The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-18
that everybody should clearly under
stand what kind of revision tho Repub-
licans desired and promised?
THE REVISED Mills MIL.

transformations since It was first in
troduccd that 1t is hardly recognizable
| In It's present version 1t is fair to
bill now than It was before people in
all parts of tho state began pounding
1T. The provision empowering the
Dairy and Food Commissioners to fix
regulations for all communities has
| vanished, and this was decidedly the
worst feature in the measure as origi-
| nally written. The present version
| has only two features One of them
| provides for an appeal from local to
| State authorities. The other provides
| that no man can be appointed milk
| inspector anywhere without a license
| from the Dairy and Food Commits
| sioner. One of these provisions is not
bad and the other one is.
| The community's right to make its
| milk standards as stiff as it likes must
health officers are doing priceless
| work in cutting off the old sources Of
danger and i'll health. and they must
not be baked and hampered. But 1t
| is important, at the same time, that
we should not lose sight OF the reason
able rights of the dairymen The great
majority of these men are entirely
4 honest and anxious to comply with
/ ties may lay down. They have large
| capital invested in their business: they
are engaged in an industry whose
upbuilding is of great Importance to
the State: and they should he protect ed
IRON even the chance and suspicion of
INJUSTICE. The best inspector is likely
to make mistakes in his rulings. Tho
most honest and upright health officer
is humanity prejudiced in favor of his
inspector. whom he has appointed. and
thus hardship may be done to the
dairyman in the enforcement OF rules
which are in themselves wholly fair
and reasonable.
1t is no relaxation of high standards
to make fun allowance for the human
tendency to err In the nature of the
! tdSt VIC must = i've a uSsPONlS pSWel W
| the local health authorities, the power
! to take a mans living away. and it
| is proper to bestow along with this
| power the right of full appeal from
| it. We see no objection to allowing
/! final appeal on individual cases to
State officers, as this bill proposes. No
! one will argue that DR.. Ennion Will
liams. for example, is likely to do any
| thing to the injury of the milk supply
| and the detriment of the public health.
| But the Throckmorton bill, though au
! thorizing these appeals, Is defective in
providing no machinery to carry them
! out. No appropriation is made for the
! expenses of hearings. no power be-
slowed to summon witnesses and com
/ pei the attendance of the local in
spector or officers. Would such right
of appeal be of much use to an ag-
grieved dairyman in Abingdon, say?
We doubt it, We fear that the costs
and the trouble would exceed any
!. thing he had to gain.
!, The other provision in Mr. Throck.
morton's bill is bad. In measure
: it would do indirectly what his originaI
;. bill did directly: i. e.. give the Dairy
= fix the standards for the State 1t is
sometimes said that the courts make
the laws. and this provision would give
the commissioner power TO pack the
: courts. His approval would be neccs-
sary TO make any man an inspector.
and If he himself happened to be a
man with lax, peculiar or wrong ideas
he might force upon communities in
spectors who would hamper or even
seriously injure the splendid work
which the local health boards are
] dong. And there is no occasion in the
world why this great power and
patronage should be put into his hands
or those of any one man. The commits
local health boards arc closely rcspon-
sible to their communities and better
! able than anybody else to choose men
for local needs and TO carry out local
regulations.
The vast Improvement in conditions
i, that has taken place under the present
system is the best possible tribute to
1t. No interference with it is justified
except in the way of legislating a
fixed minimum standard for all COM
munities and of insuring ample right
of appeal TO the dairymen. The first
Of these Mr.. Throcknorton does not
| attempt, The second he offers in a
form of doubtful value and coupled
with an undesirable provision which
more than outwcighs Its merits. There
fore his bill is without justification
and ought to be rejected.
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THE GOLDEN AGEOF GOOD HEALTH.
They are taking good health as a
! 90 to,