Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-11-16
THE OESTRE|CH
CATTLE QUESTION
STATE VETERINARIAN STILL
EXERCISES PREROGATIVE.
Cattle Tested, Found Perfect. Yet
Sixty Days Must EldpSe Before
the Great Il Am" Can Do 1t
OVer-TO Present Matter to
Gov. Davidson.
(From Wednesdays Daily.)

| Albert A. Oestreich, Of Concord, was a
visitor in the city yesterday and found
words Of sympathy from many of our
citizens as a result of the treatment re-
ceived at the hands of State Veterinarian
Roberts Of Waukesha. 1t will be re-
membered that a week ago yesterday
morning, Mr.. Oestreich received two car
| loads of North Dakota cattle, which
were to have been auctiOned off last
Saturday, Agent Webb, acting in ac-
cOrdance with the provisions Of the law,
demanded certificate Of health before
| he would release the. cattle. A cOmpe-
tent veterinarian was employed to give
the cattle tuberculin test. The test
was satisfactory to the agent of the
railway company and the cattle were
released.
The state veterinarian exercised his
perOgatiye under the guise of the law
with the pOmDus authority that the sale
Of the cattle could not go on for the reas-
on that his assistant O. did not conduct
the test. To further add to loss and in
convenience to Mr.. Oestreich and the
suffering of the stock, word was sent to
the health officer at Concord to quaran-
tine the cattle. The order was carried
out despite the fact that the cattle were
found in perfect health and possibly less
free from infectious disease than the
"critter" who styles himself state Of
fetal.
The Leader has been accused of at
tempting to create a prejudice against
one of the local veterinarians in it's
course in regard to this brazen farce
perpetrated by a sO-called state official.
The paper has not said one word derOga-
tory to the gentleman referred to. In
fact has the highest regard and respect
for him. The Leader has gone out of
it's way to avoid engaging him in the
controversy, only wishing to put the
blame for the treatment where it be-
longs-with the state veterinarian.
If this contemplate mis-fit of law is
Justice" then excuse us from any of it
and the prayer of the Leader will be that
the Legislature will get busy and right
what is certainly wrong. See the con-
ditiOns of affairs. Mr.. Oestreich is
forced to shelter fifty head of cattle as
best he can for sixty days, for, as the
state veterinarian says, sixty days must
elapse before another test can be made.
Cold weather is coming on fast and Mr.
Oestreich is now obliged to shelter the
stock in sheds unfit for the cattle in
cold weateer. The Concord gentleman
went to the expense of trip to Wau
kesha to plead with This highness" for
fair play, but the only consolation he
got was that he could ship the cattle
back to where they came from, thus en-
failing another big bill of expense.
Mr.. Oestreich informed the Leader
yesterday afternoon that his next at
tempt at fair play would be to circulate
a petition. setting forth the facts in the
case, and present the same to Governor
Davidson.
The inspection Of the cattle cost the
Concord gentleman good sum, but the
secret of the whole thing is that had he
mailed So to the state veterinarian and
got his private formulas for conducting
a tuberculin test himself without the
state officer even seeing the color Of the
cows hair, everything would have been
satisfactory-tO the state veterinarian.
If that is not graft" in office-well
then, what is it?