The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-12-09
ONE-FOURTH OF
CHICAGO'S MILK
IS TUDERCULAR
City Fails to Maintain
Rigid Inspection

over one-fourth OF the milk tnat
enters Chicago comes from herds that
are tubercular declare twenty-four
leading doctors Of Chicago in let
ter to the governor Of Illinois, Len
Small, demanding that all cows with
in the confines Of the state be tested
for tuberculosis and that all milk and
dairy products be watched carefully
so that products coming from tubercu-
lar cattle do not enter the state.
5000 Of Herd TubereuIar.
In the letter it points out that Chi
cago which gets one-fourth of its milk
from McHenry county comes from
herds of which 500 of the cows are
suffering from tuberculosis.
Health authorities point out that
milk or diary products coming from
tubercular cattle is a grave danger to
the babies and those who drink the
milk as pasteurization does not kill
the tubercular germs.
Sanitariums overerowded.
A controversy has arisen in the Chi
cago district over the tuberculin test
for cattle, in which the city health
authorities, who have failed to per-
form their duties for many years in
this respect, are now attempting to
carry on tuberculin tests of cattle
after many leading health authorities
in the city have pointed out the reason
for Chicago's increasing tubercular
disease rate. At present all tubercu-
lar sanitariums in the city are filed
to overlooking and only desperate
cases are taken into the county or mu-
nicipal hospitals.
ShurtIeff Act.
The fight centers around the legal
ity of the Shurtlen act, which was
sponsored by Judge Edward c. Shurt-
left of McHenry county, where so per
cent of the herds are tubercular, which
states that it is declared unlawful for
any city ito demand or require the
tuberculin test applied to dairy ami
mails as a means or measure OF regu-
iating, and purifying milk, skinned
milk, cream and dairy products of said
animals in any manner whatever"
A number of milk producers who are
contesting the right of Chicago's
health authorities claim they are will
ing to have their herds tested pro-
vided the act which declares that
where such federal and state inspec-
ton is maintained, that the federal
government pay one-third, the state
pay one-third and the owner lose one
third of the value of the condemned
herds, is lived up to.
Half of Herds Diseased.
1t is estimated by health authorities
that II the herds in Illinois were TO
be tested over half of them would
have to be destroyed as tubercular.
Many Illinois cities, despite the
Shurtleff law, maintain rigid milk and
dairy inspection laws, and as Chicago
has not maintained them, the milk
from diseased cattle has been shipped
in regularly.
IL is also pointed out that not only
is this milk used for human consumn-
ton, but that the skinned milk from
diseased cattle has been used as food
for hogs and chickens.
Over $50,O0O,OOO worth of hogs were
condemned as unfit for human con.
sumption because of their being fed
on milk from tubercular cows during
the past year.
Diseased Food Sold Workers
Thousands of hogs, cattle and chick
ems having the disease have been
sold over the counters to workers be.
cause OF the laxity in enforcing the
health laws by the officials.