Fines aggregating $758.25 were imposed in 87 cases, as follows:

1 These cases were consolidated against one defendant and one fine imposed.

At the close of the fiscal year 1918, 49 cases were pending.

TWENTY-EIGHT HOUR LAW.

[34 Stat., 607.]

One thousand one hundred and sixty-eight cases were reported to the Attorney General for prosecution.

At the close of the fiscal year 1917 2,518 cases were pending.

Of the cases reported during the fiscal year 1917, 595, and of the cases reported during the fiscal year 1918, 7, in all 602 cases, were terminated by the imposition of fines. Two hundred and forty-nine cases were terminated by dismissal, and 4 were decided adversely to the United States.

June 30, 1918, 2,831 cases were peading.

During the year penalties aggregating $64,925 were collected in 602

cases.

Following is a detailed table of the number of cases prosecuted and the amounts of penalties assessed:

Cases prosecuted and fines imposed under the twenty-eight hour law.

TWENTY-EIGHT HOUR LAW COURT DECISIONS.

Among the cases of interest decided during the year were Philadelphia & Reading Railway Co. v. United States (247 Fed., 466), United States v. Philadelphia & Reading Railway Co. (247 Fed., 469), and Grand Trunk Western Railway Co. v. United States (248 Fed., 905).

ACTS REGULATING THE INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF LIVE STOCK FROM QUARANTINED DISTRICTS, PROHIBITING THE INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF DISEASED LIVE STOCK, AND PROHIBITING THE IMPORTATION OF DISEASED LIVE STOCK.

[23 Stat., 31; 26 Stat., 414; 32 Stat., 791; 33 Stat., 1264.]

Three cases involving violations of the act of May 29, 1884 (23 Stat., 31), were reported to the Attorney General. All of these were pending at the close of the year.

No cases were reported to the Attorney General under the act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat., 414). In one case pending at the close of the fiscal year 1917 the defendant could not be located, and the case was nolle prossed.

One hundred and one cases were reported to the Attorney General under the act of February 2, 1903 (32 Stat., 791). At the close of the fiscal year 1917, 16 cases were pending, and sentence stood suspended in 1. Ten cases reported during the year and 5 pending at the close of the fiscal year 1917, in all 15, were terminated. Eleven resulted in convictions upon which fines aggregating $1,100 were imposed; in three cases grand juries failed to indict, and one case was dismissed; 102 cases were pending at the close of the year.

Two hundred and eighty-one violations of the act of March 3, 1905 (33 Stat., 1264), were reported to the Attorney General. At the close of the fiscal year 1917, 170 cases were pending. Sixty-seven cases pending at the end of the fiscal year 1917, and 49 cases reported during 1918, in all 116, were terminated. One hundred and thirteen cases were terminated by conviction, upon which fines aggregating $11,650 were imposed; 2 were dismissed; and in 1 the defendant could not be located, and the case was nolle prossed; 335 cases were pending at the close of the year.

In each of the cases reported to the Attorney General under the acts of February 2, 1903, and March 3, 1905, a suggested form of indictment or criminal information was prepared and submitted therewith for use by the United States attorney in the prosecution.

The fines imposed in cases under the animal quarantine laws were:

Fines imposed under the animal quarantine laws.

Three apparent violations of the act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat., 832), governing the preparation, shipment, and importation of viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous products intended for use in the treatment of domestic animals were reported to the Attorney General. These cases were pending at the close of the fiscal year.

In several cases involving the suspension or revocation of licenses issued by the Secretary to manufacturers of these products, the testimony given at the hearings was reviewed by this office and the Secretary advised as to its legal effect.

THE INSECTICIDE ACT.

[36 Stat., 331.]

One hundred and twenty-three cases were reported to the Attorney General, in 117 of which criminal proceedings and in 6 seizures were recommended. At the close of the fiscal year 1917, 44 cases were pending, of which 41 were criminal prosecutions and 3 were seizures. Forty-four cases pending at the close of the year 1917 and 30 reported during the year 1918, in all 74, were terminated during the year. Of the cases terminated 69 were criminal and 5 civil. In the 69 criminal cases 8 violations were combined with others for the purposes of prosecution; fines were imposed in 55; 4 were dropped or dismissed. After the combination for purpose of prosecution in 58 pleas of guilty, in 5 pleas of nolo contendere, and in 2 pleas of not guilty were entered.

In the criminal cases in which convictions were obtained the fines were as follows:

Costs were assessed in a number of cases in which convictions were obtained. Decrees of condemnation and forfeiture were entered in 4 civil cases, and 1 case was dismissed. At the close of the year 93 cases were pending, of which 89 were criminal prosecutions and 4 were seizures. One hundred and twenty-two notices of judgment were prepared.

THE LACEY ACT.

[35 Stat., 1137.]

Thirty-eight cases were reported to the Department of Justice. At the close of the preceding fiscal year 37 cases were pending, of which 22 were closed during this year, 21 by convictions and the imposition of fines, and 1 because the defendant could not be found.

Of the 38 cases reported during the year 27 were closed. In 25 defendants were convicted and fined; in 1 the defendant was committed to jail in default of payment of the fine; and in 1 sentences were suspended after pleas of guilty. In the latter case one defendant had already been confined in jail for several days and had been subjected to expenses amounting to several hundred dollars on account

of the prosecution. Twenty-six cases were pending at the close of the year. Fines were imposed as follows:

In addition to the fines and the jail sentences, defendants were compelled to pay substantial costs.

BIRD RESERVES TRESPASS LAW.

[35 Stat., 1104.]

Twenty-seven cases were reported to the Department of Justice. Of the 27 cases reported during the year, 7 were closed by convictions and the imposition of fines. Twenty-one cases, including 1 coming over from the preceding year, were pending at the close of the year.

Fines imposed under the bird reserves trespass law.

Assistance was given the Bureau of Markets in the consideration of 146 disputes under the act, involving 6,895 bales of cotton, the total costs assessed amounting to $2,202.30. One amendment to the regulations was prepared. Consideration was given to the establishment and promulgation of standards for grades of American, Egyptian, and sea island cotton, and for length of staple, together with revision of the charges made for practical forms of existing standards.

Various opinions relating to the statute, distributed through the Bureau of Markets, were prepared or reviewed.

UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS ACT.

[39 Stat., 482.]

Assistance was given the Bureau of Markets in drafting tentative standards for oats and in the revision of the standards for shelled corn and wheat and of the regulations under the act.

The records in 1.458 appeals and 12 disputes, involving the grading of shelled corn and wheat under the act, were reviewed. Examination was made of 155 forms of inspection certificates submitted by licensed inspectors, together with incidental correspondence. Con

sideration was given to the suspension of 47, the revocation of 2, and the cancellation of 33 licenses of inspectors under the act, and related correspondence, orders, and other papers were reviewed or prepared. In proceedings against inspectors and in alleged violations of the act by shippers notices were prepared and the records reviewed upon request of the Bureau of Markets.

Approximately 140 opinions on questions arising in the administration of the act and the regulations were prepared, revised, or approved, and 10 Service and Regulatory Announcements and 14 information bulletins of the Bureau of Markets, containing opinions and information relative to the act, were examined and changes suggested when necessary.

The second semiannual publication, required by the act, of certain facts reported by licensed inspectors and furnished by grain warehousemen was passed upon.

UNITED STATES WAREHOUSE ACT.

[39 Stat., 486.]

In cooperation with the Bureau of Markets, and after conferences with trade representatives and a series of public hearings, regulations for cotton warehouses under the act were drafted. Assistance was given in the preparation of 20 forms for use in the administration of the act and the regulations. In addition assistance was given the Bureau of Markets in investigations in seven markets preliminary to the preparation of regulations for tobacco and grain warehouses.

STANDARD CONTAINER ACT.

[39 Stat., 673.]

By its terms this act came into force on November 1, 1917. In cooperation with the Bureau of Markets, regulations to carry the act into effect and instructions to inspectors engaged in its enforcement, together with required forms, were drafted.

FOOD CONTROL ACT.

[40 Stat., 276.]

Aside from the licensing and other activities under this act mentioned in the summary of this report, two contracts were prepared covering the purchase by the department of approximately 120,000 tons of nitrate of soda in Chile. This office participated with the War Industries Board in the preliminary conferences and negotiations which resulted in securing this nitrate. Assistance was given the Bureau of Markets in developing a plan for the allotment, sale, and delivery of the same to farmers, and in the preparation of a circular of information, application forms, and letters of instruction to banks and distributors. The status of the fertilizer tax laws in all of the States was investigated and legal questions involved in alleged shortages in deliveries of nitrate were considered.

Alleged unfair cancellation of certain contracts by a fertilizer company, involving the sale and future deliveries of nitrate of soda, was investigated through correspondence, conferences, and hearings, which resulted in reinstatement of certain of the contracts and a saving to purchasers thereunder of a large sum of money.