The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-03-04
COMBINE HEALTH
WORK OF CITY
DR.. DuNHAM TALKS INTEREST
INeLY ABOUT THE WORK THAT
SHOULD BE DONE IN FARGO
CONSIDERABLE ROUTINE TO
NECESSARY WORK.

Some time ago City Health cficer
Or. Smith in an address made the re-
mark that there never would be eff
iciency in Fargo's health work until
the city had a revision Of the present
laws bringing all the duties of the
different departments bearing on pub
lie health under one head.
DR.. Durham when interviewed this
morning said: This, / believe. is the
proper way and should be done as
soon as possible, however, the bring
ing under one head of all this health
work will not have the desired effect
unless there is an equalization of the
duties of each man employed. While
| am not well acquainted with the du-
ties OF the other officers of the health
department, ! will try and enumerate
some of the most important duties OF
the milk, meat and provision inspect
or and show that the duties imposed
upon such officers are entirely unreas-
enable and impossible for one man to
fulfill.
zone of the most important facts to
contend with is the tuberculin test
ing Of all COWS, the product of which
is sent to the city Of Fargo In the way
Of milk and cream to be consumed or
manufactured into food. During the
winter there is shipped into the city
milk and cream from about 400
dairies. To make a tuberculin test of
these dairies would require an in
spector all his time for 500 days. To
make a tuberculin test, 1t would re-
quire two days whether there are two
COWS or fifty. There might be a time
when farms will be close together
where a man could take care Of two
diaries at the same time but not very
many. The average time would be
one dairy every two days. This is to
be done every year. This test alone
would require 500 days or two years,
two months and ten days. This does
not include the Sundays or holidays.
The aim is the analysis Of all milk
and cream that is brought into the city
at least once every month, therefore
there would be 500 chemical and 500
meteorological examinations to be
made every month, This would be
sufficient to keep two men busy on full
time in the laboratory and this
should be done by a man especially
trained in that line of work.
Another provision of the milk ordi-
nance is that the milk inspector shall
visit all diaries at least six times a
year and inspect the premises and ex-
anime the cows and see il any have
been added that had not been tuber-
eulin tested and if any such are found
to test all such animals. If n are
found diseased they must be dis
posed of according to law. This duty
would also require the whole of one
mans time and also the expense of
transportation from place to place, be-
sides the keeping OF records and the
making of reports. Along with this
comes the ordinance providing for the
inspection of meat and provisions
which is as important as dairy work.
II have found and destroyed four
veal calves, six hogs, two cows, one
turkey and one chicken that were de-
fective with tubercular diseases dur
ing the year.
1.-THE inspection of meats and pro-
visions covering restaurants, hotels,
anG any place where food is manufac-
tured or offered for sale would require
the time of one man and through his
efforts great improvements could be
made. Whether the other two men
engaged in the health department
could render any assistance or not, j
do not know. But l do believe that
the establishment of a city laboratory
and the employment of a man es-
pecially trained in chemistry and bac-
teriology would be a great improve
ment and as 1t would relieve the diff
ferent officers so their time could be
devoted to other duties the expense
OF such a change would not be very
great as the laboratory is now prac-
tically equipped. With the expendi-
ture Of 800 the laboratory would be
sufficiently equipped to carry on all
the work Of the health department and
the only extra expense would be the
salary Of the man in the laboratory"