The Washington times., 1903-07-29
WOODWARD'S STATEMENT
AROUSES MILK DEALERS
Letters COmmendatOry and
Otherwise Received.
HEALTH OFFICER REPLIES
One Firm Asks if Milk Containing 49,
900 Bacteria Is Not as Healthy
as That of 10000.

The arraignment of mothers by
Health Officer Woodward for what he
terms race murder" has caused much
comment throughout the East, and let
ters have been received. both commenda-
tory and otherwise. One communication
Of Importance came from the Alexander
Campbell Milk Company of New York
city, raising the question OF whether
milk containing forty thousand bacteria
per cubic centimeter was not as healthy
as milk containing only twenty OF thirty
thousand
Dr. Woodward, in his reply, says that
knowledge on the subject is so meager
that no positive statement can be made.
On the general subject OF the relation
OF bacteria to milk, from sanitary
viewpoint the Health officer says:
knowledge Meager.
Our knowledge upon this subject is
by no means satisfactory. but above
everything else stands out the fact that
for rhe young, OF the entire mammalian
order, nature provides milk that is prac
ticslly germ free and, at least so far as
my knowledge goes, alongside OF that
young are fed on such milk in that con-
dition diarrhoeaI diseases are all but
unknown.
1t does not follow from the foregoing
statement that every bacserium found in
milk is liable TO cause disease. 1t does,
however, follow that those individuals
who claim that such organisms are
harmless, have the burden of proof rest
ing upon them. In considering the sub
feet. it is necessary, of course. to bear
in mind that In the development OF dis
ease, due to bacteria. two factors are
necessary; first. the baterla, and. sec
ond, bodily conditions suitable for their
growth.
May Affect Children
while it may probably be safely as
serted that Tactic acid bacteria and GER
tain others ordinarily exist in milk In
enormous quantities and do no harm. IL
has, l believe, not been demonstrated
that they cannot do harm, or even that
they themselves are not responsible fer
summer diaTrhoea of children. II may
be asserted. Of course. that dairymen
should not be held responsible fer pc
culiar conditions Of individual infants
which cause, or at least are liable 10
/ cause. such ordinarily harmless bacte-
ria to fr4 lodgment and give rise TO
! disease, but IL seems 10 Inc the fact
| that such bacteria may give rise TO dis
/ ease should be sufficient to require
every possible effort to limit the mum
| Der in market milk. Just what safe
I sa
milk commission. recently organized in
| this city, has determined upon ten thou
sand bacteria per cubic centimeter as
! the maximum limit in milk to be sold
under its supervision.
Dealers at Variance.
LAS l understand it. however. none of
/ the milk commissions which have been
! organized claim that the miscellaneous
/ bacteria In milk. taken as q whole. are
| the really dangerous element in it, or
| profess to know what the really dan
serous element IL. AS before told. do
not believe that our present knowledge
( on the subject is sufficient to justify
any positive statement. Neither do such
commissions claim that milk containing
:
timeter is safe while milk containing
! forty thousand - unsafe.
Their position, as ! conceive it, is
| that milk containing 10000 bacteria per
! cubic centimeter, ts Less likely TO con-
/ tain among those bacteria organisms
I certainly pathogenic, or pathogeniC
( doses of organisms ordinarily harmless
than Is milk containing 10000 bacterit
: per cubic centimeter. and that othel
: things being equal. milk containing 80,
I 0G0 bacteria per cubic centimeter has
/ been much better cared for than milk
/ containing a % per cent greater mum
| Der. With these views of the milk com
missions, If ] have stated them correct
| ly, / heartily concur. / see no harm
liable TO come from the use of sterile
milk under ordinary conditions.
Not Clearly Shown.
ITO sum Up, / believe that 1t rests
upon those persons desiring to sell milk
! containing unnecessarily large numbers
OF bacteria to show that such milk is a
safe article OF food for all persons who
are likely to consume il, and. l believe
that this has not yet been shown.
believe that the number of bacteria
found in milk which has rot been pas
teurized. sterilized. or chemically pre-
served affords the best available data
as to the care which has been taken in
its production. storage. and delivery
and therefore, the best data available
10 determine whether such milk does OF
does not resemble with reasonable
ASSIGNED TO ENGINEER CORPS