Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1910-03-25
HITS TUBERCuLIN TEST.
Denounces Killing of Cows.
From the Washington Post.

JAIL dairymen who sell milk from tubercu-
losis cows" There is no one in this COM
munity who works LONGER hours, whose
small bills are harder to collect, whose pro.
hit is less, or whose business is more ham
pered by suspicion and officialdom than
the man behind the pals and the cans.
from common report one would suppose
ne was engaged in an unlawful pursuit
himtiaming, craps shooting, or bookmakinR
instead of which he is legally measuring
out lfe-giving commodity. The wonder
Is that he consents to come around at ALL
since his pet cows are being killed and he
Is to be jailed for doing something he can
not prevent For, notwithstanding the
clean bills of health and the cows which
fail to react" doubt If there is a COW in
the District which would not show under
post-mortem inspection tuberculosis, latent
or active.
The doctor asks, sympathetically, Would
you like to eat tuberculous raw beef sand
wichy' Well, thousands eat cooked tuberc-
ulous sandwiches. and that is more to the
point. do not hear Of any phthisls traced
to that source, and probably never will,
since DR.. Koch, the discoverer of this bacil-
lus, and other eminent Psychologists tell us
that the bovine and the human bacillus
bear no more resemblance to each other
/
Drugs being on the wane, the COW doc
tors and the man doctors fell over one an
other in embracing Kochs first discovery
as 1t opened up new field. 1t so hap
pened, however, that Theobald Smith, later
Koch himself, and Others in Germany dis
covered the further fact that the bacilli
were dissimular. II is said that the Anglo
Saxon, like wolf, is always ready to turn
upon you. A howl thereupon went up
from the doctors, many of whom, perhaps
did not relish the withdrawal of this lucra-
tive means Of fooling the public.
When Koch. in 1908, rose from his seat
in the tuberculosis congress here in Wash
ington, and stated that with 81 cows and
many months testing he had neither been
able to inoculate any of them with human
bacilli nor transmit bovine tuberculosis
from them to man by any known method
they wanted to mob him. (See proceed
ings of the congress as told by The Post
October, 1908. issues) Whereupon Koch
and his friends held rump congress the
next day at the New Willard
The vets" and the country doctors we're
so fierce that police protection had to be
asked After two or three days of wrang-
ling, the time came to take vote on this
vital question. Why did they not force
| the voter There was always fOur-fifths
| majority against Koch
Did they want to show DOWN. Oh, no.
The man and the beast doctors did not
wish to 60 before the country with 80 many
eminent scientist against their theory.
do not mean to say that all doctors nor all
the vets" were against him. One Of the
very best vets" in this city told me. at
the time, that he believed Koch was right.
| state this lest the doctors should ask,
What does layman know of such mat
tiers 2" Well. an impartial layman can way
evidence as well as an interested profess
sional, and might flare back further by
inquiring what is the opinion of general
practitioner worth as against that of great
bacteriologist. who has devoted his life to
this special subject
But to return to my mutton or raw beef.
Dr. johnson cannot work my sympathies
in behalf of the raw-eaters. | know but
one consumer of this product, and he is
a wild negro. who devOurs chunks Of cheap
raw beef at the country fairs for the amuse-
| ment of "Rubes." When last seen at Ha-
| 9erstOwn Md. he looked anything but
tuberculOus
StOmachs were made to take care of
such GERMS else animal life on earth had
long since ceased to exist Nature requires
some to 90 20 the wall, that the fittest may
survive. AS to animals, she has placed
along the alimentary canal purifying agents,
juices and glandular safeguards otherwise
she would block her own game.
How the raw-beef eater would fare
| should the learned Theban, in violation
| of natures laws. inject his pure ~ cul-
lures into his veins, is another and more
serious question. Lucky savage, to have
the choice between blood assassination
and raw tuberculous beef. The learned
doctor further inquiries, by way of suggest
ing a remedy, why not eradicate the tu-
| bercuOus COW p
| Around this town there have been lately
several hundred poor harmless creatures
''eradicated." and the department. asking
| Congress for more blood money Let us
pray they will not grant ii. We do not
court milk famine. In that event, more
children would die from lack Of nourish-
ment in six months than would be killed
by tuberculOus milk in six centuries. Two
weeks ago Mr. Francis Waller. dairyman at
Congress Heights, had 10 out Of his herd
of 20 "eradicated. When the 80 cows at
the Soldiers Home were tested. 40 react |
ed" and II failed TO react. On post-mortem
examination, 5 of these passed cows proved |
also to be tuberculous (54 out Of go. gov
eminent repOrt). This shows the "accu- |
/ "
A few days ago there were condemned |
and driven from one local yard. 4 sleek. |
healthy looking cows-leavin9 but |. poor |
little thing. to all appearances tuberculous,
and probably extremely so.
Time and again have vets in the |
States passed cows which the owners them
selves had long ago more than suspected |
The owner saying. II will stand the loss Of |
this one myself, because ! am satisfied she |
is tuberculOus." And in such cases il al |
WAYS proved to be so. In proof whereof |
| could quote all the great authorities, but |
shall give only three all advocates Of the
test.
Prof Harrison. twenty-sixth report On
tariO Agricultural College. pages 1880:
ave must admit that there are unfOrtu-
nately not a few cases in which the tuberc-
uln test fails TO provoke reaction in highly |
tubercular. and hence very contagious. an
imals.'
Bang. the great Danish authority, and
NOcaFd Of Paris, admit the very same |
thing. (See United States report. diseases
Of cattle page 409)
So il is not only the cruelty and the
economic loss but the folly Of this killing |
under the test that should be condemned. |
Even the doctor would be treasured no
doubt did he drive out here some sunlit /
morning. when all Gods creatures feel the
sweet sense Of living and meet little |
bunch Of cattle heading toward the city. |
careessly cropping the dried grass by the |
roadside on their way to the shambles
He might realize then that the District is |
no cows paradise.
In the absence Of this self treatment, by |
way Of curing him Of his zeal for pseudo |
science (true medical science is to cure
not to kiln, will state that the beef com
bne claims 10 have lost $l5,00O,000 in |
the year 1909 at the hands Of the Federal
meat inspectors. This does not include
stock condemned on the ho0f, those In the |
hands Of local butchers. or the thousands
Of cattle killed by the State inspectors
Now, in all frankness. let me ask, has |
fifteen to twenty years Of this shameful
killing accomplished anything but wicked
waste In the last Year Book Q90S), Sec
rotary Wilson says Tuberculosis among |
cattle has increased
4. q