The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-10

typhoid. tuberculosis. deadly Intestinal
diseases Of infants. scarlet fever, septic
sore throat, trichinosis and other ailments
resulting from the circulation Of disease
producing organisms"
Should Enforce Laws
The solution of the problem, the speaker
urged, was to be found in more rigid
laws.
"A factory may be run under the most
insanitary conditions" he continued,
milking may be done by man recover
ins from scarlet fever, or milk may be
produced ON "A farm where a member of
the family is suffering from typhoid, and
the federal authorities have no power te
act Even If these products are shipped
across state line and samples are taken.
there is no method Cor analyzing a pro-
duct which can supply evidence that the
food is produced in insanitary ways or
within communicating reach of epidemic
or endemic diseases. State authorities
however. can enter these factories, need
not wait for shipments to cross state lines
and therefore, provide only that their
laws are effective and the funds at their
disposal adequate, can prevent the sale
OF these deadly unlabeled foods"
Most Dangerous Products
The products DIR. Alsberg considered
most dangerous, and. therefore, which
should be most carefully watched, did not
enter largely into interstate trade. They
included milk and other dairy products,
x,.trr 1 -
fact, '.all food that is eaten raw or is
shipped exposed to the air"
With the declaration that the pure food
law was largely an economic measure, -
in that it compelled principally ACCURATE
branding of goods entering into inter-
state commerce. DR.. Alsberg said the de-
partment Of agriculture was considering
an extension of its powers in order to
protect further the rural communities
THE department feels it should give
more attention to the projection of these
communities" he said This means that
the work hitherto largely confined to de-
lection of the presence of preservatives
in labeled foods which do not vary or
Eanic diseases and the prosecutions for
misbranding which might work a mone-
tary fraud on the consumer should be
WIDELY and rapidly extended to the con-
troll of interstate commerce in the danger
Gus unlabeled foods which can transmit
and which do transmit serious diseases.
Plans for extending this work to inter-
state shipments of milk all over the coun-
try have already been made. It Is the
plan of the department to do more than
exercise merely police control over inter-
state shipments"
Need Health Department
A need of cabinet officer to preside
over the health of the nation was en-
phasized tonight in the address OF
Rudolph Kerring, president of the asso-
citation. Referring to the expansion in
otEer departments of the federal govern
ment, he said:
ut seems clearly in the line of natural
development that the administration OF
the public health affairs of the countr,
should be delegated to an independent de-
partment presided over by a abinet Of,
ficer
Cuba is the only country In our asso.
| ciation,' he said. that has a nationa.
department of public health and a minis
ter OF public health with a seat in the
cabinet But it does not seem difficult
to foresee it can only be a question al
time when we shall have a national de.
partment of a similar character No serv,
ice can have more justification for its ex.
lstence than such a one. which estab
llshes means for improving the physca
and mental health of the people,
In paper read before the pure foot
symposium this afternoon DR. III. e. Bar
nard of the Indiana state board of health
urged the enactment of law by every
state in the union. compelling laborers ir
canning factories and food manufactorie.
to have certificates of health.
DR., Barnard declared that 'satisfactor,
meat inspection never will be attained un
less the state assumes responsibility fol
stamping out bovine tuberculosis and hos
cholera"