Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-13
THE PURE MILK ISSUE
Divergence of Opinion in Acad-
envy of Medicine.
EFFECT OF PASTEURIZING
Doctors Hold Contrary Views on Rid
ding Milk of Germs.
MATTER OF DISTRIBUTION
Physician Says Lacteal Fluid Respon-
sible for Scarlet Fever, Typhoid
and Other Diseases.
Effect OF PASTEURIZING
MATTER OF DISTRIBUTION

NEW YORK. March 13.-A discussion in
regard to milk and the wisdom of pasteur-
1zing most of that supplied to this city
which was held at the Academy of Medi-
cine last night brought out many different
and in some cases conflicting opinions from
the doctors taking part in it. This per-
haps might be explained as DR.. w. H.
Park, the bacteriologist Of the health
board. explained former milk conference,
at which he said there were present lot
of doctors who knew a lot about babies
and not much about bacteriology and lot
of psychologists who knew a lot about
that subject but little about babies.
While some of the doctors at last nights
discussion advocated pasteurization Of most
of the milk, others pointed out that milk
after pasteurization was more susceptible
to contamination from germs and that
until some way could be found by which
milk could be supplied to consumers in
perfectly sealed bottles after being pasteur-
lied and never allowed to stand exposed
pasteurization was quite inadvsable 1t
was held by one that pasteurization inter-
fered with the digestive qualities and by
another that it didn't; that pasteurization
for thirty seconds was practically worth
less was held by another and disputed
by still another. Several doctors declared
that milk was not responsible for many
contagious diseases, particularly tuber-
culosis.
More InspectorsP
DIR. Darlington was not present to give
his opinions. He has not found it con-
venient to attend most of the meetings
held recently in connection with the sub
ject. DR.. Darlingtons project for purify
ing the milk by increasing his force of in
spectors came In for some attention. but
the preponderance of opinion seemed to
be that this would not result in milk that
was free from germs.
DR.. Charles Harrington. secretary of the
Massachusetts state board of health, who
read one of the most important papers
having to do with milk a carrier of dis
ease germs seemed to think that milk was
the cause Of considerable disease particu-
larly typhoid fever, and gave some interest
ing results of recent Investigations by
medical men showing that there exist
persons who are chronic carriers of typhoid
bacilli, persons who, in some cases, it was
found, have never known that they had the
disease themselves. In other cases, per-
sons who had once had the disease were
found to be giving off germs twenty years
and more after their period Of Illness.
Germs and Milk.
I'VE have" he said, carriers of this dis
ease who do not know that they have ever
had 1t, and yet may carry it as long as
they live. Such persons are a menace to
lAe puDHC HeditH, II engaged In
the handling of food products" DIR. Har-
rington said that these people could be en-
ployed about a dairs. without the danger
Of being at all discovered, the only way of
eliminating this danger being to require
medical examination of all dairy hands,
which was manifestly impossible. The soil
was also capable of carrying the infection
and the hands of mixers could carry
myriads of germs.
AS showing that scarlet fever could come
from the milk supply, DR.. Harrington de-
scribed the most recent epidemic in Bos-
ton. In the city proper, Cambridge, Somer-
vile and Everett, he said, there were sixty
cases on the first day and in the next five
days over hundred day. This was early
in January. Eighty-four Per cent of these
cases, he said. We're in families supplied by
the same milk concern. This milk was re-
ceived in Charlestown, there dumped into
watts and then bottled. Before being dump
ed into watts every can was tasted" by a
man employed for that purpose to see if 1t
was sour. There was no disease on any
Of the farms, but the man who had done the
tasting had some evidences of the disease
and his daughter was just recovering from
it. Dr. Harrington described this as show
ing that the wholesale infection of milk
could occur at places other than the source
The number Of cases of typhoid scarlet |
fever and diphthera caused by milk, Dr.
Harrington said, was small in comparison
to the infant mortality due almost wholly
to polluted milk supply