The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-04-15
McLendon Points to Fifty Per Cent Saving in Labor Costs While Bowling Says No Milk Scores Can Be Published During The Current Month
SAMPLES ALWAYS TAKEN
 DURING EARLY MORNING
Inspectors Cannot Get Out At 4 O'Clock Under Rule
 Which Requires City Auto-
 mobiles To Be Kept Under Guard During the Night

Saving of approximately 50 per cent in labor costs of upkeep on six automobiles used by milk inspectors of the health department has been eff fected since the commission ordered all city automobiles to be placed in the municipal garage at the close of each working day, according to figures tabulated Saturday by D. E. McLendon. president of the commits sion.
 Recently the commission posted notice that all city cars would have to be placed in the municipal garage at close of work, and the milk fn- spectors complained this has ham pered them in obtaining camples of milk from dairies, as most of the samples have to be taken from the wagons between and 8 o'clock in the morning.
 The report of L. c. Bulmer. chief of the bureau of food and dairy in spection. submitted to Dr. J. D. Dowl- ing, city and county health officer. shows 200 less samples of milk have been taken during March than in Nprevious months. The bacterial Nount of both Grade A raw milk Tand DdSIueTiHtu Inlih HdS ihNiCaScu \ during March, with the following comparative counts made by the de- partment March Grade "A raw milk, 3S,o00 per c. C.; February, Grade A raw milk, 26,O00 per c. C., and January, Grade "A raw milk, 2S,000 per c. C.; pastuerized milk, March, 19,000 per c. C.; February. 10000 per c. C., and January, 1000 per c. c.
 No Scores Published.
 As a result of the interference by the commission in the use of the au- tomobiles, there were no milk scores of the dairies published and there will be none during April, it was an nounced. Dr. Bowling stated the in- crease is due to the partial break down of the system of supervision of the milk supply, as the cars are not available during the early morn- ing hours when the samples are taken from the dairymen.
 President McLendon said Saturday: We have forced all of the depart ment cars of the city to be put in the garage at night in order to save some expense to the city. They are gasoline and for general inspection We have had enough joy riding at the citys expense and this order was issued at the instance of the com Emission to curtail this old habit and |Sto save the city money. The last administration did not allow cars to be used during the night and all de- partments functioned as well as they are working now. .
 T checked up on the detailed re- port from the garage Saturday and !. found that saving of 50 per cent on labor of six health department cars has been accomplished during the past month. It is not my in tention or that of the commission to hamper in any way the work ings of the milk inspectors In pur- suance of their work, but the city cannot stand up under the expense it has been put to by using of cars after work hours"
 Comes Under Mrs. EchoIs.
 Mrs. Mary EcnoIs, commissioner of health and education. under whose comes, stated she had held several conferences with President McLen- don, but no settlement of the ques- tion had been reached.
 President McLendon stated he had offered a plan to Mrs. Echols where by inspectors of the health depart ment might purchase their own cars and the city would pay flat rate of $50 a month for their upkeep. It was understood Mrs. Echols would present the plan to the inspectors in the health department Inspectors in the department have not expressed their idea of the plan.
 l.. C. Bulmer, chief of the bureau, H,stated If the present condition ex- Rists much longer all of the work done . by the health department toward k.milk scores will be undone. The tmilk inspectors now work until 6
 o'clock in the afternoon and if they are compelled to walk to town early . iE the mornings and catch the wag-
 ons wherever possible 1t will be a
 hardship to them and to the milk
 men. as no fresh samples of milk can
 be obtained"
 Milk scores to Birmingham are con-
 sidered very beneficial as they fur
 nsh information of conditions rela-
 tive to each dairy in the city, giv-
 ing their ratings and percentages
 based upon cleanliness. caps of bot
 ties and employees.