Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-09-07

dangers been evolved but simple and
food proof programs, the applica-
cation of these rules, as a result of
troll but the elimination of such dan
gers. have been developed.
Yet. so sluggish is human nature
and so Indifferent are the people as a
body that the great truths which now
stand ready to serve humanity are so
tragically ignored that to-day only a
fraction of the sum total of milk pro-
duced in the United States falls under
the protecting influence of the appli-
cation of these reules. as a result of
the census director at Washington,
159.435 infants under one year of age
perished in the United States.
A large proportion of these untime-
ly deaths was brought about by gas
tro o-intestinal diseases due to bad
milk.
If milk were a transparent fluid
the luxuriant growth of bacteria and
their accompanying poisons, as in
dicated by score of 30,000.000 to the
cubic centimeter, would be evident to
the naked eye. Because milk is not
transparent fluid the presence of
these infant-murderers is not even
suspected. The human eye can
easily see a colony of bacteria how
ever microscopic the single germ may
be.
1t is common even now for milk to
reach New York and Chicago contain
ing $50, 100000 bacteria per cubic
centimeter. Even these enormous
quantities cannot be detected by the
naked eye.
In one glass of such milk organisms
originating in the intestines of warm
blooded animals, described by scien-
vast numbers showing pollution with
animal eXcrement from the cowsheds
or human eXcrement from the farm
privies.
Dirty fanks and unwashed udders
are responsible for the presence of b.
coli; so are the unclean hands of the
mixer.
Apart from the filth conditions in
dicated by the presence of 3. coli,
which in themselves are offensive to
common decency as we'll as a danger
signal, are to be found in large num-
bers in raw milk the germs of bovine
tuberculosis.
Bovine tuberculosis is transmiss-
ible to the child, particularly under
the age of sixteen.
Bovine tuberculosis transmitted to
the child through infected milk but
ter, pot cheese, ice cream, meat and
meat products does not necessarily
kill. Although death from such cause
is frequent among infants. 1t usually
mains or cripples. Its ravages do
not manifest themselves at their
worst until early adult life.
The germs which bring about the
untimely deaths of nearly 100000 in
fants under one year of age in the
United States annually can all be
present with the germs of tuber-
culosis in a single glass of contami-
mated milk.
If these dangers could be seen by
the naked eye the people would be so
impressed by them that they would
rise up and support their public
health officials in all efforts to OBJ
tain a safe milk supply.
I believe that even though the eye
is unable to picture for them the
dreadful significance of the facts,
they can nevertheless be made to un-
derstand some measure of the appall-
ing truth.
I believe also that with such an
understanding milk reform will be
brought about automatically in much
shorter time than the little army OF
noble but discouraged scientists
with whose work 1 am familiar, be-
lieve possible.
Hence the facts that are to follow,