7* ANNUAL. KEPORT. OF THE Off. Doc. 



ablj anthrax, liad occurred off and on through this neighborhood 

 lor a number of years; some years several cattle have died on each 

 of a number of farms, in other years the losses have been slight; 

 but at no time until this year .was the distribution of the disease or 

 were the total losses great enough to cause serious alarm and lead to 

 bringing notice of the existence of the disease to the attention of the 

 State authorities. During the past fall, more than 20 cattle died in 

 this vicinity, and most of these died before the disease was reported. 

 It was found that a number of cattle dead of anthrax had been 

 skinned and their hides had been sold to a hide dealer in Bernville. 

 These hides were found in a pile with a number of other hides from 

 presumably healthy cattle. Much experience has shown the great 

 danger to tannery workmen and to others who handle the hides, and 

 even the leather made from the hides of anthrax victims. No effect- 

 ive method for disinfecting and rendering fairly safe the hides of 

 animals dead of anthrax has yet been discovered. Disinfectants that 

 are powerful enough to completely destroy the spores of anthrax 

 present in such hides seriously injure the hides or ruin them for tan- 

 ning purposes. Therefore, it was evident that the hides in question 

 should be destroyed in a proper manner. Existing law provides that 

 the carcasses of animals dead of any one of a number of diseases of 

 dangerous and virulent character, including anthrax, shall be de- 

 stroyed and disposed of in a way that will make it impossible for in- 

 fection to spread from such carcasses. This legislation applies to the 

 carcasses and all other parts and products of such animals, and so it 

 is evident that there w as authority, as well as a sanitary need, for the 

 destruction of the hides from thje cattle that died of anthrax and 

 were stored in the warehouse of the hide dealer. The matter was 

 complicated a little by the fact that the infectious hides had been 

 sandwiched between, and were still in direct contact with hides from 

 healthy animals. Some of the hides from anthrax victims could be 

 identified, but there was doubt as to the identification of others. 

 The danger being so great, it was decided to require the destruction 

 of all the hides in the pile containing the hides from the anthrax 

 victims. Altogether, 53 hides were destroyed. As at least 12 of 

 these w^ere known to have been taken from anthrax carcasses, and 

 as the destruction of such hides is required by law, no compensa- 

 tion could be made for them. It was thought, however, that the hide 

 dealer should be compensated for the hides from healthy animals 

 that were condemned and destroyed as a sanitary precaution. The 

 question as to compensating the owner for these hides was referred 

 to the Attorney General, and it was decided that "if the exigency 

 were such as to require your intervention in the manner stated in 

 your letter, and that it was necessary to destroy hides and car- 

 casses in order to prevent the spread of disease and a danger to 

 human life, then such reasonable allowance in the way of compensa- 

 tion for material destroyed may be made to the owner whose prop- 

 erty was taken." The hides were accordingly appraised and the 

 owner was compensated. 



It was found that the carcasses from which the hides were taken 

 and other carcasses of anthrax victims had been disposed of in an 

 imperfect manner and not in accordance with the requirements of 

 the Act of Assembly of May 2, 1901 (P. L. 88). All of these carcasses 

 were sought out and where buried in shallow graves or near a water 



