Evening star., 1922-02-21
Washington Badly in Need
OF Milk Supply Protection

the proposed bill provides for issu-
ance Of permits yearly to ship milk
into the District. The present law
provides for permit which Is good
indefinitely or until suspended or re-
voked. Some of the producers are
careless and keep along on the ragged
edge, just within the law. If they
knew that they had to satisfy the Dis
trict health office annually and come
up to standard, they would take more
care of the condition of their herds, or
they would not get the permit.
One radical change in the law, writ
ten into the health office bill, grants
lthe heakh officer authority to seize
any unlawful shipment Of milk Into
the DistrtG. Now he has to swear
out a warrant and take the case into
court. If he was able to seize the inn
proper shipment and notify the ship
per to remove it within twenty-four
hours. DIR. Fowler believes 1t would
have a very salutary effect.
Besides the ACCOMPLISHMENTS Milk
Producers Association supporting the
bill, several of the prominent dis
tributers told the Lampert subcom-
mittee that no matter what the action
of Congress may be. letting down the
pasteuriZation as the only require
men:, they propose to serve milk
which comes only from tuberculin-
tested cattle, because they know the
people of the District want thls aoul-
tional safeguard.
The argument made before the sub
committee was that il the tuberculin
test is not required some distributors
will 70 anywhere they can get inc
cheapest milk. They can get cheap milk
because the requirements VIII not be
so rigid, and the District health Office
will have no way Of knowing where
the milk came from or the condition
of the herd or barns from which IL
came.
In reply to the objection that there
are likely to be times of milk short
age. and that the distributors should
then have an opportunity to get the
milk required by the consumers with
out having to be restricted to tubercu-
lin-tested herds. DIR. Fowler replied
that there is no likelihood that the
distributors will not be able to get all
the milk they may need from the tu-
berculin-tested herds of the Maryland
and Virginia producers.
The subcommittee has certainly had
all the information it needs from
either side on this question. In fact.
the members have repeatedly stated
that they know already how they
the bill under consideration regard
ing the price of milk or the prohts
made by the distributors. and this
has been called to the attention OF
the subcommittee, practically every
member OF which has at one time or
another declared that he intends to
make il his business to see that prot
iteering on milk shall ctase. But
even if they are going into that phase
of the District milk situation. they
have. admittedly enough testimony.
Action is needed.
There is a very good reason why
the Lampert subcommittee should re-
port, and why the House District
committee should reach decision on
this legislation as soon as poSSible.
If the tuberculin test is provided then
all the farmers shipping here could
be required to have their herds re-
tested. A certain number have not
been tested for several years. and the
District health Office feels that the
present law is weak in that it does
not require an annual test. one
test is not sufficient, and every he'd
should be retested at least once
year" DR.. Fowler said.
AS an illustration. he told the sub
committee of one producer in Mary
land whose herd had previously been
tuberculin tested. DR.. Fowler had
reason to believe that some tubercu-
lar cattle were in the herd and so re-
voked the producers permit to ship into
the Washington. market. new tu-
berculin test of the herd was made
and out of eighty-one cows, fift&one
reacted to- the test and were ordered
killed.
X X X
Now the situation is that the sub
committee is about as well informed
regarding the essential facts as it
will be six months or a year from
now. If further safeguards or the
strengthening of cid safeguards is
found desirable, no time should be
lost in setting them up. Nothing is
to be gained by further delay, and
much is to be gained by prompt
action.
No legislation Of general interest
in the District has been passed by
this session of Congress. There is
still time to get the milk bill through,
and that bill is of interest to every
hOma in the District.