The San Francisco call., 1897-07-26
TROUBLE
BREWING
OVER Milk
Dairymen Say They Will
Not Let the Matter
Drop.
ARB AFRAID OF BEING RUINED.
Milk-Dealers Dare Not Talk
About 1t Because They
Fear Persecution.
CONCERTED ACTION TO Be TAKEN.
a Meeting Soon to Be Held at Which
a Campaign Plan Will Be
Adopted.
CONCERTED ACTION TO Be TiKEN.
A Meeting Soon to Be Held at Which
Campaign Plan Will Be
Adopted.

The recent action of the Board of Health
regarding the quarantine of milk coming
from counties outside of the City has
probably stirred up hornets nest for
that body. The wholesale milk-dealers
say that the action was arbitrary and un-
necessary so far as they were concerned,
and they com plain because of the unnec-
essary loss to which they were subjected.
They feel that they have been uniustly
Disseminated against, and say that they
will take concerted action to rectiiy the
evil.
Five wholesalers and dairymen were
seen yesterday by a reporter for The CALL,
and 1t was developed that they were ali
very much afraid thatlf they talk for pub
hcation they will be subjected to such a
course OF persecution that they Will be
compelled to 90 cut OF business. These
men are all of one mind regarding the
tuberculin test, and say that 1t Is the
protection of the legitimate Dealers but
they add thai the present form OF lnspec-
tlon does not protect, and they are anxious
to have The rules and regulations so
amended that the people may be assured
OF getting nothing but pure milk.
&. l. Stone, i'll spesking OF the matter,
said: Il was confident that the stoppage
of my milk was illegal, and when | got
my lawyer 10 work on 4 he was OF the
same opinion and it did not take long to
have it released. l have nothing 10 say
against the tuberculin test. In tact l, as
well as all the prominent dalrymen and
wholesalers, am heartily in favor of it.
We 10 not think however, that we should
be put TO expense and trouble because the
Supervisors of the various counties do not
have the dairies tested. We tried to get a
bill passed last session of the Legislature,
but the Governor would not sign 1t be-
cause it was favorable to the men who
owned the cows.
'It will be much better for all d2iry-
men if the inspection was made, and We
are all glad TO have it done. There is no
law regarding the matter, and We have
gone so lar as 10 offer TO have our cows
examined by reputable veterinary sur
geon, but the board Will not take that as
being sufficient. We cannot afford to pay
the charges of having a man come over to
our da!rIes and examine our COWS at the
prices set by the Health Department. 1t
would be asking too much of U.s."
The head OF one of the largest dairies
that supplies milk TO san Francisco said
be dare not talk TOR publication. He said:
"If I say what l think about this whole
business and you put my name in the
paper, the inspectors, with Dock
cry at the head, will simply
ruin my business. They can run any one
out OF business tat they choose They
talk about the cows in adjacent counties
not being examined. Why, do you know
that Dockery and his whole crowd of in
spectors could not examine all the COWS
in the daires OF San Francisco in six
months. There are fifty large dairy farms
in San Mateo County and it wou d take a
man q week at each farm. Now, what
could one inspector to such county as
that 10 toward making an inspection? 1t
would take him year to get around.
Its mighty strange thing if inspec-
ton is being well done that milk has been
cheapened. The cheap milk fellows who
could not get in under the Old regulation ,
evidently like the way things are run now.
The amount of the whole thing is that
Dockery and those back of him thought
they could make a grand play by
stopping milk from outside counties.
They found out that they had done some
thing illegal and could not hold the milk
If they were right when they stopped the
milk they were surely wrong when they
let il 90 again. If it was right to let part
of il go it was wrong to hold any of it. 1t
was not impure milk. 1t was all good
milk. They punished the milkmen for
what tn County Supervisors did not do.
/ there is not lot OF politics mixed up in
ii ! miss my guess"
There will be a meeting of the Dairy
mems Association within day or two an d
at that time action will be taken to bring
matters to a crisis. The Individual deal.
ers say they cannot make the fight alone,
but the association will take the matter
into court and find out what right the
Board of Health has in the premises and
under what law they are working. When
the meeting is held a statement will prob
ably BE- given out for publication which
will cause trouble for some of the official s
who have been so active in the present
quarantine.
The deputy milk inspector at the Ii bu-
ron ferry !s on the alert for the arrival OF
any milk from Alameda County, and none
manages to get past his argus eye. A few
cans were seized early-in the morning yes
terday, but majority of the milkmen of
Alameda have learned not to send their
goods here until some settlement of the
question is made.