The Washington times., 1910-07-21
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
AND ITS MILK SUPPLY.

It Is difficult to feel sympathy for
those owners of dairy herds who are
just now protesting so loudly against
the recent announcement Of the Dis
trict Health Officer that he proposes
TO adopt such regulations as VIII uIti-
mately give assurance that no milk
sold IN this city shall come from tuber-
cUlOus cows It must strike the con
sumner Of milk In Washington that the
question OF the inconvenience or con
venience Of adjacent farmers Is Of sec
ondsTy Importance beside the question
Of wholesome milk ANY regulation
necessary to insure the people Of this
city against impure milk and 10 guar
antee them pure milk must be accepted
rs Just and reasonable.
The claim that strict inspection and
regulation VIII reduce the supply and
increase the price-even If true, which
is doubtful-is not an effective argu-
ment. We could better afford no milk
than bad milk 1t would be more ad-
vaHtageous 10 have a little, high-priced,
pure milk, than great deal Of cheap,
UnwLolesOme milk
The reasonableness Of the Health Of
fcer's order that, IN future, applicants
Tor license 10 dispose Of milk in the
District must submit their herds to the
tubercuIiR test, must be apparent TO
any fair-minded person who Is anxious
70 have the health Of the community
improved. Fortunately, however, It Is
backed by court decisions rendered IN
communities where exactly the same
regulation had been attacked. In
Minneapolis, IN 1925, the city council
enacted an ordinance requiring al
herds whose milk was sold in the city
TO stand the tuberculin test. The milk
producers brought suit to enjoin the
enforcement OF the ordinance, on the
ground that It imposed an unreason-
able regulation The case was carried
70 the supreme court Of the State
which rendered the following opinion;
The objection Is urged that the ordi
nance IS oppressive and unreasonable II
that il requires every dairy herd who's.
milk is desired 70 be sold within the city
10 ie subject 10 the --tu beTCuiin test,
which j. IS claimed Is uncertain IN Il,
results and deleteriOus 10 the health
OF animals At the present stage of sci
eutific research on this subject IL MAJ
he a debatable question whether ths
test has been fully proven or how IA
Il * as vet merely experimental Their
IS ample evidence in this case that il &
now the generally accepted theory tina
the oresence Of consumption or IuDeTCu
loSis In animals can be detected by thu
test also that this is what IS called
germ disease which may be con
tTaCrCd bE eating the flesh or drinking
the milk Of q tuberCuloUs animal Upo-
the evidence we could not say that thi
provision Of the ordinance i OpprCSSiT
or that il has not a reasonable tendeuc-
10 z event the sale of unwhOlesOme mill
within the city
This was fourteen years ago. Sine
then the dangers TO the public iron
tuberculoUs COWS and the effectiveness
OF the tUberculin test have come to b
generally recognized Within the las
few years a similar decision has bee
rendered in the district court at Nil
waukee, UNFOLDING a similar ordinanc
eneeted IN that city II would seen
therefore. that besides being manifest
" advantageous TO the public beeaUs
It makes for better public health. tn
tubercalin test Is a regulation whic
the community has aa unquesdone
legal right TO enforce
Beyond all this, however, the regula