The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-20
SANITATION IN
THE MILK SUPPLY
Conditions That Prevail at
Present in Birmingham
WORK OF A DEPARTMENT
Assistant MIX Inspector Humphreys
Talks of Evils That Menace city's
Health and Improvements
That Are Needed.
WORK OF A DEPARTMENT
BY ETHEL ARMIES.

ITO provide the city of Birmingham
with pure milk-that Is in sum and sub
stance the purpose of this office" Gerald
Humphrey, acting milk Inspector, paused
a moment. And we are going to do it"
he added, quietly
"A city's milk supply is every whit as
| important as the water supply Is. More
epidemics of typhoid fever and more
deaths among little children have been
caused In many cities by the use of germ
infected and adulterated milk than by
any other cause. and the time has come
TO call halt If there is dairyman,
hotel. restaurant drug store or cafe In
this town that / can detect using cream
OF milk preserved by means of boracic
acid, formaldehyde or any other poison
as many as nine out of every ten have
been doing so heretofore-that place Is
going to be pulled that's all; the facts
concerning 1t will be published and the
consumer warned
Also, if there is a continued existence
of unsanitary conditions and fraudulent
practices at any one of the two hundred
dairy fa1 in and around the city small
and large-in fact any infringement of
/
that place is to go out of business or
conform to the rules for the government
of the city's health.
Then, too" continued Mr.. Humphrey,
"if any carelessness of malpractice is OBJ
served among the drivers of the milk
wagons. such as, for instance, the taking
OF unwashed bottles from one house, fill
ing them with milk and passing them o
| another customer, simply because the
| driver happened to be short of bottles
| a practice | have observed and will do
all in my power to stop-if any cases of
that sort are reported to this office they
shall receive immediate attention.
I'm fact, If the public will cooperate
with this department by simply report
ing any cases that fall under their at
tcntion l will be glad of It,
Duties of the Office.
"What are the duties Of this office?
| Well, | usually begin my work about
o. clock in the morning | take from
any milk wagon that passes along sam
pies of the milk they are serving out and
bring it up here to the laboratory and
and put 1t to chemical analysis. People
would be astounded If they learned what
mixtures of poisons are sometimes doled
out to them under the guise of pure milk
The adult can usually throw off the Ill
| effects of these substances but the babies
and little children succumb. Now as !
stated a moment ago, when anything like
| this is found or when water is used, the
name of the dairy and the INSCRIPTIONS
| milk dealer is at once published.
Besides, analyzing these various sam
pies of the milk brought into the city,
another duty of tine office is to see that
the milk wagons are clean, that they
are not carrying other merchandise OF
| any sort | run across milk wagons
carrying sometimes bales of hay or fod-
Iii nIr q
top of the milk cans. And practice l
| am trying to put a stop to is the serV-
gerous and absolutely unsanitary prac-
ing of milk from faucets. This Is a dan
tice The milk is taken through the city
absorbing every odor, all the dust, cln-
ders, germs of every description, small
insects-everything-a then served right
out to the consumer. The milk should
be placed in sealed bottles and delivered
| clean and pure. If it is not placed in
bottles then 1t is not fit to drink.
1.-THE consumer, too, should do his part.
| Very often when the milk is placed on
the porches it is allowed to stand two
and three hours in the hot sun, then
taken back and placed unsealed in a
refrigerator full of meats. vegetables and
perhaps fruits, so the milk naturally alb
serbs some substance of everything, and
when 1t has a poor taste the milk dealer
| H. blamed.
|
| dealer is to inspect the diaries; TO go TO
! the root of the matter. 1t stands to rea-
son If the milk does not come from a
, c,ean sanitary farm 1t can't be brought
kpure and clean to the city. so the first
duty. practically. is to inspect the farms
see that they are right.
Conditions Bad.
when this inspection was commenced.
| Mr. Humphrey, weren't conditions found
to be rather bad?' | asked.
bad then--and still So" Mr.. Humphrey
replied. "rhe great trouble | find among
the majority of the dairyman is plainly
A. lack of intelligence. That is all they
| need common sense and intelligence and
more energy. There is absolutely no ex-
| cuse for filthy conditions around barns.
| or careless and unsanitary measures IN
| handling the milk. To remedy that II
| does not take cash. but simple intelli-
| gence and cleanliness that any man can
get, no matter how poor he is. White
| wash is cheap. 1t may take him little
more time doubtless to whitewash his
| barns inside and out: to look to the drain
| age. remove the manure heaps, nave his
| hands washed occasionally when he milks,
| and order the milk strained away from
| the barn. but If he wants a sanitary
| dairy this he has to do
1.-THE first thing | look to when In
! spect dairy is the drainage. the water
| supply. the condition of the cows and
! then, of course. the various other details
] AS they follow in order. On some places
| | have found pig-sty conditions: the
| manure piled up In the doorways draw
| ing all sorts of flies and insects, and odors
| which, of course, the milk at once alb
| serbs The majority of the dairymen
| take no interest in their farms, merely
| to make enough bacon and flour for their
own daily living. They subscribe to no
| up-to-date dairy journal. as the progress
sive dairy should; they let things go slip
| shod along any old way as they have
| always done" Mr. Humphrey rose, i'm
| patiently.
why" he said, 'the conditions OF
many of the diaries here are way back
| of the times: they are out-of-date, obso-
| lete-good for nothing. The matter is a
| business a trade, a professionals science.
| Yes, a science And if they don't look
at it in the right light they ought to
get out"
looked at the young man: he is not
| more than % or "a years old-"straight
goods" as they say out west; well edu-
Gated, earnest, honest as the daylight,
| and a hustler
"Where do you come FROM Mr. Humph-
| rey?" | asked.
| ~" said he. "Englands my home.
| but YOU are an American citizen?"
Not yet" he replied hut will be just
| as soon as | am in this country long
enough"
"You have been hereg'
| Three years-two years In this part of
the country"
| "Only two years in the south, and al
ready revolutionzng the conditions Of
| the milk supply of Birmingham. Alabama.