Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-12-28
PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.
Commissioner CoIman Gives History
Of the Plague from 1884 10
the Present Time.
He Urges Congress TO Legisinte that Powe,
to Slaughter Diseased CATTLE May bo
Given His Departments.

Colman q reply to the resolution Nffered |
a few days ago by Representative swim !
burne Of New York, in which the commis- |
sioner sets forth comprehensively
the difficulties met in an al
tempt toI extirpate or to con-
troll the pleuro pneumonia scourge
in the present state Of law and with the
machinery at hand, and reinforces his
recommendations previously made for
more thorough method with additional
arguments The statement of the reso-
luton seems to question the prevalence |
| If not the existence Of pleuro.pneumon.a
declaring IN its preamble that
since the submission Of the commission
! ers last report IL has been learned tua I
the contagion did not exist where that re.
port said it did, and calls for
full and explicit information az
TO ownership and locality Of infected
nerds the number OF animals which have
persisted and the steps taken TO stamp
out or con1ne the contagion. The COM
missioner at the outset declared that
some of the statements attributed to his
report were not contained in 1t, and pro-
ceeds to show that the summary by the
chief of the bureau of animal industry of
the discoveries made during two years
was enormously assumed by Mr..
Swinburne 80 be statement of the con-
dition of affairs at the moment the report
was submitted He proceeds as follows:
"In reference to that part of the pre-
amble which states 1t has been learned
since the making Of the report that the
disease does not exist in the localities
where it was reported to exist, !
would respectfully say that my
L. ~ ID nnf mi 40
statement. II by localities individual
premises are meant, the statement may
be admitted to be corr CT, for with pleuro-
pneumonia, as with all other contagious
diseases, some herds were con-
tinually being rescued from the coz
tagiun while others were as contiu-
ually coming under its infiu nee. IL,
however, we use the word localities in
the sense of states or cUunti,s g, | see no
reason to believe that with the exception
of Kentucky and Illinois there has been
any material change as to the proportion
of the 1878 affected animals which
recovered and the proportion which
died And as to the proportion
OF those exposed which afterwards be-
came affected have no Information. The
inspection was made to obtain the facts
as to the extent Of the disease, and it was
, existing law to keep infected herds under
supervision or to obtain any facts as to
the subsequent history Of the
herds. The publication of the
existence of pleuro-pneumonia in herds
without the adoption Of prompt
} measures for supervising ii caused so
much danger TO owners that in many cases
: they not only refused to give information,
, but they would prevent the examination
, OF their animals at subsequent visits The
only way to learn the tate Of animals
4 IN such herds, is to place watch on the
8 premises ana maintain it day and night.
3 For 40 infected herds this would require
at least 800 men, force which 1t was
clearly impossible for the department to
employ even II the expenditure should
be considered judicious and necessary
: one. In fact we would not
have been al lie to obtain accurate
data even In this way because many af-
fected animals, probably the greater part
Of them, were slaughtered or sold before
/ the natural termination Of the disease
As to the quarantine Of infected herds, a
G glance at the law Is sufficient TO show that
y this department cannot enforce quarantine
regulations within a state, unless under
. state laws and by cooperation with the
q state authorities. The only penalties in
4 the national law are for driving or trans
porting affected cattle from one state or
:. territory into another, and II the penalty
+ clause is construed strictly, as 1
r believe is the rule In such cases,
4 there Is nothing to prevent the
removal of that part Of an
infected herd which has not yet shown
symptoms Of disease from any state into
any other state. In certain cases the de-
ha INaa nh a frr 20 tpif ~
o the state authorities and TO maintain
quarantine regulations by means
OF state laws, but it has
i been IN all cases most
difficult matter TO divide the responsible
i ties between federal and state OIL Il ais.
There has been unavoidable discord and
J, Jealousy between subordinate officers of
the states and inspectors of the bureau OF
d animal industry which as more or less
G impaired the value of the work. 1t seems
next to impossible for officers obtaining
: their authority from tS o distinct sources
h to work together harmoni uely IN a
service OF this character, and would rec
h ommend most emp atically either that
a sufficient authority be given to this de-
partment TO eradicate the plague or that
s the work be left entirely to the state
: authorities. To effectively quaran
a tine infected herds for any
considerable period is most
: difficult thing to accomplish, even
= with the most rigid laws and the
L severest penalties. II dairy herd is
| quarantined publication OF notice at once
9 ruins the sale OF milk from the herd, and
q II also prevents the sale of the animal for
S oeei In many cases, because the public
prefer to receive their beef and milk sup
/ ply from uncontagined animals. NOW,
u Just as soon as an individual
L nnds his income cut off and that
n ne is under the necessity of feeding y
large number Of animals at ruinous ex
u pense, with no prospect of relief he at
Q tempts the removal OF the animals sus-
$ pected, and unless rigid regulations can
o be enforced he win succeed Ani-
T mails can be removed and others
S having the same general appearance
can be substituted for them almost with
out possibility of detection, and this Is
a frequently done, but even where this can