The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-08-05
ASKED HELP BOARD
TICK ERADICATION
State Veterinarian Asked For County
Appropriation to Help Fight
the Cattle Ticks.

u.
addressed the Board of County Com
missioners at a recent. meeting ask
ing for an appropriation for tick
eradication in the county, instead of
recommending that no appropriation
be made as previously stated in error.
The following letter was addressed
to the board by Mr. DeMiIly. The
board decided to make no appropria-
ton:
Chairman Board of County Commits
sioners,
Dear Sir:
am directed by the State Livestock
Sanitary Board to write and urge your
Board of County Commissioners to in
clude in your budget for the next year
as liberal an appropriation as possible
for the purpose of constructing Dip
ping watts and cooperating with this
board in the eradication of the cat
tie tick.
The money for this appropriation
can be raised in two ways; that IS,
from the millage allowed for agricul-
turaI purposes or from the millage lev
led for general revenue purposes; for
instance: Should you find that three
mill levy would be sufficient to run
your general revenue fund, you could
by levying the full five mills, divert
two mills of this fund to the work of
tick eradication.
/ hope you will not infer from this
letter that it is our intention to try
to force tick eradication upon your
county before the people are ready
80 n ,tR-A 1alaT
every county in the state commence
as soon as possible to get in the
equipment necessary to carry on this
work. 1t has gotten to the point when
it is not a question as to what we
think of the work, but in view of the
fact that quarantine restrictions have
been placed upon Florida cattle by the
federal government and by other
states, it is essential that we get ready
to carry on this work in as large area
Of the state and at the earliest pos
sible date.
For your information, it will require
not less than six thousand watts to con-
duct the work throughout the state,
and at the present time we have less
than two thousand watts available, and
pair.
1t will not be the policy of this
board to construct watts as it has in
the past; that is, by the appointment
of a local man to supervise construc-
ton of same, as we find that this
method is not only unsatisfactory but
expensive.
Our policy will be, as soon as a
county has made the necessary money
available. to send a representative of
this board to confer with the board of
county commissioners and the cattle
owners of the county, with view of
getting the watts properly located. Spec
ifications will be made of each vat and
pens and turned over to your board
and it is suggested that you adver-
tise for bids and that the contract be
let to the lowest bidder on the entire
number of watts required by the coun-
ty, The state livestock sanitary board
will see that the contractor lives up to
the terms of the contract before ap-
proving and accepting said work. We
feel that this plan will save money on
the part of the counties and that the
watts and pens will be much more sat
isfactorily constructed.
AS soon as your board has met and
taken action on this matter, We will
appreciate reply, advising just how
much money your county wiz have for
this purpose.
The board wishes you to understand
that the legislature has provided a
much smaller appropriation than here
tofore for this department and only
a part of this appropriation can be
used for tick eradication; therefore,
you must understand that the expense
of operating dipping watts in the several
counties in which dipping is to be
carried on must be borne by the coun-
ties individually, and that it will be
impossible for this board to contri-
butte any sum toward this expense. 1t
will be the purpose of this board to
direct the construction of watts and to
advise with your board the proper
course to pursue to make your county
tick-free and exempt from quarantine
and to cooperate with you in every
way with the limited means at our dis
posal.
Respectfully,
]. M. DeMIL.LY, Sec.
A.