Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-21
SUGGEST ADVERSE ACTION
OPPOSITION TO BILL REGULAT-
ING SALE OF MILK.
Contains Objectionable Features in
the Opinion of the Commissioners.
Returned to Congress.

In IL report of s. w. Smith chairman
of the House District committee today
the Commissioners recommended adverse
action upon bill recently introduced
In the House to regulate the sale of milk
and cream in the District of Columbia
This bill is known as H r. 1899 and in
reporting unfavorably upon it the Com
misssoners informed Chairman Smith that
In fact the Commissioners say that in no
instance does the pending measure
strengthen the present milk law, but
in every respect it weakens the law in
stead. Its enactment, they declare. will
be altogether retrograde movement in
respect to the milk supply of the Dis
trict.
The two most Objectionable features ac-
cording to the Commissioners are first
the transfer of the supervision of the
milk supply from the Commissioners to
board independent and apart from the
rest of the District government, to be
known as the board of dairy control
Second. the prohibition of the official
adoption of the tubcrculine test as step
toward preventing the spread of tuber-
culosis.
Regarding Board of Control.
Regarding the board of dairy control
the Commissioners say its suggestion
Indicates an apparent misconception of
the purpose of governmental supervision
of the milk supply. Upon this point the
Commissioners say:
IF there were any evidence to show
tina. the producer Of milk is capable Of
improving and voluntarily would improve
the milk supply. and that the knowledge
and experience of the medical profession.
and of the veterinarian and the bacteri-
ologiSt We're of no value, the producer
might well be given a controlling voice
with respect to its supervision. The pro-
Queer has had, howe Yer, the supreme con-
troll of the milk supply from time i'm
memorial, and the very fact that the re
is now need for the enactment of Strin-
gent laws and regulations 10 safeguard
1t is the best measure of his ability and
attitude with respect to it. There has
never been the least effort to prevent
him from producing good milk. but. on
the contrary, everything has tended to
encourage and to stimulate him; such
laws as have been enacted have been
designed to better the milk supply and
every consumer has had to buy on terms
fixed by the seller. If then the market
milk of today does not meet sanitary re-
quirements it is clearly the fault of the
producer
Prohibition of Tuberculin Test.
iNoSei uiE lIc Inc
tuberculin test the Commissioners re-
ported: THE provision of the proposed
law that is designed to limit the use OF
the tubercoin test IS out of harmony
with the opinions held by those who have
made special study of the milk supply
prOblem and entities the bill to be called
a bill for the protection of tuberculous
cattle. The reliability of the tuberculn
test is too we'll established to leave its
usefulness open to question. The COM
municability of tuberculosis from cow to
COW is. SO far as the Commissioners are
informed, doubted by no one sufficiently
Well informed to entitle him TO Spea X
upon the subject. And the fact that
tuberculosis may be communicated from
the tuberculous cow, even though she
shows no physical signs of the disease. to
the human being who consumes her milk
is now we'll established. Under such cir
cumStanceS there is no reason Whatso-
ever why the community should be de-
prived of the protection that the tuber-
| culin test affords by permitting the
prompt exclusion of infected animals
from the dairy herd. Nor can it be
alleged that the application of the tuber-
cu!in test and the resulting exclusion of
diseased cows from the dairy herd work
any injustice or hardship upon the farm
er. The tuberculin test has been so long
established a reliable means of de-
tecting tuberculosis in it's early stages
tildl by IedsoHipie uiiSeilSe III tiie dppu-
cation of that test every dairy farmer
| might even now have had a herd free from
this disease: the fact that he is now using
diseased animals is due therefore, to his
own neglect. Moreover, the application
of the tuberculin test and the exclusion
of the diseased animals from the dairy
herd do not prevent the dairy farmer
from charging any price that he sees fit
| for the product from his improved herd
if it costs him more to produce milk from
such herd, then he can charge an in
creased price for his product, and thus
protect himself against loss