The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-10-22
CATTLE COMPLAINTS.
Professor SalmOns DiscOnsOate View of the
Condition of American Stock.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2L-Professor Salmon,
the head of the Bureau of Animal Industry, is
preparing his first report, showing the work of
the new bureau since its organization.
81 am really surprised he said to cor
respondent ito find what large amount of
work has been accomplished in the time and
with the limited facilities"
1.-The new bureau is success then, is itlo was
asked.
mo, not altogether" was the reply, land it
will not be until Congress gets rid of this ridicu
lous and exploded Statesright theory as far as
it pertains TO this subject, at least No, we
have been very much hampered by the law,
which does not give us any authority to stamp
out disease when we find it. There is little sat
isfaction in spending months of labor to find
disease attacking and seriously threatening the
stock producing industry Of the country and not
be able to get rid of it after we find and def
nitey locate it."
Has that been your experience this season.
Yes We have found pleuro pneumonia be
ing rapidly spread throughout the fine herds of
the West where we fattered ourselves it did
not exist at all; and are after all, utterly power
less to do anything more. The law creating
this bureau simply authorizes us to make in
spectons and cooperate with the State authori-
ties in removing the disease. Well, the fact is,
that the State laws are of no value in this par
teulaP. The lawyers will tell you-they tell US
that the laws in the States are ample for the
purpose but they are not. Governor Knott, of
Kentucky, said that the laws of Kentucky were
perfect in this regard. If the Legislature were
to sit for months with this special object in view
itcould not benefit them. And yet there is in
that very State to-day a herd containing hun
dreds of head of cattle which is infected with
the disease, and we are powerless to do anything
to stop its spread among Them or to be sure
that 1T is not going to spread to others. The
man who owns it has given a time to it's
collection and perfection, and he cannot
be expected to set to work and de
suit of so many years of labor and so many
thousand dollars cost He values his herd at
$40, 900. The stockmen in that vicinity, anxious
TO have the plague eradcated before it gets be-
yond control had the herd valued, with the
thought of buying and destroying it in part or
whole, but the appraised valuation was nearly
$50, 900. The result is, to make a long story
short, that nothing satisfactory is being DONE
either in this case or III the others discovered In
the West this summer"
'How many are there of these cases now ex-
listing west of the Alleghenies27
There about dozen herds infected with
contagious pleuro pneumonia in the West, where,
up to this summer, there was supposed to be
none and where | really believe there was none
before. One of these is at Cynthiana, KY, two
in Ohio and the remainder are in Illinois. They
are all the result of the transfer from the one
infected herd in Maryland to these States.
And do you think it possible to eradicate the
disease in this country, now that it has such a
footholdf' .r... st.. ..-.. ...
with the aid of congressional action. yes
without it l think there is little hope of it"