New-York tribune., 1907-09-13
BREEDING CONSUMPTION.
Main Source of Tuberculosis in I'M
pure MiIk.
rFrou The Tribun. Bureau. ]

Washington Sept 12-'"The terrible destr7Ictto, a.
Of human life by tuberculosis is almost invariably
caused by drinking infected milk. not by breatht,-
the dried sputum. is popularity supposed ana
the havoc wrought by impure milk is great tina.
the government would be amply justified in Ievyin-
special tax if necessary. in order that every cow
in the country should be tested for tuberculosis
killed If found infected. and the owner recou,-
pensed for his loss"
This sweeping statement made By DR. q
F. Schroeder, Of the bureau Of animal industry
Department Of Agriculture and is supported bv
the findings Of some Of the most eminent scientfs+.
who have devoted their time and study N .,ba
white plague" Dr. Schroeder conducted the s-s+
bovine tubercune test in this country and has
verified his findings by thousands OF autopsies as
we'll as by exhaustive laboratory experiments
IF Andrew Carnegie would devote his millions
to the eradication OF the bovine sources OF tuber
cu,osis. instead of founding many libraries n.
name would go down to posterity as the creates,
benefactor and philanthrOpist this country ha.
ever known. for tuberculosis could thus be com,
pleteIy eradicated from the United States" was
another of the striking statements made by DR.
Schroeder.
'Dr George ". Goler os Rochester," continued
the scientist. 'is cne OF the men Of the age who
has really done something worth while He Ia.
given to Rochester a milk sl1onIv which arcor5f,-
to proved statistics. has saved thousands OF lives
In the ten years from 1857 70 1896 fnclusfv. +hs
number Of deaths Of children between the ages %
one and five IN the city OF Rochester was z451 7,
the years 1887 1906. inclusive the deaths OF chr
dren within the ages was reduced 10 4as5
There was. IN other words. a decrease os 900
deaths. and this despite a steady growth Of popu-
lation throughout that decade There can be no
question chief factor N saving those lives
was the pure milk supply which DR.. GoIer had
succeeded in securing for the city.
The saving Of the lives OF young children Is not
however the only important result OF a pure milk
supply. The national Marine Hospital and Public
Health Service has recently conducted investf-
cation into 747 deaths from typhoid fever and has
found that S6 per cent OF the deceased persons used
milk a beverage. But the greatest good to bs
accomplished by purifying the milk supply 10 Be-
found in the elimination OF consumption TweIvs
per cent OF the deaths among people OF all ages
are due to tuberculosis. commonly called con-
sumption. II IS. OF course. difficult to say with
accuracy in how many Instances the source OF IN
fection was the milk. but everything points TO a
large percentage
Recent exhaustive autopsies conducted on hu-
man bodies have developed the remarkabls fact
that 80 per OF the subjects examined contained
traces OF tuberculosis although in number oS In
stances the presence Of the disease had not been
suspected prior to death. The figures are ap-
the origin OF the disease But. IN my Judgment Il
IS not necessary look far. The wide prevaIencs
Of the disease among domestic cattle seems most
clearly TO point the way.
The most carefully conducted experiments
demonstrate concusively that IN the majority
OF instances the germ OF tuberculosis Il intro
duced into the system through the aIirnsntary
canal, and is carried thence into the throat or
lungs. where the conditions for founding colony
most favorable II is not nice this matter OF
infection from impure milk but the facts are 50
important that words should not be minced The
tubercle germ Is expelled with the bovine feces
some portion OF which finds its way into the milk
70 find milk which analysis shown to be abso-
lutely free from such excreta IS rare fndeed-ths
milk affords ideal place for its preservation and
the protection Of It's vitality. and. unless the milk
Is actually boiled before being taken into the
stomach. less violent case Of tuberculosis
IS Immediately up
Extensive experiments have recently been car
ried on by the government to determine the danger
OF Infection from dried sputuni. and these have
established. 10 my satisfaction. THAI danger from
that SOU ce is almost nil Certainly IT in way
compares with the danger OF infection from milk
II has been shown that the germ rarely retains
life when exposed TO Hght and air, especially when
exposed to a sufficiently dry atmosphere to convert
Il into dust 20 make il possible for It to bs
blown through the air Numerous attempts 70
develop colonies for experimental purposes outside
of the animal body have met with failure. The
germs can be made 10 live under such conditions
with the utmost difficulty. and be induced to
multiply scarcely at all Every recent experiment
has gone prove that the germ must be taken
into the system through food and the Indications
are largely that the most extensive conveyer OF
the disease is milk
Meanwhile. have developed beyond perad-
venture .
effected by hypoder1nIc injection OF what may Be
called 4 serum. When the COW so treated Is IL
fected with tuberculosis there is prompt reaction,
with abnormaIIy high temperature OF all the tests
which have been devised by science for the detec-
ton Of disease IL is the most accurate. We have
killed thousands Of cows which have responded 10
the test and have never failed to find tuberculous
infection On the other hand. have had an
mails at our experiment. station which gave every
external evidence OF the disease. but which failed
to respond. and which the autopsy showed 70 bs
free from the disease. There IS absolutely ques-
ton of the efficiency OF the tubercun test II is
essential however that the tuberCulin be fresh and
efficient to start with for much OF the STUFF sent
out by chemical houses Is worthless Dairymsn
and inspectors would do well always TO obtain tne1
tuberculin from the government laboratories
Even from the dairyman's standpoint there 10
economy in applying the test When there IS ors
affected COW in the herd the whole herd is IN ian
ger We have conducted experiments TO deternrns
the extent to which this Is the case. and have
demonstrated it to be a fact The datryInan wno
detects the disease when IL makes its first appear
ance may save his whole herd by the killing o.
one animal
NO precaution which may help TO insure olesnis-
ness should be neglected The lack OF cleanliness
in milk is appalling 1 have Just tested q dozen
specimens, and have found faces present TO q
greater or less degree in every sample. This mar
ter transmits the germ almost Inevitably. for tAs
animal. IN effort 70 throw or the disease sA-
cretes the germs in great quantities
"A method Of securing absolutely clean r1i4a
would be invaluable. had hoped that the modern
milking machine would solve the problem. as tns
milk ia supposed 10 be conveyed from the ud1eF ~
the can without exposure the air. However We
have tested milk so obtained and found ipurftieS
We searched In vain for the source Of these ll
purities until we examined the rubber tube WIZ.
led from the COW the can. and there we iouH
the breeding place OF the germs Rubber oneIs -