DECISION OF PRESIDENT TAFT OVERRULING ATTORNEY-GENERAL BONAPARTE AND THE HONORABLE LLOYD BOWERS

"It is undoubtedly true that the liquor trade has been disgracefully full of frauds upon the public by false labels; but these frauds did not consist in palming off something which was not whisky as whisky, but in palming one kind of whisky as another and better kind of whisky. Whisky made of rectified or redistilled or neutral spirits and given a color and flavor by burnt sugar, made in a few days, was often branded as Bourbon or Rye straight whisky. The way to remedy this evil is not to attempt to change the meaning and scope of the term 'whisky,' accorded to it for one hundred years, and narrow it to include only straight whisky; and there is nothing in the Pure Food Law that warrants the inference of such an intention by Congress. The way to do it is to require a branding in connection with the use of the term 'whisky' which will indicate just what kind of whisky the package contains. Thus, straight whiskies may be branded as such and may be accompanied by the legend 'aged in wood.' Whisky made from rectified, redistilled, or neutral spirits may be branded as whisky made from rectified, redistilled, or neutral spirits, as the case may be.

"With this result, the question arises what ought the order to be so that the purpose of the Pure Food Law can be carried out. The term 'straight whisky' is well understood in the trade and well understood by consumers. There is no reason, therefore, why those who make straight whisky may not have the brand upon their barrels of straight whisky with further descriptive terms as 'Bourbon' or 'Rye' whisky, as the composition of the grain used may justify, and they may properly add, if they choose, that it is aged in the wood.

" Those who make whisky of 'rectified,' 'redistilled,' or 'neutral' spirits can not complain if, in order to prevent further frauds, they are required to use a brand which shall show exactly the kind of whisky they are selling. For that reason it seems to me fair to require them to brand their product as 'whisky made from rectified spirits,' or 'whisky made from redistilled spirits,' or 'whisky made from neutral spirits,' as the case may be; and if aged in the wood, as sometimes is the case with this class of whiskies, they may add this fact. * * *

"This opinion will be certified to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to prepare the regulation in accordance herewith, under the Pure Food Law; and to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to prepare the proper regulation under the Internal Revenue Law.

(Signed) WILLIAM H. TAFT.

The White House,

December 27, 1909.

President Taft in revising the opinion of his Solicitor-General that neutral spirits or alcohol, even when carrying flavor, were not entitled to be defined as whisky, also revised the opinion of his distinguished father, Alphonso Taft, who rendered an opinion, as Attorney-General, on the 21st of August, 1876, as follows:

"I agree with my predecessor's opinion that the shipment of alcohol under the name of whisky (the offense charged), is a violation of section 3449, Revised Statutes, notwithstanding 'the trade,' generally may have fallen into such a practice. Alcohol and whisky are, unquestionably, different articles, in contemplation of law, as they are in fact, having different qualities and different values. It appears, also, that they are placed by common carriers under different rates in their freighting schedules; * * *

"When the act prescribes how spirits may be stored or bonded, it must be presumed that it means spirits that have been lawfully distilled.

"This being patent, it is obviously important that there should be an absolute agreement in character of all the acts which together go to make up the act of shipping; and I must believe that the law intends to secure this. * * * This would be difficult or impossible if shippers, carriers, consignees, etc., were permitted to use one name for another, at their pleasure, or for any purpose."

Very respectfully,

(Signed) Alphonso Taft,

Attorney-General.

Accordingly the three Secretaries, who under the authority of the law were empowered to make rules and regulations for carrying the law into effect, prepared the definitions which did not, however, follow President Taft's directions above.

Food Inspection Decision No. 113 is as follows:

" Under the Food and Drugs Act of June 30, 1906, all unmixed distilled spirits from grain, colored and flavored with harmless color and flavor, in the customary ways, either by the charred barrel process, or by the addition of caramel and harmless flavor, if of potable strength and not less than 80° proof, are entitled to the name whisky without qualification.* If the proof be less than 80°, i.e., if more water be added, the actual proof must be stated upon the label and this requirement applies as well to blends and compounds of whisky.

"Whiskies of the same or different kinds, i.e., straight whisky, rectified whisky, redistilled whisky and neutral spirits whisky are like substances* and mixtures of such whiskies, with or without harmless color or flavor used for purposes of coloring and flavoring only, are blends under the law and must be so labeled. In labeling blends the Act requires two things to be stated upon the label to bring the blended product within the exception provided by the statute: First, the blend must be labeled, branded or tagged so as to plainly indicate that it is a blend, in other words that it is composed of two or more like substances, which in the case of whisky must each be of itself a whisky and Second, the word 'blend' must be plainly stated upon the package in which the mixture is offered for sale. A mixture of whiskies, therefore, with or without harmless coloring or flavoring, used for coloring and flavoring only, is correctly labeled 'Kerwan Whisky. A Blend of Whiskies.'*

*All three of these statements are not in harmony with Taft's decision.

"Since the term whisky is restricted to distillates from grain, and distillates from other sources are unlike substances to distillates from grain, such distillates from other sources without admixture with grain distillates are misbranded if labeled whisky without qualification, or as a blend of whiskies. However, mixtures of whisky, with a potable alcoholic distillate from sources other than grain, such as cane, fruit or vegetables, are not misbranded if labeled compound whisky, provided the following requirements of the law are complied with: First, that the product shall be labeled, branded or tagged so as to plainly indicate that it is a compound, i.e., not a mixture of like substances, in this case whiskies; and, Second, that the word 'Compound' is plainly stated upon the package in which the mixture is offered for sale. For example, a mixture of whisky, in quantity sufficient to dominate the character of the mixture, with a potable alcoholic distillate from sources other than grain and including harmless color and flavor is correctly labeled 'Kerwan Whisky. A compound of whisky and cane distillate.' Unmixed potable alcoholic distillates from sources other than grain and including harmless color or flavor, are not misbranded if labeled 'Imitation Whisky.'

"When an essence or oil is added to a distillate of grain, which without such addition is entitled to the name whisky, and the effect of such addition is to produce a product which simulates a whisky of another kind different from the kind of whisky to which the essence is added, the mixture is an imitation of the particular kind of whisky which is simulated, e.g., if rye essence be added to a highly rectified distillate of corn, the mixture is misbranded if labeled rye whisky. Such a mixture is not misbranded if labeled 'Whisky--Imitation Rye.'

"Nothing in the Food and Drugs Act inhibits any truthful statement upon the label of any product subject to its terms, such as the particular kind or kinds of whisky, vended as whisky or as blends or compounds thereof, but when descriptive matter, qualifying the name whisky, is placed upon the label, it must be strictly true, and not misleading in any particular. The law makes no allowance for seller's praise upon the label, if false or misleading, and the product is misbranded if a false or misleading statement be made upon one part of the label and the truth about the product be stated upon another part. Similarly a product is misbranded if the label is false or misleading through the use of a trade-marked statement, design or device. The fact that a phrase, design or device is registered in the U. S. Patent Office gives no license for its deceptive use. All descriptive matter qualifying or particularizing the kind of whisky, whether volunteered or required by the law to be stated, as in the case of blends and compounds, must be given due prominence as compared with the size of type and the background in which the name whisky appears, so that the label as a whole shall not be misleading in any particular.

Food Inspection Decisions 45, 65, 95 and 98 and all rulings in conflict herewith, are hereby revoked.

(Signed) Franklin MacVeagh,

Secretary of the Treasury.

James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

Charles Nagel,

Secretary of Commerce and Labor.

Washington, D. C., February 16, 1910."

This decision directly contrary to the findings of many Federal Courts, promulgated by the three Secretaries charged with the duty of making rules and regulations for carrying the law into effect, is the most astonishing exhibition of illegality ever perpetrated. No higher flight of open contempt of judicial findings has ever been made by any one whose duty it is to follow the courts' decisions. It would have been bad enough as an attempt at construing the meaning of a law prior to judicial opinions. In the face of the facts it is a flagrant contempt of Court.

The regulations made by the three Secretaries are most remarkable. In the first place they attempt to decide what is an adulteration or misbranding, a function which was never committed to them but was specifically given to the Bureau of Chemistry.

In the second place, they utterly failed to include the fundamental principles of branding laid down by President Taft in the above extract from his letter. There is absolutely no trace in this decision of requiring whisky to be labeled neutral spirit whisky, or a blend of that whisky and a whisky made from neutral spirits. Those were the fundamental principles which President Taft laid down for correct labeling. These two phrases were highly objectionable to the rectifiers. Under the very nose of the President the rectifiers so controlled the action of the three Secretaries that neither one of these phrases was incorporated into the necessary labeling of whiskies made from neutral spirits. Not only was every decision of the courts violated by this order, but President Taft's specific directions for labeling were also disregarded. It is very strange that the President himself did not make a protest against the utter disregard of the fundamental principles upon which his labeling order was based.