82 PUBLIC HEALTH 



of new ones, to meet the demand for more water due to the growth of 

 our cities, make such investigations imperative for the maintenance 

 of the public health. Cooperation between state and municipal au- 

 thorities to this end has already been productive of much benefit, 

 and for this reason it is highly important that these two divisions 

 of sanitary workers should operate in accord; even better results 

 might be achieved if they could be coordinated under the control 

 of a national sanitary body. 



Bacteriological disclosures of the transmission of disease-germs in 

 milk, and of the dangers resulting from improper handling of this 

 product, have brought it more firmly under sanitary supervision. 

 The first step in the cities, of course, was to bring all milk-dealers 

 within the control of the board of health by prohibiting the sale of 

 milk without a permit. The next was to revoke permits when milk 

 found on sale fell below the standard adopted. It was frequently 

 found that the retailer was the innocent victim of an unscrupulous 

 wholesaler or shipper, consequently it became necessary for the 

 municipal sanitarian to reach out into the country districts and 

 investigate the conditions at dairy farms. With the investigation 

 went some instruction in methods of producing clean milk, by which 

 the honest farmer might profit. The establishment of model dairy 

 farms by men of wealth has also taught by example, and the high 

 prices obtainable in city markets for high-grade milk have stimu- 

 lated the farmer to continually greater effort. With this campaign 

 of education has come a demand on the railways for the proper icing 

 of milk-cans in transit. 



Milk is a most favorable medium for the propagation of germ-life, 

 especially at temperature above 50 Fahrenheit. In this condition 

 it is often found to have a toxic effect, particularly when used for 

 infant feeding; consequently failure on the part of the sanitary au- 

 thorities to prevent the sale of such milk has the immediate and direct 

 result of advancing the rate of infant mortality. 



Regulation of the sale of other foodstuffs has been less highly 

 developed. In some centres there has been established a fairly effi- 

 cient system for the inspection of beef cattle, but there is no doubt 

 that the meat of tuberculous animals is sold in considerable quantity 

 in all our large cities. Scientists have not yet definitely determined 

 whether or not tuberculosis can be thus transmitted to human beings, 

 but there is still adequate reason why the sale of infected beef should 

 be absolutely stopped and the sellers punished. 



The danger of typhoid infection through the medium of shell-fish 

 is now so well established that we need have no question of it at this 

 late date. No more clean-cut instance of this can be found in all 

 medical history than in the epidemic of typhoid fever at Wesleyan 

 University ten years ago. Investigation by Professor Conn and others 



