Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-05-30
TUBERCULOSIS AND DISEASE,

thrust upon them lately, by reason OF
the wholesale slaughter of infected
cattle in certain large Williston herds
that furnished milk for Burlington
consumers. The facts have been
given in our news columns.
As usual, the section is divided into
two camps, the first-principally the
purchasers of dairy produets-clamor-
ing for a general testing of cattle and
slaughtering OF diseased animals, as
indicated by the tuberculin test, under
the provisions OF the so-called tuber-
culosis law; the other camp-com-
prising mostly the owners of cattle
Opposing the test and complaining
because of the onerous conditions in
which they are placed. Selfinterest
is the motive in each case. The
consumers want pure food, regardless
of the effects on others; the dairymen
want to preserve their herds. That's
the long and short of it.
Cattle owners assail the tuberculin
test, claiming that it is far from
infallible; that in many instances
valuable animals are slain and paid
for at beggarly prices when, in fact,
they are SO slightly affected with the
disease that only the most careful
scrutiny by expert yeterinaries, bent
on discovering it, can do so; that such
animals would doubtless live for years
and perhaps die OF something else;
and that their products do not
constitute a public danger such as
warrants their removal in this
summary way, at great loss to the
owners. And even granting that
tuberculosis in cattle is as prevalent
as some SUPPOSE il is yet to be proven,
say others, that the disease is commu-
nicable to human beings by eating the
food products of animals infected.
tuberculosis in man or beast is no
new disease, but has existed these
many years, and instead of being on
the increase is said to be less preva-
lent than formerly Cases are
extremely rare where it has been
shown conclusively that tuberculosis
was transmitted from animal to man
through the alimentary channels
In neighborhoods where diseased
herds have been most numerous, as
shown by the tests and autopsies,
there has been no notable spread of
tuberculosis among the consumers of
the products.
The system of every healthy person
contains anti-toxines that are strong
enough to cope successfully with the |
germs of diseases that enter the |
organism by the myriad from many |
sources. If our health depended |
alone on the exclusion OF disease
germs, our lives would be short |
indeed. We believe it possible for
some persons to feed upon tuberculous |
products for many years without |
serious results, but we cannot agree |
that, knowing the nature of the food |
and being able to guard against it. |
such persons or any persons are |
justified in submitting themselves to
the degree OF risk that they thus |
invite. We should follow the instinct |
Of nature which impels us to select the
best and purest food possible. The
most virulent critic of the testing
system could not relish a steak cut |
from creature that he had seen laid |
open, with every symptom Of a loath-
some disease present in the carcass.
1t is doubtless true that mistakes are
sometimes made, from which cattle |
owners suffer, but the principle is
beyond question ~ healthful food |
means healthy bodies. If, for dollars
and cents involved, we knowingly
risk our lives and health when we
might avoid the danger, we are calling
upon our guardian angels to do more
than the contract calls for.