New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-31
SWILL MILK ~ CHICAGO.

AVIsfT TO THE FEsTERISG DIsrILLERY DENs
The reported existence Of contagious Dleuro pneu-
mona among cattle fed the refuse OF the Chicago
diSuiieries Is making much stir among cattle men
generally. Russell ID. Harrison. Of Helena Montana
who is secretary of the Montana Cattle Growers Asso
clation, WIS met hero by a TRIBUNE reporter, to
whom he said that ne had been spending week in
Chicago. investigating the best of his ability the
peuro-pneumonia scare
WI hat are your conclus oDs1"
Il am convinced that the disease ia not contagious
penro pneumonia. In company with prominent
cattle man went to the FhGnix Dstillery and other
places where cattle ted on dstillery refuse, and
spent much time in getting information
There is a quarantine tho cattle. Ia there not W
"ls,w evidences OF quarantine. The owners OF
the cattle were the ouly p-rsons on the premises.
was surprised AZ this because | knew the State OF
ilihos had declared quarantine IL IA dead letter.
because theIe there to enforce it, and
ascertained tina cattle HAD been taken out OF the
sheds after the quarantine went into effect to be
slaughtered and put on the market
Whet was the condition OF the cattlci"
AT the Phpnix DIstillery they were housed In very
low Shells old aud poorly constructed. They were
ch ned at the head and the chains were astere1 to
sliding rings on post so that hey could lie down
feed IN the long trough in front of Them IN which the
distillery slop poured three times a day. Each
animal has about three and one-half feet OF space
sideways. The arrangements for cleaning the stables
are 40 imperfect tn the ANIMALS stand in six or eight
inches OF manure nearly all the time and are covered
with II whe they lie down. The heat generated by
the animals the atmosphere terribly oppre ssive.
and the gases the manure were extremely
offensive. found that the first OF pleuro pneu
mona occurred Immediately after the cquinoctial storm
IN September. | could readily understand how Ihe
cold rain the sudden change in the weather would
affect animals crowded in such an unhealthy place as
this and having whatever. besides being
ted upon class OF TODD continually. The animals
get vcry little hay. il any The owners are mostly
Door and ignorant men who put them there to make
n
were old cows many OF them toothlcss. The owners
milk them and srll the milk in Chicago, The money
received from the milk than pays tor the cost OF
feeding, which is cents day per head The manure
in the stables is deep that the men who milk the
cows 90 around in rubber boots. saw them Tx INTO
ms and saw the same cans hauled away alter the
manure had been washed off the outside L saw a
man cleaning the With a little brush and a
single pail OF water he prepared ten cans tor se IL
was enough to turn ones stomach. The mix from
cattle housed like these Is not lit for use 1t would
kill infant. The old gradually dry I'D and In
the of three or four months are tat enough TO
kill They do not TO the stockyards at ALL but are
killed in the slaughter houses around the city,.
DO the owners regard the disease conta gious y"
In the talks had with them the anxiety they ex-
pressed to hDvs the cattle killed and paid for by the
State showed that they had an axe to grind In
declaring the disease contagious pleurO pneumonia.
One man with whom talked claimed that the disease
had existed for twenty years in the sheds-an alb
surdity in itself. Western steers that found III the
sheds that sick showed from their symptoms that
their illness due to the change from the free air oil
the plains to the hot and sufocating atmosphere of
the sheds In one corner OF the place there was a
hospital where animals were given bran and better
food than slops and received better care Many OF
these were recovering and some were already well,
which bore out the belief have expressed, that the
disease is due to the conditions surrounding them"
" What the Chic ago people doing :"
"They have moved slowly. but for one thing they
have suppressed the sale of milk from the cows in these
sheds THIS is thing that makes the owners
an xious to the condemned by the State 1t
looked to me as if the veterinarians wanted o have
the animals killed and the disease pronounced con-
tagious pleuro pneumonia in order to magnify their
blrraus and secure larger AZ preparation from the
State and National Govern -nents Tho movements
Of cattle nov are entirely from the far West TO the
East 40 there is aanger to the herds the West
even II the disease is con gous. The cattle OF the
plains are furnishing most of the meat not only for
Chicago but tor the Eastern markets"