0400. Misbranding of Beecham's Pills. V. S. * * * v. 36 Dozen Pack- 
ages of * * * Beechani's Pills. Consent decree of condemna- 
tion  and   fox fclture.     Product   released   under   bond.     (F.   &   D.   No.
11050.    I.  S. No. 2989-r.    S. No. W-471.)
On August 25, 1919, the United States attorney for the Southern District of 
California, acting upon a report by the. Secretary of Agriculture, filed in the 
District Court of the United States for said district a libel for the seizure and 
condemnation of 36 dozen packages of Beecham's Pills, remaining unsold in 
the original unbroken packages at Los Angeles, Calif., alleging that the article 
had been shipped by the B. F. Allen Co., New York, N. Y., on June 27, 1919,
BUREAU  OF  CHEMISTRY. [Supplement 118.]
and transported from the State of New York into the State of California, and 
charging misbranding in violation of the Food and Drugs Act, as amended.
Analysis of a sample of the article by the Bureau of Chemistry of this de- 
partment showed that the pills consisted essentially of aloes and ginger, and 
were coated with talc.
Misbranding of the article was alleged in substance in the libel for the 
reason that the following therapeutic effects were claimed for it in a circular 
inclosed in each package containing the said article, to wit, that it was a cure 
for, or remedy in the treatment of, the blood, nerves, bilious disorders, indiges- 
tion, want of appetite, fullness after meals, vomiting, sickness at the stomach, 
torpid liver, sick headache, cold chills, flushing of heat, lowness of spirits, etc., 
for attacks of headache, dizziness or swimming in the head, wind pain and 
spasms at the stomach, pains in the back, restlessness, insomnia, etc., scurvy, 
pimples, blotches of the skin, ulcers, etc., kidney and urinary disorders, gout, 
rheumatism, sciatica, eczema, etc., which claims and statements were false and 
fraudulent in that the contents of the said packages contained no ingredient 
or combination of ingredients capable of producing the effects claimed.
On September 16, 1919, the B. F. Allen Co., New York, N. Y., claimant, 
having confessed judgment and consented to a decree, judgment of condemna- 
tion and forfeiture was entered, and it was ordered by the court that the 
product be released to said claimant upon payment of the costs of the pro- 
ceedings and the execution of a bond in the sum of $100, in conformity with 
section 10 of the act, conditioned in part that the product be relabeled under 
the supervision of this department.
E. D. BALL, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.