Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-20
COUNCILS STAND
ON MILK ORDINANCE
Chief Objection to Proposed Law
Seemed to be That it Would
Hurt Somebody.

II is reported that the energetic pro-
tests of those interested in the raising OF
tho quality of the milk supplied to VIII
mlngton have been somewhat OF sur
prise To some Of the members OF City
Council who voted down the proposed
new ordinance at the last meeting OF that
body, IL TO l.
While il is probable that the members
who voted arairst hts adoption are not all
perfectly clear in their own minds Just
what points of il they objected to, 1t is
suspected that some saw thq specterr
which lurked in the background, that OF
''loss of votes" which rs OF some smaller
dealers and their friends, which is so
often conmured up by those who play
at politics on the village scale, when even
"A small amount of the lcaven of genuine
statcsmanship would have balanced against
this phantom the reality of a much more
serious loss of popularity through the
d,sapproyal of the larger class of public
spirited consumers.
The action that rs predicted rs hkeiy
to he taken when Council decides TO take
tn, matter UP again is along the lines OF
an extension of the authority of the mix
insIrctor TO proceed IN the case OF oflend-
ers against some of the regulations of the
existing ordinance, such rs mlsbranding OF
bottled milk
No'indication of what action, if any, is
likely To be taken by the City Board OF
Health can be gathered in ad ance OF the
next NJ, g 10y Council, rs the president
of tn. i. Dr. Charles Nj. Handy, Is
out If &, un his vacation.
The text of the ordinance, presented
last tuesday ight, II IS stated by one
familiar with the subject IS practically
identical with that published IN these
columns about two months ago, the IN
ference being that the legal adviser OF
Council found in that, nothing to object
TO on legal grounds.
As II had been in course OF preparation
for several months during which careful
COMPARISONS had been made with the
prevailing practice in hiladclphia, Baltl-
more and " ashington, and on two dif-
ferrnc occasions subjected to criticism IN
oncn Council and the result OF The
criticism Incorporated in the final draft, It
was measurably certain that all interests
had been consulted
II i stated on the same authority. that
in the Judgment of the dairy division of the
Impairment Of Agriculture at Washing
ton. il was considered to err on the side OF
not going far enough. rather than going
too far
Since the matter was flrSt Drought UP
bv government report in October, 1919,
the action Of the last State Legislature
session, in appropriating money 20 recon-
rrnse owners Of condemned tuberculous
COWS for their loss, one main objection TO
the testing of milk, has been removed.
The attention directed 10 the matter of
sanitary milk IN general and the awakened
activity Of the milk Inspector in reporting
conditions that were not up TO standard,
resulted i'm porceptiblc improvement IN
the city supply But when the ordinance
was brought up, in May last, some of its
provisions were objected to on the ground
that they bore too heavily on the small
dealer. especially in the matter of pas
tcurization, the same provisions being
held TO favor the larger dealers and COM
panleS.
IL can hardly bc claimed that all the
Council members have comprehensive
knowledge of the principles involved in
the modern treatment Of milk; but the
cry Is said To haye been raised that some
one was likely TO be hurt by the new regu-
lations," If adopted.
CAUSE OF DELAY.
The illness for a fortnight of the chair
man of one of the committees to which the
,,,,- or,iinanee was rcferrp1 and a month