The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-07-16
The Swill War.

cows, as well the people who operate all
other establishments organized with view
to profit, have for primary motive in all
their acts the desire to make money. They
are willing to obey the laws also if the laws
and tho profits nre reconcilable but they
must make money, and if this cannot be
done within the narrow limits to which the
laws restrain their activity, then the ten
dency is TO exceed those limits and TO make
money in forbidden ways. The very multi
plicity of the laws is q consequence of this as
well as q recognition that the principal
function of justice is practically the en-
deavor to circumvent the ingenious efforts
OF the INSCRIPTIONS to do that which is for
hidden in the interest of the people at large
1t seems to MS necessary to make this
statement of first principles just now,
because the primary conceptions OF
the relation Of wrongdoers to the
law appears to be overlooked in an
important issue Of very great consequence
to the public Of this city There is no doubt
that the traffic in swill milk must be sup
pressed in this city. That is the will Of the
people as declared in the law. That is the
declared and known purpose of at least one
statute and it is purpose indirectly reached
by large number Of statutes-in fact, by
all those laws under which the Board
of Health is authorized to take whatever
measures may be found necessary to
control the preventible causes of disease.
At the same time it is equally certain that
Al. ,1o IN
livelihood by this forbidden traffic will per-
sistently endeavor to defeat the purpose of
the statute. There may be five or ten
thousand persons-capitalists, laborers in
breweries and COW stables, and pedlers Of
the diseased serum called 'swill milk
who are interested on one side, and
whose ingenuity is enlisted in the at
tempt to continue o profitable enterprise
in such way as to keep within the letter Of
the law On the other side is the interest
of the whole people.-the millions Of the
great cities more particularly. With the
parties to the issue thus defined it ought
not to be for moment in doubt what interest
should prevail but unfortunately the pop
ular prejudice is in a great degree enlisted
on the side Of the wrongdoers, and
this affects the machinery of justice
and even the action of judges them
selves on all discretionary points. Exactly
why the people are prejudiced against the
law that defends them and in favor of the
men who profit by doing them an injury is
one of those secrets OF popular sympathy
that "no fellow can find out" Why does
the crowd commonly obstruct the attempt
to arrest pickpocket? 1t was not the po-
liceman's pockets that were likely to suffer.
Why has the whole civilized world for gen.
erations regarded smuggling as kind
of lesser heroism when it is only
the effort of few individuals to
make private gain at the general expense?
There are occult sympathies Of the same
sort that induce crowd to cheer when
twelve persons. of limited intelligence,
called jurymen, refuse to prevent vio-
lation of the law which results in the daily
doing to death Of many Of the children of
the poor in this city and in Brooklyn-per-
haps the children Of the very creatures that
cheer That such prejudice can exist
| IL
thorities endeavor to deal with the
sentimental aspects Of this subject the more
likely they will be to suppress the traffic.
Sentiment in democracies is very apt to be
against authority on any issue, and the
fact that man puts little poison in milk
or in rum does not outlaw his claim to popu-
lar sympathy. The people will take their
poison heroically in milk or rum; but
never. never will they regard with indiffer-
ence the oppression" of requiring man
not to sell poison as food. The simple
problem is therefore with the Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals and the Health Board how
to secure tho application of the existing
laws to the difficulties Of the case. 1t is
hardly worth whilo for Mr.. Bergh to en-
deavor to WACO his anti-swill war in Queens
county. They are saturated with swill
that all creatures have for their natural ele-
ment. Pollywogs taken from any roadside
puddle would die in distilled water, and
the people of Queens county might perish
if deprived OF the swill they love. But
these swill trials appear to come under
the classification of cases in which the
venue may be changed to some other county.
If that is the case we would suggest
that Mr.. Bergh should change the venue to
Orange county. They have some ideas
there on the subject OF milk that might give
a different result to trial. The Board of
Health has, on the other hand, abundant
power to break up the whole infamous
traffic by merely obstructive campaign
against ia campaign by which the bust
ness should be made Improbable.
Exports of Beef, Mutton and Live
stock.
We published yesterday very important
L ASL..ls4iaxa Of Tho pnrts of meat to the