Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1860-06-13
The Great Cattle Disease OF
RInsanchmseaan,

An exchange truly says that the magnitude
Of the danger to which the wealth and prop.
erty, and even the very lives Of the people Of
this country, are exposed by the spread Of the
cattle disease, called pleuropneumOnia, which
has for some time been raging in MRssAehu-
setts cannot be exaggerated
Already, despite the precautions which have
been taken against II, has this disease crossed
the boundaries Of Massachusetts, and invaded
Rhode Island and New Jersey, in which States
It has commenced its raveges
The value Of the cattle owned in the United
States is about S54O, 600, ,OOO-6ve hundred
and forty millions Of dollarsl--an almost in.
calculable sum.
This vast amount Of property is liable TO be
swept out of existence by this terrible and fa-
tai disease, for which there appears to he no
cure, and the only barrier against which seems
TO be complete isolation.
The magnitude Of the interests involved,
even in single State, may be understood by
the fact that it has compelled Gov BANKS, Of
Massachusetts,, to call an extra session Of the
Legislature Of that State, to take measures
for extirpating the disease, by the slaughter
Of all the cattle in the State
This is matter that comes right home to
every one ofus There is great danger of this
dreadful disease being imported into our own
State, and IL il once obtains foothold here it
can never be eradicated until it has beggared
thousands Of families, and caused the loss Of
tens and hundreds ofthousands of dollars.
There is peculiarly about this disease; it is
communicated by Infection and animals ex-
posed TO contact with another afflicted with
this disease will imbibe the seeds Of the pesti-
lence. They will remain dormant in the sys-
tenn for some length of time, the animal in the
mean time appearing to be perfectly healthy
and sound, but fnallty the disease will make
its appearance and the animal, after commu'
nicating the infection to all around him dies
1t is not extravagant to say that there is
probably not a cow calf, steer or bull down in
Massachusetts which has not been exposed to
the infection, and which will sooner or later die
from its effects
Now there are dishonest and avaricious men
in Massachusetts as well as in other places
and it can SC freely be expected that some, at
least, of the cattle owners of Massachusetts,,
knowing that however healthy their cattle
might appear, the seeds Of the disease were in
their blood, and that they soon must perish
have been and now anxious to sell them of to
buyers from other States, and to save them
selves from loss.
There are hundreds of valuable blooded
cattle in Massachusetts which are almost GER
tainly doomed TO death from this disease.
1t will be seen that Gov. Banks proposes
That all the cattle shall be killed, and that q
partial compensation shall be made to the own
ers--but they shall not be paid for at the value
which they would have had if the disease had
not existed
What then can be more natural TO suppose
than that the owners of these valuable cattle
should endeavor to dispose of them to buyers
from other States; and that thus the disease
will be spread all over the land
Let the people by watchfhl and prudent, and
do all in their power to prevent the importa-
tions Of any diseased cattle into this State.