Report of State Veterinarian. 53 



over the State has gone far enough to show, beyond a doubt, that 

 the general milk supply of St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Joe, and 

 many of the smaller cities of this State, is contaminated with milk 

 from cows diseased with tuberculosis. 



All scientific investigation indicates that bovine tuber- 

 culosis is transmitted to man. The circumstantial evidence in the 

 case shows that a large part of the tuberculosis among human be- 

 ings is contracted by the use of the milk of tuberculous cattle. For 

 instance, we know that in St. Louis the use of milk from tuber- 

 culous cattle is general. We know that there is a very large num- 

 ber of cases of human tuberculosis in St. Louis. Some years ago 

 an anti-spitting ordinance was passed by the city, and other pre- 

 cautions taken to remove what were supposed to be the most fruit- 

 ful sources of tuberculosis infection. After all has been done, the 

 death rate from tuberculosis is still enormous. It is not confined 

 to the poor who live in unkept tenement houses. It invades the 

 most sanitary homes. The question is, "Where does this infection 

 come from?" Some answer to this question should be given. The 

 neglect to search for the source of infection causing so great a loss 

 of human life amounts to criminal carelessness on the part of those 

 who are in official positions. It is not a matter to admit of parley 

 and delay. If it is impossible to discover exactly which source of 

 infection is the most dangerous to the human family, we ought to 

 proceed without debate to remove all sources of infection, as an 

 army would close all doors of its fortress against the enemy. The 

 annual death rate from tuberculosis in Missouri can not be given 

 at less than 4,000. This State is paying out not less than $600,000 

 annually, nursing and burying consumptives. It is the consensus 

 of opinion of scientists that tuberculosis in the human family comes 

 largely from cattle. The milk supply of this State is now in such 

 a condition as to be easily responsible for one-half of the deaths 

 from tuberculosis in the human family. For that reason, if for no 

 other, this disease ought to be stamped out of our dairy herds. 



In all of the work of testing cattle, we have tried to be care- 

 ful, accurate and fair with the owner. Whenever there has been 

 any doubt about the results of a test, we have always given the 

 owner the benefit of that doubt. We have made it a practice to re- 

 test animals that were especially valuable, in order to make doubly 

 sure of no errors. We have always invited the owner of condemned 

 cattle to witness the post-mortem examination of such animals as 

 were slaughtered. We have issued permits for the shipment for 

 immediate slaughter, subject to inspection, of all scrub stuff. When- 



