15 



Division of Animal Industry 



Honolulu, Hawaii, January 17, 1919. 



Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and 

 Forestry, Honolulu. 



Gentlemen : — I beg to submit herewith my report on the 

 work of the Division of Animal Industry for the month of De- 

 cember, 1918: 



BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS CONTROL". 



With the ending of the month of December there has been ex- 

 pended of the indemnification fund for condemned tuberculosis 

 cattle the sum of $16,023.54, leaving $3,917.46 with which to con- 

 tinue the work for the remaining part of the fiscal period or until 

 the next legislature decides as to the further extension of this 

 work. 



That the policy of the Board in attempting to eradicate bovine 

 tuberculosis has been sound is now fully proven. Not alone have 

 a majority of the States in the Union enacted laws along the same 

 lines as our indemnification act, but the 1919 federal agricultural 

 appropriation bill, which was passel by Congress on October 1, 

 1918, provides for the payment by the federal department of 

 agriculture of one-third of the difference between the appraised 

 value of the condemned cattle and the salvage value of the car- 

 cass. The bill further provides that in order to benefit by this 

 act the State, county or community where the cattle are kept or 

 owned must be cooperating in the tuberculosis work and must pay 

 at least an equal amount to the ow^ner. In other words, when the 

 bill becomes effective, the Territory will save about one-third of 

 the compensation now being paid. 



At the present time, however, the bill as passed by Congress 

 omits the word ''Territory," mentioning only counties. States and 

 municipalities, which, according to advice received from Wash- 

 ington, bars this Territory from participating in the appropria- 

 tion. All correspondence pertaining to this subject is herewith 

 appended. But the main point is that the Attorney General of 

 the Territory is of the opinion that the suggestion contained in 

 the letter from the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry to 

 the effect that federal indemnities might be paid in cooperation 

 with the counties of Hawaii instead of with the [Territory as a 

 unit is impractical and could not be effected without legislative 

 action. 



The whole matter has been explained to our Delegate to Con- 

 gress, and it is to be hoped that the next Congress, which con- 

 venes on March 4th, will continue this policy of partial indemni- 

 fication and that the unfortunate omission of the Territory will 

 be corrected. 



