26975. Misbranding of  Dr.   Bell's   Veterinary   Medical   Wonder.     V.   S.   v.   9%
Bottles and 57 Bottles of Dr. Bell's Veterinary Medical Wonder. De- 
fault decrees of condemnation and destruction. (F. & D. nos. 38405, 
38421.    Sample nos. 2914-C, 13538-C.)
This product contained alcohol in a proportion greater than that represented 
on the label, and the carton and bottle label bore false and fraudulent representa- 
tions regarding its curative or therapeutic effects.
The United States attorneys for the Western District of Washington and 
for the Northern District of Texas, acting upon reports by the Secretary of 
Agriculture, filed libels in their respective district courts, on October 13 and 15, 
1936, the libel praying seizure and condemnation of 9% dozen bottles at Seattle, 
Wash., and 57 bottles at Dallas, Tex., of Dr. Bell's Veterinary Medical Wonder, 
alleging that it had been shipped in interstate commerce on or about June 15 
and July 28, 1936, by the Bell Wonder Medicine Co., from Alexandria Bay, 
N. Y., and that it was misbranded in violation of the Food and Drugs Act as 
amended.
Analyses of samples of the article showed that it consisted essentially of 
alcohol (63 to 65 percent by volume), water, and extracts of plant drugs 
including aloes, sassafras, capsicum, nux vomica, and mydriatic drugs such 
as scopola, stramonium, and/or belladonna.
In each case the article was alleged to be misbranded in that the statement 
"Alcohol 40%", borne on the bottle labels, was false and misleading in that 
the article contained alcohol in a proportion greater than 40 percent. It was 
alleged to be misbranded further in that the package failed to bear a statement 
on the label of the quantity or proportion of alcohol contained therein, since no 
such declaration appeared upon the carton enclosing the bottles of the article 
and such declaration made on the bottle labels was incorrect and Inconspicuous. 
The article was alleged to be misbranded further in that statements regarding 
its curative and therapeutic effects, borne on the cartons and on the bottle labels, 
and contained in an accompanying circular, falsely and fraudulently repre- 
sented that it was capable of producing the effects claimed in such statements 
in substance as follows: That the article would relieve the more common dis- 
eases of livestock of which the symptoms are abdominal pains, colic, coughs, 
colds, chills, running a temperature, refusal to eat, looseness of the bowels, un- 
easiness, nervousness, exhaustion, undue exposure, and overexertion; that it 
would relieve colic, preliminary coughs, chills, running a temperature, refusal 
to eat, looseness of the bowels, and uneasiness in any animal; that it would 
give effectual first aid to livestock and save pain, reduce losses, and nip dis- 
ease in the bud; that it was a reliable panacea for the most common ills of and 
evils affecting, and would prevent mortality among horses; that it was the 
greatest known first aid for sick animals; that it would be effective for the 
treatment of coughs, chills, and colds and hi preventing many serious compli-
cations of which such are symptoms; that It would be an effective remedy 
for reducing temperature, and for the prevention and treatment of the many 
serious diseases and complications of which high temperature is a symptom 
or accompaniment; would be effective to correct looseness of the bowels and 
disturbances of the digestive system; effective as an immediate restorative for 
horses suffering from exhaustion or overwork and for distressed and overtaxed 
racing horses; effective as a corrective in cases of refusal to eat and for the 
prevention and treatment of exhaustion, approaching colds, stomach disorders, 
and overexertion, of which refusal to eat is a symptom or accompaniment; 
effective as a remedy for restlessness, colicky pains, pawing, fruiting, getting 
up and lying down, and diseases or ailments of which such are symptoms or 
accompaniments; effective as a preventive of illness in any animal, and to 
eliminate sickness and losses among livestock; effective as a tonic for the ap- 
petite in all animals; effective for the prevention or treatment of diseases likely 
to be of long standing and accompanied with rising temperature, such as pneu- 
monia, effective for the prevention of colds, etc., among poultry and for the 
prevention and treatment of sickness or disease in individual cases; effective 
for the treatment of high temperature in horses, cattle, sheep, and dogs, ab- 
dominal pains in horses, cattle, and dogs, and looseness of the bowels in full- 
grown horses and cattle, calves and colts, and dogs; effective as a preventive 
of sickness, including colic, in racing horses; effective in keeping livestock free 
from disease during shipping; effective as a preventive, remedy, or cure for 
acute indigestion (wind colic), bloating, stomach staggers, grass staggers, in- 
flammation of the lungs, pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis, inflammation of the 
bowels, distemper, and azoturia (black water) in horses; effective as a pre- 
ventive, remedy, or cure for bloating, exhaustion, calving disorders, straining 
after calving, compaction, loss of cud, garget, and pneumonia in cattle; effec- 
tive in treating sick hogs, as a corrective and restorative and as a tonic for 
the appetite, and in severe cases of pain, inflammation, and rising temperature j 
effective as a preventive, remedy, or cure for pain, colic, inflammation, rising 
temperature, coughs, chills, and looseness of the bowels in sheep and all other 
animals, as a restorative for exhaustion, and as a tonic for loss of appetite 
in sheep; effective as a preventive, remedy, or cure for colds, catarrh, and 
ordinary diseases in poultry; and for distemper and the more common diseases 
in dogs.
On December 30, 1936, and January 12, 1937, no claimant having appeared, 
Judgments of condemnation were entered and it was ordered that the product 
be destroyed.
HARRY L. BROWN, Acting Secretary of Agriculture.