Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-07-04
The Cattle Disease.
y The British Orders in Council which

\ The British Orders in Council which
mt into effect March 3 have put n stop
temporarily to the new and rapidly
growing business of exporting live cat
tie from America to England. The Uni
ted States with her more than 4O, DOC, 900
head of cattle can spare from her ample
resources as many as 1,0OO, 600 head
yearly for export. The business babe
fair last fall to attain thcse proportions
at an early day. 1t has now been
checked by the distractions thrown in
the way of our exporters by the British
Government. This action on the part
of England seems peculiarly migrate
full, considering that the contagious
pleuro-pneumonia in the United States,
which is the cause of it, was imported
into this country from England, in the
syst, ms Of cattle palmed off upon our
dairymen by INSCRIPTIONS English
exporters. However, there is no help
for it now. The damage is done and
the business has been checked. There
mess except by securing q repeal of the
British orders, and there is no way to
do that except to abolish the cattle
plague from Amer:c,n soil.
That the cattle plague exists in our
territory to-day is in part the fault of
our own citizens. 1t is we'll known
that contagious pleuro. pneumonia has
prevailed on Long Island since 1913,
and in New jersey since 1S40. This
covers period of thirty-six years. It
has been we'll known that individual
farmers were losing from 81 600 to
$4,000 worth Of stock from its ravages.
The attention of the agricultural pub
lie has been repeatedly ca led to the
subject through the columns of the
Weekly Tribune. Professor Law, an
authority on this subject, has warned
farmers and agricultural societies, by
voice and pen, for years, that a MALAY
WAS prevalent in this country, which
has cost England the sum of $500, UO0,-
600 since 1872, and which might easily
cost the United States several times
that sum, should the malady extend to
the West. In Massachusetts, and Con-
necticut the warning has been needed,
and those States have stamped out the
contagion several times from their Dor
ders but the great State of New York
and her sisters to the westAar have
allowed the plague to flourish absolute
ly unchecked until the present year. An
admirable law was enacted at Albany,
IN 1878, III consequence of the exholta.
tons of Professor Law, which was u
step in the right direction, but the law
was not called into operation until the
publication of the British Or.iers in
Council last February. TIE fact that
the contugion prevails to-day for $50
miles along the Atlantic coast, and in
places us much as 800 miles inland, is
due AS much to the apathy of our own
people rs to any other cause.
Considering that much fine stock has
been sent i'll different years from New
York and New Jersey to the dairy
States of the West, it is marvel that
there has yet been no outbreak Of this
disease in that region. Tue West has
escaped SO far, and is to be congratula-
ted thereupon. But how long will it
enjoy this immunity? a single train of
Eight cars infected by the transporta-
ton of a few sick COWS somew here in
the East would be sufficient to carry
the contagion throughout the West.
The disease is spread by causes SO sim
pie AS that. Should it once reach the
great herds we might never be rid of it.
The time appears to have come when
there should cease to be any trihing
with this plague. The safety of the
West and the restoration of entire free
dom to the export trade in live cattle
demand that the contagion be confined
to the six or seven coast States in, which
it now exists, and that it there be at
tackled in a manner calculated to stamp
it out speedily. In New York and New
Jersey every thing is being done that
can be desired. But what are Pennsyl-
vania, Delaware, Maryland and Vir-
ginia doing, and what is Congress
doing to aid the poorer of these com.
monwealths to wage adequate war on
this pest ?-N. Y. Tribune.