Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-01-05
THE TEST LAW
A Timely and Interesting Article
by ]. Roy Gordon.
SAFEGUARD NEEDED
The Percentage of Loss in Iowa
County is Small.

Dec. 16, takes notice of a mass meeting
held in that city for the purpose Of
asking the coming legislature to repeal
the tuberculosis law now in effect.
The law in question provides that no
bull, cow, or heifer shall be sold for
breeding or dairy purposes, unless test
ed and found free from tuberculosis,
and also that no person shall apply
tuberculin to any animal without
making report to the State Board.
Since December 1, the writer has
tested 779 head Of cattle in or just over
the line Of Iowa county. Out of this
number % have reacted and every one
of these IS have been purchased. Had
this law been in effect at the time these
cattle were purchased it would have
prevented these innocent parties buying
diseased stuff.
This percentage of reactions is less
than 3 per cent. The State pays Z
value for these animals and the loss is
too trifing to mention compared with
the danger Of these animals cOmmuni
eating the disease to other animals, and
to the users Of the milk.
H. w. Bourrett, and Herbert Wash
burne, p o., Livingston, had 6 re-
actions and others suspicious. Every
TT. Atkinson. 1t is a fact, that before
this law went into effect that unscrupu
lOus cattle men in the eastern part Of
the state were privately testing their
own cattle and selling the diseased ones
to any one who would get them out Of
their neighborhood.
The law in question provides penal
ty Of 500 for doing this, and this is as
it should be-
The Chronicle states that this testing
is in the hands of few On December
I, 1910, when this law went into effect
there were in Wisconsin, 95S men
licensed to do this work and nearly 500
more have taken the examination since
then.
While it is fact that some of these
are incompetent, and others are doing
crooked work, the State Board is rapid
ly wedding these men out.
Examinations are held at Madison
and any one may write them.
The test is very simple and any care
full, accurate man can learn to apply
the same.
At Cobb, the family cow of Ernest
Sornberger showed reaction to the
test. Their Is month old baby had
been having this cows milk and has
always been sickly. This cow was to
be sold as fresh cow and some other
family would have had this cow milk
on their table this winter.
Herbert Washburne's children had
been drinking milk from a COW that
reacted.
Regarding proof that this germ is
transmissible from cow to man a uni
versal law provides that no one Of the
human family shall be used for expert
mental work.
1t has been proven time and again
that other cattle, hogs, poultry, guirea
pigs, rabbits and monkeys will rapidly
contract this disease from the COW.
The human germ, and that from cattle
are nearly absolutely alike and it has
been proven that cattle and other ami
mails will take the disease from man.
AT our Experimental Station at Mad
ison, Il pig was given one feed Of milk
from a tuberculosis cow Three
months after this the pig was slaugh-
tered and was COMPLETELY full of tuber-
cular noduleS.
Stop for a minute and think that no
child is born with consumption, but we
all know of instances where nearly en-
tire families have been wiped out with
this dread disease. They took it one
from the other.
A. R. Jolley, former principal of the
Mineral Point High School, bought a
farm at Whitewater, and herd of
Guernseys that We're free from tuber-
culosis. He bought an untested animal
at sale and put her at one end of the
row of cows. Upon having the herd
tested later this COW proved tubercular
and the next COW in the row had also
contracted it from the other.
Hundreds of such instances are at
hand. A very serious case of tuber
culosis in turkeys is to be found at
Moptfort, probably contracted from
skim milk or cow droppings.
The Chronicle states that instances
are on record where tuberculosis has
been given an animal by the injection
of tuberculin. An offer has been pub
licly made in Iowa county of 800 to
one who will produce proof of a
case If this were so would our
cattle breeders, w. D. Hoard,
Hill, .Seribner, Gillet and