THE ROYAL COMMISSION ON TUBERCULOSIS 513 



attacking them be of the " bovine " type ? No ; it is not a fact. 

 This statement is never made explicitly ; the grievous wrong is 

 that this statement is made implicitly in almost every other line 

 of the Report. 



But we may study the methods of the Royal Commission 

 a little further. Tommy Smith in fact does contract the 

 disease. At a later stage his case comes under the observation 

 of the Commissioners. They find the " bovine " bacillus and, 

 straightway, the case joins the list of cases proving the transmis- 

 sion of the disease by means of cows' milk. Unfortunately, the 

 parents of Tommy Smith have been for many years past in very 

 poor circumstances. They have scarcely known what fresh milk 

 is. They have generally used condensed milk and when more 

 than usually pressed they have used condensed milk made from 

 skimmed milk. But what does that matter ? Everything is grist 

 to the mill of the Royal Commissioners. And so they proceed 

 to their final conclusions, displaying a wealth of assertion that 

 makes one gasp. The following quotations are taken from 

 page 39 of the Final Report : 



" The evidence which we have accumulated goes to demon- 

 strate that a considerable amount of the tuberculosis of childhood 

 is to be ascribed to infection with bacilli of the bovine type 

 transmitted to children in meals consisting largely of the milk 

 of the cow." 



"... The potency of tuberculous cows' milk in the causa- 

 tion of the tuberculosis of infancy and childhood is clearly 

 demonstrated. . . ." 



These statements are simply untrue. There is not a line of 

 evidence to show that the children whose cases were investigated 

 by the Commissioners ever received cows' milk — tuberculous 

 or otherwise. 



