El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-09-15
Epidemics Traced to Milk
Danger of COntaSiOn from Milk Sup
ply Much Greater than from Water
in the Larger Cities.
-f;y Frederic j. HasEfp

ASHINGTON, D. C.. Sept. Is
w Sanitary science has shown
W that the two principal sources
of epidemic diseases are milk and va
ter Complex conditions of city life
have tended to increase the dangers of
contagiOn from milk and to decl ease
those from water. Municipal water
works have served to narrow the sun
ply to one source, making il possible
tic guard it against infection: on the
other hand the increase in population
mas multiplied the sources of milk to
such an extent that the maintenance
of sanitary supervision over them all
is next to impossible.
A case in point is that of New York
with Its milk supply coming from 45.-
600 farms, located in five states, and
amounting to $4,000, 900 gallons a
month, 1t is easy to see that the diff
cult1es of controlling the production of
the milk are innumerable. Further
more, while water, under present sys-
TENS of distribution, is as pure when
IL reaches the consumer as it was when
1t left the source, milk stands a chance
or gathering cOntagiOn en- route be-
sides offering natures best vehicle for
the multiplication of the germs in it
at the source
The present system of milk regula-
ton in most cities is fairly thorough,
so far as the middleman. the dairyman
IS concerned. But back of him is the
farmer. The dairyman may gather
his milk supply from a hundred farms.
he mixes all the milk he gets from
them Ninety and nine farmers who
supply him may all be careful to a de-
gree, but the hundreth one may stray
out into the hills of indifference and
his supply may cOntaminate the whole
DAIRY. In Cresson, Pa, few years
ago age, there was an epidemic of typhoid.
Ten cases occurred in eight FAMILIES.
Investigation showed that they all.
drank milk from the same dairy The
epidemic stopped as soon as he supply
nf h - da7r
nation.
Typhoid Traced to Diaries.
IN savannah, "a. an outbreak Of
typhoid was investigated. and 63 cases
We're traced TO one Dairy. This dairy
itself was clean and wholesome. But
II furnished milk for a baker shop,
and there was case of typhoid in
room over the shop. The empty cans
from this shop contaminated the whole
dairy supply In Newark. y. J., there
was an epidemic of typhoid some years
ago. S1Xty-nlne cases were traced to
one DAIRY 1t procured some of its
milk from a farm where a man had
been i'll with typhoid In Salt Lake
city an epidemic of % cases of typhoid
was traced to che dairy, which drew a
part OF It's supply from a farm where
there mad been a case of typhoid. In
BaIO Alto, Calf, 232 out of 900 milk
users from one dairy had typhoid
IeVer- The milk cans from this dairy
mad been washed in water from creek
that was contaminated with sewage.
But if milk may be fatal to grown
ups IN many cases, it is nothing as
milk does to the health of infants
With tender digestive tracts, liable to
De disturbed by the least untoWard
condition, It does not require even
contag1en infected milk to upset them
and endanSer their lives Dirty milk
without contagiOn in it is more fatal
TO babies than contagion-laden milk
IS TO adults Therefore. IL is peculiar
" important that the milk used in the
feeding of infants shall be clean as
Wen as free from cOntagion.
Cheap Milk Dangerous.
Here is where the sanitarian en-
counters another difficulty. The ma
Jority Of the babies of the present dav
do not come into homes where good
milk entails no extra burdens but
rather into the homes where il sheer ,
poverty does not hold sway at least
every cent that can be saved must be
saved. The result IS that in the homes
where the majority of babies are TO be
found the poorest grade of milk is en-
less
The death rate among infants is so
nigh that one Statisticlan has calcu-
lated that the chances OF baby sur
wing are much less than those of a
man of 80. OF all the people who die in
the course OF a year, one out OF every
six is a baby less than a year old. and
there are now innumerable milk deDots
maintained where the supply of milk
Ior infants IS looked after by philan-
Jhropic societies.
The best example of what these milk
depots are able TO do is found in New 1
Ork- Ihere Nathan Strauss initiated !
the work. and 1t is now being for 1
WarQeu Dy number of organizations
me New Ork Milk committee in 1872
formed the Babies Welfare associa- !
lon, which became the central organi- !!
cation OF $50 agencies dealing with /
the welfare of babies Through their
efforts the infant mortality in that 4
city was cut from III to los Der thou I
SAND babies born Out of 1850 babies /
porn alive and supervised during the
Llrst month, only 81 died, which was
lhey were not looked after by outside /
influences The main effort was 10 in
1uce the mothers TO nourish their chill
/, II :, n IN Jhe 2atural way, and out of the
10 10 DaDles living at the end of the
flrst month less than four out of a
hundred were forced to rely on cows
mix Yet 100000 quarts of fresh
clean milk was distributed through
ne 30 municipal milk stations.
Ourlng the first year of its life the
tVerage baby consumes 800 quarts of I
Dix When one considers that this {
NIX may, under present dairy condi- /
ions come from so or even 100 dairy
arms, and that any one of them NAV /
'ender the milk of all the Others dan
5erous, II viii be seen what a gamble !
WIN death the mother who buys milk
rom the average dairyman forces
leF DaDy 10 take When il is remem-
'ereq that babies who get their milk
~ the short haul show a death rate (
my third as great as those who I
,St II Dy the long haul, it will be seen
Vhat havoc the long haul plays Under
'otIle led babies die. while only IL out
i've.
Tomorrow: Mushrooms.