Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-04
INSPECTING THE SAMPLES
DEALERS IN MILK AND CREAM UN-
DER INVESTIGATION.
health once Chemist at W0rk-His
Report May Cause Number
Of Arrests.

The health Department has under inveeti-
CATION samples OF milk and cream collected
from a number of dealers. and IT Is not
improbable that prosecutions in several in
stances will result from the examination,
which is being made by Prof. J. d. Hird.
the District chemist. 1t is understood that
a number of dealers were found, from ex-
aminations made by him several weeks
ago. to have violated the laws relative to
the sale OF milk here. but that after II was
decided to institute criminal proceedings
against the alleged violators 1t was dis
covered that. through a misapprehension of
the particular law under which the prose-
cutions were to be conducted. the samples
examined had not been retained. The law
requires that such samples shall be pre-
served. and IT was for this reason alone, II
is stated. that the parties were not prose-
cuted.
Since then, however, additional samples
of milk and cream have been collected from
number of dealers. and these samples are
now being analysed by Prof. Hird. What
the result Of his analysis will be cannot, Of
course, be now determined. The law pro-
hiblts the skimming OF milk. its adultera-
ton. as well as the Introduction into 1t or
cream of any ingredient injurious to health
or detrimental to its purity. If the exami-
nations now In progress show that the law
has been violated in such manner prosecu-
IONS Will follow, IL ID stated.
What the Analysis Showed.
The analysis of the samples collected some
time ago showed, 1t is said, that In the
great majority Of the cases the milk or
cream was tempered with or doctored by
local dealers; in not more than two In
stances, 1t is understood, were parties ship
ping milk or cream to the city found to
have moiested either. This is taken as evil
dence that, on the whole. milk or cream
shipped into the District met the require
ments of the law. In some cases formal
dehyde was found to have been introduced
into milk examined to keep 1T sweet. and
1t is stated that in one case this unlawful
matter preserved the sweetness OF the milk
for more than a week, although the milk
was purposely exposed by Prof. Hird to
such influences as would ordinarily have
ruined it. This formaldehyde Is said to be
prepared from wood alcohol and is ordi-
narily used for disnfecting purposes, espe-
cially In scarlet fever infected premises.
Prof. Hird states that the preparation
serves the purpose for which II is used In
milk. as 1T keeps 1t sweet under most try
ing circumstances week or more. but 1t
it, nevertheless, highly injurious to the
health of those using milk so doctored,
and is, of course. prohibited by law.
The work of the health department Is
being devoted at the present moment more
particularly to discover, If possible. by just
what person or persons the milk Is thus
tempered with. and it appears that 1T Is
a rule tempered with after 1t passes from
the outside shippers.
In one case. however, possibly one other.
Ii was found that the shipper was violating
the law in this particular The inspector
whose duty 1t Is to collect samples of milk
Is absent from the city on leave at pres
ent, and not until his return, it is stated,
will prosecutions be made should the sam
plies now under investigation be found to
show evidence of adulteration or other
misconduct of the dealers shippers.
To he m force ~ q
department, 1t is said 1t is impossible to
keep the inspector constantly on such duty,
and 1t is only periodically that he is so de-
tailed.