Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-09-13
DEADLY GERMS
LURkS|N THE
MILK JUG

500, 600 quarts a day.
Early this summer the municipal
government of New York adopted a
forward policy in setting apart public
funds for the building of model milk
stations in the public parks in the
congested tenement districts. but the
city will depend upon private philan-
thropy to provide the supplies of milk
to be dispensed at these stations. Sew
eral years ago, | gave the first i'm
petus to the work i'm Chicago by the
donation of a ~pasteurizing plant. and
now the milk commission of the hill
dren's Hospital society. a private
charity, maintains ten infant milk de-
pots from which 400. 600 bottles Of
p%asteurized milk were dispensed in
1906. But the good effect of this
work, so far as could be shown in
the vital statistics of the city, was OBJ
seured by the ravages of epidemics of
scarlet fever and diphtheria. caused
by the Infection of a large part of
the city's daily supply of raw milk in
two big dairy c%enters, and by the neg
lect of the health authorities either to
exclude this milk or to require that
II be pasteurized.
In Philadelphia | was able to sup
ply the means to make a practical
demonstration of the value of pas
teuriZation In preserving infant lives.
anu nave udA the SdAlSldtllph. u Stt-
ing that nine infant milk depots.
maintained by the Modified Mir so
ciety. In 1906. distributed 991.166 bot
tiles of p~asteuriZed milk, and that the
percentage OF mortality of children
under five sears has been reduced
from 81 per cent in 1901 to ~ per
cent in 1906. In itke manner as a
direct result of my donation of q pas
teurizing plant to ST. Louis, the pure
milk commission of that city now
maintains fifteen depots and distrib-
uted 500. zoe bottles of pasteurized
milk in 1906.
Jersey CITY has adopted the infant
milk depot plan as a municipal enter
prise. Mayor Mark NJ. Pagan. rec
ognizing the duty of the city To pro-
tect the lives of the children. has es-
tablishcl a pasteurization plant and
has opened four infant milk deBots,
all maintained at the public expense.
MIX aud Tuberculosis.
In Paris. in 1905. | said To the
Congress International des Gouttes de
Lait,
1T is milk-raw milk, diseased /
milk-which is responsible for the
largest percentage Of sickness in the
world. MIX Is the one article Of food
in which disease and death may Turk
without giving any suspicion from It's
taste. smell or appearance.
why, then, use It in its raw form? ?
Why ever trust II without due precau-
lion?
Il hold that the nuly safe rule isl
pasteurize the entire milk supply and
make il a function of the munich
lahfV.'
This statement, | believe. received
the cordial assent OF the scientific men
Of the congress. | had been saying
the same thing In America for thir-
fa,., .~-au. g. 49,. f..1 90 tRtaragfnA Z
and persistent opposition. i'm the face
Of indifference and seemingly hopeless Z
Ignorance. !,
But | kept on saying this. with re-
newed courage. after the paris con-
gress, and | now have the qualification
of reporting to YOU that there is sub
stantial agreement in America today
among all informed scientific men and
public health officials, as to the perils
of raw milk and the necessity for pas
teurization.
one phase of the raw milk danger
and the most serious phase of all
the fact thatsraw milk is the common
cause Of tuberculosis-has been espc-
cially illuminated by the wor Of
American scientific men.
Professor Won Behring was a proph-
ct when. in 1908. he said. THE milk
to infants is the chief cause OF
Four years ago this
savored of hypothesis. now
it Is proved scientific fact,
| will not weary you with a reitera-
ton Of the well known conclusions of
the British Royal commission on tn
.berculosis. which demonstrated the
of tuberculosis from the
COW to the human being through
milk. nor viii I cite to you the similar
Of the German imperial !
office
But ] will briefly call your atteu-
lion To- tho Investigations Of the bu-
reau Of animal Industry OF the United
government into the mOdes 81
tubercular Infection Thorough prac-
experiments and exhaustive tests
made by Drs. L.. G. Schroeder and
T.. Cotton, at the experiment sta
lion Al Bethesda. Md. ave proved
that the presence Of tubercie bacilii |
In milk IL far more frequent than has |
been supposed TO he the case. Thesr
have absolutely disproved tho
.dca that the udder Of the COW must
be diseased in order to infect the milk
and they have demonstrated thai tho |
presence Of a single tubcrculous ami |
NAL IA the herd Is sufficient TO cause
tho Infection OF all the milk Of that
The tremendous Significance Of this |
demonstration is apparent when We
the estimate that from thirty |
forty per cen OF the dairy cattle
are tuberculous n recognize as
probable that no INFESTED herd II free |
from tuberculosis. i
II il necessary at this point to quote
lniy two paragraphs from Dr
schrneder's work. He says:
The presence Of a single tubercu-
.ous low In a dairy stable may be re-
'ponsibie for the Introduction ~ In
material into the milk of
cattle. Il
Observations definitely show that
frequency with which milk con-
aims tnbercie bacilli T. greatly under
especially when II II MIXED
" the way from tubercu-
.ous COWS with healthy udders or
rom entirely healthy cows In q tuber-
,uipus environment"
Dr. a. u. Melvin. chief ~ the bu-
-cau Of animal Industry. indorses the
.o~nciusions Of DIS. Schroeder and Cot
on in these words;
The work as 4 whole shows that
ne general condition or appearance
y = tuberculous animal gives no IN
a. to the time when u VIII /
10 distribute tubercle bacilli n
dangerous: that the milk from
tubercuious cattle. irrespective OF
he condition Of their udders. should
REGARDED a. dangerous. and that
the milk 81 heaithv cows II u D.
in the environment 81 tubercu-
ouH satfie may contain tuberCle Ill