Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-06-03
Attempt to Break Down
Milk Requirements Depl0red.
To the Editor Of The Star:

40 the EollOr OF ne star.
The recent proposals to break down
the sanitary requirements for milk
shipped to Washington have an ominous
significance for the people of Washing
ton and for the milk producing farmers
in Maryland and Virginia.
Washington is supplied with the purest
milk of any city in the world. I believe
no one denies this important fact. Ac-
cording to the records of the District of
Columbia Health Department, the aver
age bacteria count in milk shipped into
Washington was about 22000000 per
cubic centimeter in 1900 and about TO-
600 900 in 1910. In contrast, during the
period for which I have a record in 1888
and 1889, the average bacteria count in
the raw milk from my own small dairy
farm, as delivered to the dealer in WASH
ington, has been only 1870 per cubic
centimeter. For every few thousand bac-
terra in the unregulated milk, there is
now in my milk only one lone bacterium.
lid ldly 1lldl NClOuS dSAAACNSAilSAAu 40
accomplished only by the expenditure
of much money and labor and the scrup-
ulous and intelligent observance of the
many rigorous and effective regulations
of the District of Columbia Health De-
partment. 1t requires herd, every cow
of which is healthy in every respe It, and
fastidious cleanliness in regard to the
Ioix l>or fI,nI oir nd
all utensils. 1t requires a steam boiler,
a sterilizer and refrigeration plant by
means of which the milk is kept near
freezing temperature from few min
utes after it leaves the COW until it is
delivered to the dealer in Washington.
The operation of such a dairy farm
requires painstaking and sustained ap-
plication every day-summer and win
ter, weekdays, Sundays and holidays
that would hardly be possible if it were
not for the realization of eminently
worthwhile results in the health of the
children Of the city. According to rec
ords of the District of Columbia Health
Department, the infant mortality in
Washington has dropped from 1853 per
Thousand In 1910 to only 40 per thousand
in 193S-very largely because of the great
improvement in the purity of the milk.
If the sanitary regulations were now
removed, for the benefit of the bootleg
gers and the ruin of the local farmers,
the life of many child in Washington
would certainly be sacrificed.
For the milk produced on my farm the
price in the current year Con the farm, 4
per cent butterfat) has been somewhat
less than 5 cents quart. This includes
the so-called surplus milk, a part of
which is necessary to meet the fluctuat-
ing demands in city such as Wash
ington. For the so-called basic milk, sold
as fluid milk or cream, the price, in
Guiding the bonus for high score, has
been little less than cents a quart.
When the present rigorous regulations
were put into effect, most of the farmers
who shipped milk to Washington were
greatly worried. Some were not able to
meet the requirements and some volun-
tarily decided to quit. Most Of those
who continued to ship milk to Wash
ington went further into debt, some of
them to the limit of their capacity to
borrow, in order to provide the required
dairy barns, dairy houses, sterilizers, re-
frigerators and other equipment. The
price Of milk has been sufficient to en-
able these farmers to meet their interest
and upkeep expenses and to make q