The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1910-05-12
ORDINANCE REPEALED
City Council Votes to Do Away
With Tuberculin Tests.

The city council came together in
adjourned meeting Friday evening
The council met in star chamber
session at eight O'clock and for more
than an hour talked of matters behind
!. closed DOORS It is surmised that COW
testing was one of the important top,
les discussed. A number of the dairy
men were called into the meeting be.
fore the council took their places in
the open meeting. 1t is said that In
the meeting il was agreed that the
ordinance should be enforced. but
that four months, time would be al
lowed the dairy interests to come
within the law. The milk men might
proceed unmolested in the meantime.
Mayor Bacon therefore heard with
surprise the statement of Mr.. Camp
field that, in view of the existing con.
ditions, the feeling engendered and
the circumstances surrounding, he
thought the best thing to do was TO
repeal the ordinance, substituting
therefor milk and dairy inspection
law for application In Oskaloosa. Mr..
Campfeld presented resolution that
City Solicitor Gleason be instructed
to prepared milk inspection ordinance
the passage of which at the next meet,
ing would repeal the present milk or.
dinance. ...
The dairymen of the city were pres.
ent in body, represented by counsel
and armed with a long petition signed
by five of the leading physicians and
about 80 leading business men and
representative citizens of Oskaloosa,
demanding the repeal OF the ordinance
by the council. Added to this, twas
said that the feeling against the city
in the country districts engendered by
the enforcement of the ordinance is
intense. Mr.. Laffollett, who has been
''out in the woods" said the best
thing to do was to take back the or.
dinance and let the sore heal over as
best it would and have an end of the
controversy and the agitation.
7 Councilman o, E. Dickson was the
only man voting against the repeal of
the ordinance. MI. Gelason was in
structed to have new ordinance
ready for passage next Monday even
ing.
Mayor Bacon was surprised and
panied at the action of his council and
clearly indicated his displeasure at
the vote taken. DIR. Jarvis, health Of
ficer, told the council that they did
not need an inspection ordinance, that
the state provided for an officer to de,
terrnine how much manure. water and
impurities the city was taking in its
milk. Dr.. Jarvis later resigned his
Office as city health officer. No one
was appointed to succeed him.
The crowd that filed the audience
part Of the chamber becoming some.
what noisy, Mayor Bacon ordered 81.
lence or the police officers to put the
disturbers out of the room And the
council then proceeded with the next
'order of business.
The petition which did the work
read as follows:
We, the undersigned, hereby petit.
ton you to repeal Ordinance No. 81,
the ordinance relating to the tubercu.
lin test, for the reason that the milk
men or the dairymen are willing and
anxious to have the milk and cream,
the dairy wagons, the dairy utensils,
and the premises and their herds sub.
jected to rigid inspection by the
State inspector, which inspector can
be a resident of the City of Oskaloosa,
according to the advice of the State
Inspector Thompson, who was here
yesterday. This we believe will &C
complish more than the enforcement
of the present ordinance, since this
will eliminate impure milk, milk con-
tanning typhoid germs and other poi
son, and according to the statistics
to the State Department. of Dairy Pro-
ducts for Animal Industry less than
2R per cent of the cattle in the state
are afflicted with tuberculosis, and we
deem 1t of far more importance to at
this time obtain rigid inspection of
our dairy and dairy products, than
would be the enforcement of the Or
dihance No. 81, and we believe that
the proposition of the tuberculin test
will solve itself in the near future, and
we further believe it is for the best
interest of this city and all concerned
that the compromise offered by milk
men be accepted by the city council"
The petition was signed ny about
one hundred business and profession.
al men.