MILK SUPPLY : DISCUSSION 217 



which was consumed in the poorer districts was largely 

 responsible for the high incidence of diarrhoea mortality 

 which prevailed in the summer months in their city. He 

 thought therefore that in considering the milk supply the 

 Conference ought to impress upon the nation the vast im- 

 portance of securing a National Milk Bill, which should be 

 effective in controlling the milk supply at its source, and not 

 leaving it in its present unsatisfactory condition. Having 

 regard to the immense importance of the matter and having 

 regard to the vast size of a city like London, there was 

 practically no opportunity of effectively controlling the milk 

 supply unless it came under a central authority. 



Mrs. J. KINGSWELL (Portsmouth) said she had been very 

 much interested for many years in the feeding and care of 

 young children and infants. She would like to ask whether 

 the doctors advised dilution of milk with water and in what 

 proportion when it was used for the feeding of young 

 children, or whether they advised the whole cow's milk for 

 young children. There seemed to be a large diversity of 

 opinion on the point. 



Dr. F. E. FREMANTLE (Hertfordshire) said in the regret- 

 table absence of Dr. Savage it might be as well if a few of 

 the county medical officers of health expressed their views 

 in the discussion. One spoke from a personal point of 

 view, and they all had their differences, but on the general 

 principles regarding the milk supply he thought that all 

 county medical officers were fairly at one. The discussion 

 had been most interesting to all of them and most useful, 

 but of course the differences between themselves and other 

 countries made some difference in their pronouncements. 

 Dr. Kerr's paper, most useful and interesting as it was, he 

 could not help feeling led one too much to rely on methods 

 that were essentially expensive, such, for instance, as the 

 pasteurization of all the milk supplies. That might be well 

 in the United States, but here they had above all to recog- 

 nize the fact that they had learned by difficult experience 

 that excellent as were the suggestions for improving the 

 quality of the milk supply, the difficult thing they had to 

 cope with was to get an abundant supply of milk, as well 

 as seeing that the milk was of good quality. If the pro- 

 posals were going to increase the price of the milk they 

 would reduce very largely the consumption of milk. The 

 improvement of the quality would be an advantage to those 

 who secured it, but he was afraid that the increased price 

 would reduce the consumption of milk among precisely 

 those elements in the population that they wanted to get it. 

 As he stated the previous day, they were always in danger 



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