19034. Misbranding of Marvel ointment. V. S. v. 1% Gross Jars of Marvel 
Ointment. Default decree of condemnation, forfeiture, and 
destruction.     (F. & D. No. 26814.    I. S. No. 25437.    S. No. 4969.)
Examination of a drug product, known as Marvel ointment, from the shipment 
herein described having shown that the carton label and accompanying circular 
bore statements representing that the article possessed curative and thera- 
peutic properties which it did not possess, the Secretary of Agriculture re- 
ported the matter to the United States attorney for the Eastern District of 
Missouri.
On July 30,1931, the United States attorney filed in the District Court of the 
United States for the district aforesaid a libel praying seizure and condemna- 
tion of lVe gross jars of Marvel ointment, remaining in the original unbroken 
packages at St. Louis, Mo., alleging that the article had been shipped by White 
& Kleppinger (Inc.), from Chicago, Ill., on or about March 2, 1931, and had 
been transported from the State of Illinois into the State of Missouri, and charg- 
ing misbranding in violation of the food and drugs act as amended.
Analysis of a sample of the article by this department showed that it con- 
sisted essentially of volatile oils (35 per cent, mostly methyl salicylate) incor- 
porated in an ointment base (65 per cent) composed of petrolatum and paraffin.
It was alleged in the libel that the article was misbranded in that the 
following statements appearing on the carton label and in the accompanying 
circular, regarding the curative or therapeutic effects of the said article, were 
false and fraudulent, since it contained no ingredient or combination of in- 
gredients capable of producing the effects claimed: (Carton) "For Rheumatic 
Pains * * * For Inflammation and Congestion. * * * Used externally, 
Marvel Ointment will be found to be a very effective remedy in most forms 
of inflammation and congestion. * * * For coughs * * * nasal catarrh, 
headache, neuralgia and all affections of the head, throat and lungs. Marvel 
Ointment should be applied by inhalation. * * * Highly Recommended For 
the Following: Asthma, * * * Catarrh, Croup, Headache, * * * Itchings, 
Boils, Whooping Cough, Neuralgia, Bronchitis, * * * Pneumonia, Sore 
Throat, Piles (Itching), Rheumatic Pains, Also for * * * Aching Feet;" 
(circular) "Directions * * * Used externally, it acts through the skin 
* * * The second method of application is by vaporization in which the 
volatile ingredients of this Ointment are inhaled with each breath and carried 
direct to the inflamed air passages. Vaporization can be effected by rubbing 
the Ointment on the throat and chest whereupon the medicated vapors are 
released by the heat of the body. * * * the efficiency of the Ointment lies 
in its strength and its burning action is essential for the quick relief of the 
soreness and congestion."
On December 2, 1931, no claimant having appeared for the property, judg- 
ment of condemnation and forfeiture was entered, and it was ordered by the 
court that the product be destroyed by the United States marshal.
ABTHTTE M. HYDE, Secretary of Agriculture.