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Show LABELING Pure Food and Drug Act to be Tested by Drug Concern Washington, April 13 The first big legal contest arising out of the pure food and drug act of 190G had the right of way today In the supreme court of tho United States. The government gov-ernment was making a test case to sustain Its right to prosecute criminally criminal-ly persons who labeled drugs or medicine medi-cine with false statements about the curative properties of their preparations. prepara-tions. The point arose in the district court of Western Missouri, where an Indictment Indict-ment against Dr. Johnson was quashed quash-ed on the giound that tho act did not apply to false statements about the cinath'o properties of drugs, but only to false statements regarding the Ingredients. Dr Johnson was charged "with having hav-ing shipped, in interstate commerce, drugs which he stated would cure cancer, can-cer, but which the government claims "were entirely ineffective and worthless worth-less for that purpose." It Is claimed on behalf of Johnson that, If the law is to be Interpreted as forbidding a statement about the curative property of drugs, the act is unconstitutional. Solicitor General Lcmnnn in a brief for the government Just filed with the court, says that a study of the act shows that Congress had in mind striking at false statements regarding re-garding the remedial qualities of drugs. He defends tho law as constitutional consti-tutional when interpreted to forbid such statements. Ho denies that the law as interpreted would reach any physician In the practice of his calling. call-ing. He declares the act doe3 not deal with mental healing, with cures by faith or prayer or Christian Science, but "with practice." |