The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-02-05
Tuberculin Test Is Put Down As
Farce; Their Report.
LIVESTOCK BOARD Is ROASTED
Just Laws Should Be N ade as 70 the
CondemnIng end KILLING Of the
Cattle In Minnesota.
From SATURDAYS Daily.

From Saturdays Daily.
Criticism of the state livestock in
spection is made in report to the
senate yesterday by special commit
tee of which Senator c. j. Swanson
of Anoka county is chairman. 1t was
appointed to investigate the merits and
reliability of the tuberculosis test for
cattle and the maline test for CLAN
ders in horses. The report charges
that both tests are absolutely unre
liable, as administered by the state in
spectors. Further investigation is rec
commended. The report was referred
to the committee on dairy products
and livestock, of which Senator An.
derson of Albert Lea is chairman.
The report is as follows:
Board Did Not Assist.
Your committee, for the purpose of
obtaining undsputed and reliable tests
for its observation, made repeated re-
quests of the state live stock sanitary
board to send one of it's veterinarians
to apply the so-called tuberculin test
/ to some of the dairy herds convent
emily located near the cities of st.
Paul and Minneapolis, but said board
has persistently refused to aid and
cooperate with your committee in
any way whatever.
"Your committee learned of several
herds of dairy cows that had been
subjected to the tuberculin test, and a
large number of animals condemned
to be killed, and being DESTROYS to OBJ
tain some reliable evidence as to the
value of said test, made arrangement
with the owners for that purpose, and
from among those condemned cattle,
nineteen were taken out and retained
by the oners, and nineteen of those
that had passed the inspection and
test and had been pronounced healthy,
were substituted and sent with the
condemned ones to st. Paul for slaugh-
ter and post -mortem examination; and
in every instance those animals so
substituted were pronounced diseased
and many of the carcasses condemned
by the state and government inspectors
who conducted a postmortem eyami-
nation. These substitutions were made
under the personal observation of your
committee and in the presence of sew
eral witnesses. All these animals had
been tested and inspected in the ordi-
nary course by expert veterinarians
under the authority and directions of
the state livestock sanitary board, and
the postmortem examination was
made by the government and state
inspectors at South st. Paul.
Attacked the Chambers Test.
'As to the value of the so called
maline test in horses, your committee
has been unable to make any per-
sonal observations, owing to the re-
fusal of the state board to cooperate !;
but information has come to your
committee, which it has reason to be-
lieve is true, that a number of horses
so tested, and condemned to be killed
several years ago, have been submitted
in the same way, and Others secretly
removed and hidden from the inspec-
tors so as to prevent them from be-
ing killed, and that those horses are
at present, after many years, perfectly
healthy. In view of the information
thus obtained and of the great i'm.
portance of this matter to the people
of this state that they shall not
be deceived into false security as
to their health, by mysterious and
worthless tests, your committee would
recommend that. if the senate desires
additional information it order such
further investigation as it may deem
necessary for it's guidance in making
just and necessary laws ,bearing on this
matter.