The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-28
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY ss. 1907.
MURDERING THE BABIEs. The Chattanooga Times says:

sEmbalrned nlilk' is the cause of the death of thousands of children in Illt- nois. according to the report of State Pure Food Commissioner Hanby, re- gently made to Governor Deneen. Only 35 per cent of milk in the cities visited by Inspectors was found to be whole- same. If there is a more cowardlys despicalble crime than the poisoning of food for infants 1t has rarely been practiced. and yet # appears to be ple who enjoy the protection instead of suffering the penalties of law. The Denitentiary is too good for any indt- vidual or concern who will indulge this form of assassination. It is incredible that legislatures do not fix penalties to 1t the heiniousness of this crime.
 We thoroughly agree with The Times as to the despicable nature of the crime committed by those who know ingly sell impure milk Murder is murder whatever may be the means used, or whoever may be the victims, but when the food of infants is know ingly and wilfully rendered unsafe, if not actually poisonous, the offense is ten times worse than murder. The helpless infant does not know the na- fure of the food it is swallowing and could not help itself if it did know, and the man who knowingly assassinates it by such slow and insidious method places himself outside the pale of hu- man consideration.
 But it is not just or fadr to charge that all the milk found by chemical examination to be impure is made so through design, or with knowledge of it's unwholesome qualities. Hardly any food product will spoil quicker. under natural atmospheric conditions, than sweet milk will, and hardly any one will more readily absorb disease germs. If a vessel of milk is allowed to stand for any considerable time amid uncleanly surroundings it is bound to show up badly from a medi- cal or sanitary point of view, and that without any intentional wrong on the part of those having it in charge. Un- fortunately, the average dairyman is not fully aware of the necessity of ab- solute cleanliness, nor has he the sci entiAc knowledge to teach him how easily and dangerously the product of tls cows may become affected by it's surroundings.
 But while 'his Is all undoubtedly true, and while it is true that bad and unwholesome milk may be sold with out any wrongful motive, 1t is beyond doubt that much of the slaughter oi the innocents that is going on ir many portions of the country is done knowingly and with no other object than to increase profits. Chemiea analysis in many instances shows tho presence in milk of dangerous. if no absolutely poisonous, adulterants tha were knowingly placed there for tho base purpose of increasing the quanti ty of the product sold and the conse quent profits of the wretches who art guilty of it. Thus it is that while in fants in some cases are injured iron the use of milk that the dairyman diC not know was unwholesome the grea majority of those who die on accoun of the milk used are deliberately pois oned. No form of legal punishment i' too severe for men who will thus de 1iberately assassinate helpless infants and the laws for both the prevention and punishment of such crime ought ao be made as effective and severe as il is possible for human laws to be.