Arizona republican., 1915-10-24
Steps Proposed for Meeting a Recurrence of the Foot and Mouth Disease Which It is Hoped Will Never Take Place

Alter vigorous anG splendid fight by the government state authorities and live stock associations it was believed that the foot and mouth dis ! ease whose raVaees were mostly east | of the Missouri river was believed to
 have been stamped out. That had
 been accomplished at an expense of
 more than $lO,00O,00 Since then
 there was a recognition of the danger 1 of a recurrence of the epidemic and
 on October 15 the Illinois Bankers
 Association took notice of the dis
 ease and strongly recommended a continuance of the warfare against
 an epidemic which threatens the
 foundations of one of our chief in dustries without which banking ac-
 tivities would go for naught''
 The following day Acting Secretary of Agriculture Carl Vrooman ad-
 dressed letter to President Dwight
 IS. Heard of the American National
 Live stock Association urging great
 CT preparedness to meet a recurrence
 of the outbreak and pointing out two
 difficulties, that of properly financing
 another campaign and that of co-or-
 dinating the work of the federal and state authorities. MT Vrooman an nounces that an advisory conference will be held at Chicago on November 2e. 30
 Before the receipt of this letter President Heard had directed the following communication to the Asso- 1 citations Committee on Sanitary Boards:
 Gentlemen Enclosed herewith is | letter from w. H. McElwain. one of our members, regarding the foot-and ! mouth disease being caused by inn | ported animal products
 Resolution No. ?, adopted at our an- ' nual meeting in San Francisco last March protested against the hazard f ous policy of our government in per hitting the importation of dressed meats. hides, and unsterilized animal products from countries where dan gerous infectious diseases of animals exist. and urged the Department of Agriculture to adopt such regulations as will protect this country from the entry of animal diseases through i'm ported meats, etc.
 The foot-and mouth disease is con- mon in Argentine. Brazil and Uruguay and probably exists in other countries in South America Live stock which may be slightly infected, or seemingly cured, are slaughtered for food in those countries. Our department of , agriculture has established regulations governing the importation of animal products from other countries so as o prevent tine entry of meat products . unfit for food. Our federal inspection s made at the port of entry in this . country and is in addition to the for I, ign inspection at the points of , slaughter. which latter inspection is lot under our control, hut which our government accepts. No matter how our regulations are enforced : here is still a grave and ever pre- sent danger in admitting to this any animal products from where the foot-and-mouth r contagious animal diseases exist: !, or it is practically impossible to de ect the germs of foot end mouth ' isease through the inspection at T ort of entry of animal products and :, he containers thereof Federal in pection of imported animal products. a herefore. does not adequately protect $ against the entry of animal dis , ases from foreign infected countries
 All former outbreaks of the foot :. nd-mouth disease have been traced h 3 foreign origin. The epidemic of !, lst year, and which still is prevalent. = as cost the federal government and =, lfected states millions of dollars - nd the disease is not vet stamped ,.' nt So far no one can point to any - enefits resulting from any increase I importation of meat products. It
 believed by many competent au- ,' loritics that this countrv is likely ~ } suffer from frequent occurrences tt