The Washington herald., 1913-10-24
Pasteurized Milk.

1HC OlShiNL 11Caihl DSPol IhShb
renewed warning to the people of the
District against the use of milk moi
known to be pure and free of tuher-
cular infection demands a constant rep
. etition. The disclosures made in the
announcement of the results of the
investigation into the condition of ,one
dairy herd whose milk has been
shipped into the Capital were startling
in their demonstration that so tre-
mendous a danger to the health and
life of the people existed.
According to the disclosures herd
of forty cows was shown to be wholly
infected with tuberculosis. Some of
them had even developed LESSONS. Yet
from this noisome source food was
distributed to the babies of Wash
ington. 1t was the death of one of
these babies, whose fatal illness the
authorities traced to the use of in
fected milk, that led the Health De-
partment officials to make the inquiry
resulting in the discovery of general
prevalence of tuberculosis in the herd.
How many more children or grown
persons suffered from the use of the
milk has not been determined, prob
ably will never be.
The case is a very tragic example of
the immeasurable harm that an i'm
pure supply of milk can do to a COM
munity. The loss to the dairymen-
in the case at hand the dairyman, after
the condemnation of his whole herd,
retired from business-is considerable
only to the point of pity for them in
their misfortune The public health
must OF course be advanced before
their individual and private interests.
In every case where the Health De
partment has condemned a herd be-
cause of unhealthfulness, the depart
ment has met with, of course, the most
determined opposition from the owners
of the herds.
But where the department officials
have made out a plain case, as they
appear to have done against this herd
of forty COWS, they have rightly pro-
ceeded with a determination which
should be described, not as severity,
but as rigidity. The officials claim, and
their claim seems justly founded, that
even now, when they can proceed with
what some of the dairymen declare is
an improperly large authority, the
regulations are too restrictive of their
activities. If so, their powers should
be extended.
The claim that the District officials
have no power in Virginia or Mary
land is true in technical sense. But
the representative authorities of the
District have and must have power to
assure the District a pure milk supply.
This can be done, it is true, only
through an understanding between Dis
trict officials and dairyrnen that if the
latter wish to ship milk into the Dis
trict their herds must be. constantly
under the inspection and hygienic con-
.rol of the officials here.
There seems no reason to doubt that
to supply milk to The District from
herds thus inspected and kept free
from infection affords "a reasonable
profit to the dairymen. With the aid
Of pasteurization, it is conceded, milk
even from a slightly infected herd,
can be made absolutely safe. The
iairymen should not endeavor to fight
off this reform. Their opposition, if
hey wish TO do business in the Dis
:rict, is futile. 1t, is nearly impossible
70 conceive any of them has so sim
ster a greed as knowingly to sell milk
holding possibilities of disease and
ieath to the consumer. The dairyrnen's
best course is a willing and friendly
cooperation with the District health