The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-07-31
NO FIXED STANDARD NOW
Federal officials Plan to Take Matter
UP with the Farmers and Teach Them
the Best Way to Take Care of Milk
in Order e Get the Best Results.

1E5GVQ bAC JpilOV1hS oO%UOiAA~A4V y
ing its policy IN dealing with the milk
situation in the United States.
cit is enormously supposed that the
department. of agriculture has estab-
llshed absolute standards and bacterial
counts to which all milk coming under
its jurisdiction in interstate commerce
must comply. The department has es-
tablished no absolute standards. 1t
certainly has not and will not estab-
lish any rule declaring that milk con-
tanning less than Q certain number OF
bacteria per cubic centimeter is good
milk. Under such a standard milk
containing less than a certain number
of typhoid or tubercle bacilli would
automatically be passed, as coming up
to standard. A simple count of the
bacteria is not in itself sufficient to
determine absolutely its safety. The
nature Of the bacteria as well as their
number also must if possible be CON
sidered. The presence of only few
disease producing bacteria might make
the milk dangerous, while several
thousand harmless bacteria could be
present without necessarily indicating
that the milk was unsafe. The pres
ence of even few colon bacilli is pre-
sumptive evidence that COW manure
has been allowed to get into the milk
between the COW and the consumer.
Similarly high count of the kinds
Of bacteria that normally are present
in milk indicates that the milk is dirty,
or that it has not been held at low
temperature or that it is old.
The department in it's milk activi-
ties is carrying on an extension cam
paign of education to help dairymen
produce and market good clean milk.
This work is carried on principally by
the dairy division of the bureau of ami
NAL industry This division exercises
no policing function It has no power
under the law to seize milk or to pro-
secute milk dealers It's work is pure
ly educational. This division issues
many educational bulletins based upon
its experiments in the economical pro-
duction of clean milk. 1t supplies
farmers with these bulletins and also
sends men into the field to show milk
producers how to make changes with
in their means which will raise the
quality of their milk and also increase
their profits. These demonstrators
have helped milk producers who sup
ply over two hundred cities. In each
city, these demonstrators co-operated
with the local health authorities, not
to help them secure evidence or bring
prosecutions, but to improve the local
system of inspection whereby the in
speetors can aid the milk producers of
the territory to bring their milk up to
the city's own standard without being
called upon to make excessive ex-
penditmes.
With the inspectors, the demonstra-
tors visit the dairy farms as friends
of the farmer. They may show him
that certain cows in his herd do not
yield enough milk to pay for their
feed. Or the demonstrators may point
out certain changes in feeding which
will greatly increase the yield They
help the farmer build an inexpensive
milk house, and show him how win
dow or two or a waterproof floor for
his barn, or little whitewash or
more frequent cleaning will actually
increase his profits. Where desired,
they explain methods of pasteurization
and shipping and handling Of milk.
Through this bureau the department
supplies tuberculin for testing herds.
These demonstrators have no power
to compel the farmer to follow their
advice-they merely try to show him
that Chese measures are for his own
good. They do not and cannot require
the farmer to pasteurize his milk.
Where they find a herd that is not
tested for tuberculosis, or milk being
produced in an unclean way, they ad-
wise that the milk be pasteurized,
using any one Of a. number of COM
peting machines or a homemade pas
teurizer AS a result of this work,
thousands of farmers have introduced
new and sanitary methods Of producing
and shipping milk-not because they
were forced to do 50, but because they
saw the justice of protecting their con
sumers and found that they lost less
milk and made greater profits by fol
lowing the specialists advice.
The dairy division advises the pas
teurization OF milk unknown Oh Of
doubtful purity because in large meas
ure it protects the consumes f'.een, dan
gers that might be incurred ~ ushsg