CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF" DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 133 



principles, an^" attempt to carry out the law iu its spirit ratber tliau its 

 letter is sure to end in blundering and failure. 



Then, again, as regards interstate administration, nothing can be 

 more instructive to Americans than the European diflticulties in dealing 

 with the animal plagues under the modern conditions of great manu- 

 facturing prosperity and the unprecedented activity of the traflic by 

 rail. Examinations of cattle in transit must be given up as absolutely 

 inefficient, for herds that formerly developed disease during the tardy 

 and toilsome movement by highways can now be sent through in a few 

 days by rail and long before the deadly germs within them can manifest 

 their presence by overt symptoms. No better commentary can be fur- 

 nished on the utterly futile provisions in a number of successive Con- 

 gressional bills for the inspection of cattle in transit in our inland 

 I trade and of beeves about to be shipped to Europe. Again, the enor 

 mous i)roportions of the constantly increasing cattle trade toward min- . 

 ing, manufacturing, and commercial centers in Weisteru Europe has 

 been found to be utterly incompatible with the maintenance of such a 

 quarantine as would protect against imported contagion, and they are 

 for the first time brought face to face with the fact that the protection 

 of any country in the line of this great cattle traffic must be secured, 

 if at all, by'a perfect system of seclusion and suppression in the country 

 which furnishes the supplies of live stock, and by an honorable exclu- 

 sion by such country from the channels of traffic of all live stock and 

 their fresh products having their origin in an infected district. Amer- 

 ican lawmakers and administrators must see that our uninfected 

 States and Territories can have no guarantee of continued safety in our 

 present system under Avhich live stock from infected States and dis- 

 tricts, without even the pitiful and comparatively useless form of inspec- 

 tion and certificate, are sent to the very source of our great live-stock 

 traffic. Fortunately for us our westward traffic in live stock is so lim- 

 ited that it is quite possible to impose an etiective quarantine on all 

 subjects moved in that direction. If nothing more can be done, this at 

 least is within our power. Each State can quarantine all cattle or other 

 live stock from an infected State, or if the State fails in its duty to 

 itself and neighbors the United States can step in and regulate this 

 item of intestate commerce. 



Again, the exi)erience of Europe with her great live-stock traffic by 

 rail sbows how utterly hel])less we would be in any attempt to control 

 these animal plagues if they once reached the source of this traffic, As 

 is now the case with Texas fever, our first resort would be to prohibit 

 all movement of susceptible stock from the infected areas, and the next 

 to seek by every i)ossible means to stamp out the infection on the native 

 herds. If Eun)i)e with her extensive, not to say universal, fields of in- 

 fection, finds her i)rofit in maintaining a uniform veterinary sanitary 

 service, operating at every ])oint over the broad continent, and supi)ress- 

 iiig and secluding animal i)lagues wherever they may appear, how much 



