there is general
agreement with the aims and pur-
poses outlined in President Roosevelt s
message.
Bureaucratic Control Feared.
What. then. is the crux of the
whole objection to certain parts of
the Copeland bill? 1t is that bureau
cratic control and issuance of formal
regulations by committees that do not
have legal responsibility for their acts
will be substituted by the Copeland
bill for the systematic and well-guard-
ed clauses of the Mead bill that insure
fair procedure to all affected COM
panies and individuals.
Advertising involves much contro-
verSy in itself. The Supreme Court
has held that putting" or putting
ones best foot forward in an adver-
tisement, is legitimate. 1t might be
difficult to prove explicitly. for in
stance, such a slogan as When bet
ter cars are built, Buick will build
them or the force of such a claim
as Join the Navy and see the world" I"
which is on all the recruiting posters
Yet so rigid is the method of dealing
with such statements as embodied in
the Senate bill that all advertising
and labelling may possibly be subjected
to such haraSsment as to prevent it
altogether, except on an intraState
basis.
All sorts of circumVentions such as
are now being compelled in order to
market securities may be the conse-
uuence of a measure with respect to
food and drug advertising, which gives
bureaucrat such vast powers that
legitimate industry will hesitate to
spend weeks and weeks in Washing
ton getting approval of the words and
drawings ordinarily used to market
the products.
Drug Peddling Is Threat.
The selling of patent medicines from
door to door on Nationwide scale,
in which less information would be
available than is now given in public
advertisements, may. it is claimed, be
the result of the Copeland bill if writ
ten into law in its present form. To-
day. for instance. the securities law is
so full of red tape and dangers Of
damage suits that financial advertising
of issues with comprehensive informa-
tion in them has virtually disappeared
from use and the public is merely told
that an issue has been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
What the statesmen tell the pros
poets, however nobody knows. Also,
there is no certainty now that the is
sues f1oated are really good invest
mentS just because the Federal Sc
curities Commission has registered
them
Combination Bill Sought.
So it may be with respect to drugs.
The advertisements may contain the
name of the manufacturer and pos
sibly some brief reference to the pur-
pose of the medicine. but the statesmen
will tell the public whatever they
choose.
The opponents of the Copeland bill
are hoping that some of its provisions
will be combined with the Mead bill
and a workable law made out of the
two.
One of the difficulties in the situa-
ton is that the drive for new food
and drug bill has been carried on by
DR.. Tugwell and his associates with
series of sensational exhibits showing
the effects of harmful use of medi-
cines The reputable manufacturers,
however. insist that the so-called
chamber of Horrors" which is the
name given to the exhibit that was
sent throughout the country by the
bureaucrats here, would hardly include
one-tenth of l per cent of the total
volume of products sold and that GER
tainly none of the leading nanufac-
turers are making any of the products
attacked.
(Copyrirht 1a35)