Connecticut western news., 1909-05-27
TUBERCULOSIS
 IN THE DAIRY
ADDED PROOF OF ITS DANGERS
Nathan Straus Points to It as Cause of Spread of White Plague Among Humans What the State Commis- 
 sion Said on the Same Subject

Humans What the State Commis-
 sion Said on the Same Subject
 That the recent campaign which was waged against tuberculosis has failed to check the great white plague was the statement made in letter from Nathan Straus. the New York philanthropist, read at the opening session of the an nual meeting of the National association for the study and prevention of tuber- culosis.
 The reason for this failure to make headway, MT. Straus declares, is the neglect of the mischief wrought by the tuberculous dairy COW. He says that the abolition of tuberculosis will begin only when 1t is made a crime to sell milk unless it comes from tuberculne tested cows or has been properly pasteurized. MT. Straus' letter is in part as follows:
 Prevention that deals only with in- lection that may come from the tuber- culosis patient and ignores the mischief wrought by the tuberculous dairy COW is the sort that we have had and it has failed to prevent B per cent increase in the number of victims of the disease.
 1.-The situation is far too serious for any further patering over bubbles about microscopic difference in the appear ance of the tubercle baccilll found in cows. Dr. Mohler of the department of agriculture, among others, has shown that the two forms of bacillus are due to the media in which they live and that each type changes to the other when transplanted. Dr. Ravenel, of Wiscon- sin, and Dr. Theodore Bald Smith, of Harvard, have isolated the germs of bo- vine type in the tissues of children who have been killed by tuberculosis and l have before me the records of 63 cases of children in which the bacilli were un- doubtedly bovine.
 "Investigations ill Washington showed one out of every IS samples of milk taken to be tuberculous and that one out of every ten dairies supplies tuberculous milk. Dr. Schroeder has shown that one tuberculous COW may infect the milk of the entire dairy.
 ''In the light of these facts feel that I am amply warranted in urging this as sociation to take the important and necessary step forward and to attack tuberculosis in it's citadel-the dairy farm"
 This is of especial interest because it is the same position taken by the com mission for the investigation of tuber- culosis in this State. It is also highly desirable that the widespread impress sion that the movement to suppress b. vine tuberculosis is solely in the interest of the effort to control human tubercu- losis, should bo corrected. If this was the truth, surely no higher motive could be conceived of. But the arrest of tub erculosis ln the herds of the state has be- come a matter of extreme importance to the welfare of that industry. Until re- gently there has been so much effort to
  losis to the human being, that the owners of cattle have, in the earnest ness of the discussion encouraged them selves in the belief that they were be- ing persecuted, that their property rights were being invaded. The commission hold to the contrary that it is to the in- terest of every owner of cattle to assist the State in suppressing the disease that is extending alarmingly and is seriously imperiling the dairy interest.
 At the same time the commission pointed out very reasonably that it is ut terly unreasonable to suppose that every precaution demanded by enthusiastic sanitarians can be complied with, and a suitable, clean milk furnished to the public for the same price as now exists in most towns of the State. Much of the uncleanhness now existing is due to the extremely low price of milk, that makes the employment of suitable farm labor and the treatment of the milk and cows in the proper sanitary fashion pro- hibitive. The farmers are, in most cases, perfectly willing to take every proper precaution, but the conclusion cannot be evaded that the improvement must be paid for by the consumer.
 The article and figures in the next col umn on the cost of producing milk, as made by practical farmer of this vicin- xrvi11 I>oo 5r,Ao int provided it satisfactorily proves that the farmer cannot produce milk at profit for the present price, not to speak of the added expense for sanitary improve ments. At any rate, coming from such a source, the table shown is worthy of careful study.