No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 315 



prevalent; it is becoming less prevalent in Pennsylvania, decidedly 

 so. This is due to the increased desire on the part of owners of 

 herds to free their herds from this disease, and this is but the 

 expression of a great movement that is sweeping across the State, 

 across the country, and I might add, across the world, against 

 tuberculosis. This disease has increased until it has come to be 

 the chief cause of mortality among animals and men, and more de- 

 structive than small-pox and the Bubonic plague and cholera, and 

 all the other plagues combined. 



Now, the movement that is being introduced against this disease 

 is destined to become one of the great historic movements. The 

 people have become aroused to the question. These historic move- 

 ments sweep across the country at intervals; sometimes they are 

 economical movements, sometimes great religious movements, some- 

 times movements relating to the physical or moral health of the 

 community. You know it was the great movement against slavery 

 that divided the country into two armed camps; then it was the 

 great temperance movement that aroused the nation; now it is 

 the great movement against tuberculosis, and I believe that it will 

 exterminate this disease. In past years small-pox and leprosy and 

 other dread diseases have been exterminated by just such popular 

 movements, and I believe it will be the same with tuberculosis. Of 

 course, this will not come at once. It will take years, but a great 

 International Tuberculosis Congress is to meet at Washington 

 next September. It is believed that this will be the largest meeting 

 that has ever been held regarding this disease. It is not a medical 

 meeting, but it will be participated in by people of all nations who 

 are interested in the subject, and it is expected that there will be 

 two thousand delegates from foreign countries. I mention this to 

 show the force of this movement against tuberculosis, and I say it 

 is bound to be successful, but not immediately. The Department 

 of Agriculture in New York State has at last aroused itself, after 

 many years' slumber, to the great question of tuberculosis among 

 cattle. They have made examinations in various parts of the state, 

 and have come to the conclusion that about 20 per cent, of the cows 

 in New York State are tubercular. From what I have seen, I should 

 say that this is about correct, and as they have 1,SOO,000 cows in 

 the State of New York, it would follow that approximately 400,000 

 are tubercular, and yet one of tho menibeis of the Department of 

 Agriculture in that state — the Deputy Secretary — 



MR. HUTCHISON: Was it Flanders? 



DR. PEARSON: Yes; it was Flanders — told me that they expect 

 to be able to control it in three months. Why, the cost of extermin 

 ating that disease in that number of cattle would approximate 

 120.000,000. the entire revenue of the state for a year. This shows 

 that they don't know what they are taking hold of. We have been 

 at the work since 1896, and tuberculosis has steadily declined; we 

 have, I should say, one-third less of tuberculosis than is supposed to 

 exist in the State of New York, and the expenditures have not 

 averaged over .f3-5,000. It is more this year, because the Livestock 

 Sanitary Board has other lines to carry out, but we have expended 

 less than .^400,000 since the work started a little over eleven years 

 ago. Wlien you take into consideration that there are ojev 2,QOQ.Q00 



