The Portland daily press., 1891-12-28


farmer is so unfortunate as to bay one of
these consumptives, it is not long before he
has tuberculous herd as know OF no In
stance where the saying that "A little ieav-
enness leavens the whole lump" applies so
we'll or so truly as 1t does here.
Mr.. A. w. Cheever, secretary of the
Massachusetts Board, publicly stated only
last season:
1t is asked if the Cattle Commissioners
have the power to eradicate the disease
from the state, and without hesitation L
should say not without building fence
around it high enough and strong enough
to keep all living beings subject t. the dis
ease. including man himself, out OF it till
the job was finished.
Very few now living could hope to
see the fence removed. When you can as
sure us that the public Is ready to eradi-
cate tuberculosis l will assure you that the
their part or to resign.
DR.. Winchester, late state veterinarian Of
Massachusetts in his testimony before the
state committee at Augusta. said:
! saw a letter written by gentleman
who had been at a hearing at the State
House on this subject. and he made
strong statement-that of these old cows,
skates" | believe he called them, there
was hardly one that did not have some evil
dence of the disease. He said he did not
think there was herd of 20 cows In all
Massachusetts but what had it.
also have letter written by DR.. Win
chester previous to 1886. in which he says
that in his opinion there was not sound
herd Of cattle within 10 or 90 miles of Law
renee, Mass, the city where he lives"
DIR. Alfred FL. Rose. D. V. S., United
Cfofoc lnu,Nootor NJ ha Ono Stafiou
Littleton, Mass, has lately told me shat
Suffolk and Middlesex counties in Massa-
chusetts were literally overrun with the
disease, and that % per cent in that state
would be light estimate"
DIR. VIM Rose, ID. V. S., United States
Inspector of the Agricultural Bureau at
Washington, d. c., who was sent to Mas
sachusetts three years ago to assist In look
ing up some supposed cases Of pleuro-pneu-
monia in that state, told me at the close of
his examination, shat he had been into
over two hundred herds. and while he had
not found case of pleuro-pneumonia, he
had not been into herd in which he could
not identify over twenty-five per cent of
tuberculouscattle."
DIR. Madison Bunker, d. V. S., of New
ton, Mass. who. believe, in company with
DR.. Winchester, attended the cases Of Mr..
Francis Blake, owns up, believe, to fifty
per cent. while Drs. Hitchings. Penniman.
Colburn and other well informed and prom
inent veterinary surgeons in that state, ac-
knowledge all the way from twenty-five
per cent up.
Dr. f. 1. Smith, v. S., of Rochester, N.
H., who has largely had charge of the ex-
tensive outbreak of tuberculosis in that
state, and who is one of the most expert
examiners in this disease know of. says:
The people of Rochester are we'll aware
that Massachusetts cattle are thoroughly
infected with this disease; and have
seen it ably proved In my examinations at
Hillsboro', Weare, Antrim and aenniker.
The worse cases have had this season
are where they carry on an exchange with
Massachusetts In mich cows; dealers
bring them here and turn to pasture and
sell among the farmers those they buy In
the vicinity OF Boston, so you can readily
see 1t Is wide spread and no one knows
where 1t will end.
have been thus particular in summari-
zing these reports for the past five years.
from the fact that they are all from the
highest authorities in Massachusetts,,
mostly official statements from the same
commissioners who now say. "The general
health and condition Of cattle in Massa-
ehasetts is excellent, and there is positively
but very little tuberculosis among them.
And this, Notwithstanding the undisputed
fact, that down to the present DAY not
single dollar has ever been appropriated by
that state to exterminate the disease, nor
is tuberculosis eveI, mentioned among the
contagious diseases of Massachusetts,. GL-
though tbs the only contagious disease they
haze to deal aoitb, and every novice knows
that it Is always a progressive disease and
ol,coys fatal. What then has created such a
stupendous transformation ''in the minds"
of the Massachusetts commissioners, for it
must be apparent to every one that their
statement can have no possible foundation
IN fact?
If the commissioners tell the truth when
they say: sit would require the pay
ment of many hundreds of thousands of
dollars to stamp the disease out of Massa-
chusetts, and necessitate the destruction
of twenty animals to save one," how
can it be false when we say shat state is
fairly honey combed with the disease"
1t seems to be all right when they tell
it themselves, but all wrong when we
quote them as authority for the same
statement.
In their annual report Of 1890 the Maine
commissioners said:
Taking the whole number of cattle in
this state census of 1900 as 100000, and
the whole number of cattle found affected
with tuberculosis for the past four years as
48, the average of all the cattle so con-
demned will be only IL for each consecu
tive year. This will be found to be per-
centage of less than four one-hundredths
of one per cent, and while we have no
means Uf knowing the exact number Of
cattle brought into this state from Massa-
chusetts each year, we know that what do
come here are constant menace to cur
live stock interests, and that of the whole
number of IL cattle killed by order of our
commission the past year, four Of them
came here ont of Massachusetts herds, and
this would be an exact average of 33 per
cent.
The same condition of affairs exists today
only in more aggravated form as regards
Massachusetts,, for we have condemned
and paid for double the number of cattle
this vaor than hafora tho 10 roo inn ooco ba