The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-11

The Rutland Herald in an able editor
ial exhorts the legislature not to waste
another half million dollars to help
out" the farmers with tuberculous cows
and quotes certain writer's to show that
the state is simply dumping millions in
a we'll so deep that we haven't touched
bottom" 1t concludes as follows:
In heavens name, let us stop, look and
listen before we commit ourselves to an
other cycle of wasted millions. Let us
know what we are doing before we throw
any more money down the well.
The Reformer agrees with the Herald
that the people should know what they
are accomplishing before appropriating
for the eradication of tuberculosis from
Vermont herds, but it believes evidence
is at hand to prove the continuation of
the appropriations is advisable
The Herald is able to quote one au-
thority, DIR. Louis Goblet, lecturer in
pathology for Cambridge university, Eng
land, as follows:
Among grown-up people fatal bovine
infections are. StatiStically speaking, al
five years of age they are so few as to
make very little difference to the re
suit.
Against this single authority there
may be cited statements of many other
authorities that infection of human be
ings from bovine tuberculosis is common,
especially among young children. 1t is
fact. also that no one willingly con
sumes diseased milk nor does he want il
for his children. 1t may be true, as DIR.
Goblet says. that few children over five
years of age are infected with the dis
ease. but it is not right to compel par
ents to assume the risk of fatally infect
ing their children in the first five years
of their life. In exposing them to the
use of diseased milk the state is prac-
tically saying, IF your child can es-
cape this fatal disease for the first five
years there is little danger after that"
The Herald quotes DIR. Allen r.
Krause of Baltimore, managing editor
Of The American Review of tuberculosis,
as saying:
Money has been poured out, herds
have been depleted. evasion and trickery
have been reSOrted to. anlmOSlty and
strife have been engendered and-tuber
cUlous cattle are still as common as can
be-
That was true of Vermont four years
ago but since then the state has passed
law refusing compensation for any con-
demned animal unless the owner has his
whole herd tested and agrees to keep it
free from outside infection. The result
is that there are in the state today s.
912 cattle that have passed two official
tests and have been found free from the
disease both times; 1899 cattle that
have passed one clean test, and 14.92S
cattle that are expected to pass the next
test without a reaction. Eradication has
been accomplished in his large number
of cattle and their owners have a fair
chance to keep them free from exposure
from outside sources.
To stop appropriating money for the
eradication of this disease now would
destroy the work already accomplished
and would actually be throwing away
the hundreds of thousands of dollars
spent in securing these desirable results
1t would seem wasteful policy to de
stroy the work of the past four years
By refusing to appropriate the neces-
Sary money to continue the eradication
of bovine tuberculosis.