The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-02
DAIRYMEN INVEST S2OO,OO0 ID GIVE BETTER MILK HERE
More Than Three-Fourths Of Supply To Be PaSteurized
 For Consumers
Nearlv s2OO. bod has peen Invested in

For Consumers
 Nearly s2oO,oOO has been Invested in Birmingham during the past six months by dairymen and dairy inter- ests to give Birmingham a purer and more satisfactory milk supply through pasteurization, the thing the city health authorities have been l fighting for during number of years.
 Starting with September about eighty per cent of milk sold at re- tail in Birmingham will be pasteur- ized. This does not mean, officials say, that those who prefer raw milk cannot get it raw, for there will be i thousands of gallons of raw milk available every day, but the bulk of the milk will be pasteurized. l.. c. Bulmer, chief of the division 1 of food and dairy inspection, discuss 1 ing the subject Saturday, had the fo.- lowing to say:
 Tn telling the public hard facts about milk that every man, woman and child should know and under stand, the department of health has i invariably found itself placed between the devil and the deep blue sea.
 ,"On the one hand to tell the public all that should be told about the value of milk as a food would be apt not only to bring about the much desired i increased consumption, butt also to create among many a false sense of 1 security in any milk that may be available on the market, On the other hand, to say all that could be | said about the dangers attached to ] impure milk is liable and probable to arouse a general suspicion of all milk and thereby diminish consump- tion.
 This is true because the average 1 citizen takes only a passing interest in milk, making it nearly impossible i to put over an intelligent program of education in the milk question. l Indeed, there are many people who 1 know far more about their automo- 1 piles than they do about themselves and exercise much more care in the l grade of gasoline they purchase than i they do In the quality of milk that is fed to their infants at home.
 Milk Valuable Food.
 "The greatest authorities on public health in~ this country and in every 1 advanced country of the world have 1 been endeavoring for years to instill 1 two great facts into the public mind, 1 firstly, that milk by it's nature and 1 composition is by far the most valu- l able article of food we possess and
 
 1 fundamental to the public health but l to the future welfare of any nation i secondly, that impure milk is the cause of more disease than all other 1 foodstuffs combined.
 Ut should not be so difficult to l force these two points home, but in l all advances, particularly of science, there are always a few who cannot | keep pace with the advancement and l they expect others to wait for them l It becomes necessary, therefore. to re- | peat and repeat over and over again in slightly different language.
 Due to the wisdom of the last city l commission modern milk ordinance was passed at the instigation of the health officer, which ranks probably second to none in this country By | the gradual working out of this code l in practice, and the effect that the regulations have had on the milk in- l dustry Birmingham is about to have a milk supply that will compare fa- vorably with the foremost cities in 1 America. from a public health stand \ point. Under the leadership of J. L. l Lilies, county demonstration agent and guidance of S. l.. Brewster, the | dairymen of this county have organ ized within their own circle to insssre this fact.
 "The Jefferson Dairy comfany which will constitute the plant Of the Jefferson County Dairymens Coop i erative organization, together with i the Central Milk company and Glen Iris Dairies, will handle and distri- l bute approximately 80 per cent of the 1 Birmingham milk supply, safeguarded 1 to the highest degree by the most modern and approved methods of scientific pasteurization. This sup ! ply will continue to be regularly in- l spected at the source of production and examined daily during handling and distribution as if it were to be | sold in it's raw state but the milk will | be pasteurized as an additional safe guard and guarantee to the consumeE l that it is absolutely pure and benefi- cial to health beyond any suspicion o1 1 doubt.
 1 Raw MILK Also Available.
 i Raw milk will also continue to be available on the market, but only In the hands of dairymen beyond ques- tion who have facilities to produce milk under the highest sanitary standards which modern knowledge has found necessary and essential in the safeguarding of raw milk Both pasteurized dealers and raw milk dealers will be afforded the fullest .eo-operation of the depart ment of health by way of protection against inferior and unsafe grades of interruptions competitors. It is only in this way that the milk indus try can prosper, for the reason that the producers must necessarily de- pend on the confidence of the con sumer in market milk before any marked increase in consumption of milk can be brought about.
 There are bound to be a few who will tell people that pasteurized milk 1 tastes" In order to prove that such isa ef a O ic or = pared to take three bottles of pas teurized milk and two of raw milk and guarantee that not one person in ten who makes such statements can identify the bottles of pasteur- izede milk by tasting. There are others who will say that pasteuriza- tion affects the nutritive value of milk, and to those we would say that the greatest medical specialists is: this country, men who have forgot ten more about infant feeding thar the majority of laymen, and even some doctors, will ever know, mako very positive statements that mod | ern pasteurization does not affect i the nutritive value of milk.
 Pasteurization Nearly Complete.
 It should be with feeling of genu- inc relief that Birmingham accepts the news that within the next few weeks over three-quarters of it's milk supply will. be pasteurized. To ob- tain the pasteurization of the gen. eral milk supply as protection to health is the object of the depart ment of health in every city of note in this country. Birmingham is about ! to realize this goal.
 In New York, Boston and Chicago the entire milk supply has been sub NEW LA MP BURNS
 94% AIR