No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 511 



cattle. It would be well also to encourage those who desire 

 to entirely free their herds from disease to follow the princi- 

 ples for handling infected herds laid down by Bang. If this 

 were done thoroughly and conscientiously by owners of such 

 stock, it would do much to reduce the amount of disease in 

 the State, and it would cost but a fraction of the amount re- 

 quired for the total destruction of infected animals. Such a 

 plan would only necessitate the destruction of such animals 

 as show physical evidence of disease, — the slight localized 

 cases are not necessarily dangerous ; on the other hand, the 

 cases showing clinical evidence of disease, whether disease 

 of the udder or otherwise, are the cases that need immediate 

 attention. These are a source of danger to both human 

 beings and the other cattle in the barn, and should be taken 

 care of immediately. 



In this connection Prof. Theobald Smith tersely and con- 

 cisely reviews the situation when he says : — 



It seems to me that, accepting the clinical evidence at hand, 

 bovine tuberculosis may be transmitted to children when the body 

 is overpowered by large numbers of bacilli, as in udder tubercu- 

 losis, or when certain unknown favorable conditions exist. To 

 prevent this from occurring, a rigid periodic dairy inspection and 

 the removal of all suspicious udder affections and all emaciated 

 animals is as much as public health authorities can at present 

 demand. Any measures beyond these belong to agriculture, with 

 which the public has no business to meddle, without endangering 

 the chances of gaining authority to enforce its own necessary 

 measures. If the evidence gained by pathology in the future 

 should reveal a greater danger than is here assumed, the scientific 

 basis of such evidence will, I think, force all additional measures 

 needed. 



This conclusion of Smith's coincides remarkably with the 

 careful and conservative opinions expressed by the Royal 

 Commission, which was appointed by the British govern- 

 ment to investigate and report on the best procedures for 

 controlling the dangers to man from bovine tuberculosis. 

 In summing up, the report states: "We recommend that, 

 for the purpose of excluding from their districts cows 

 affected with tuberculosis of the udder, or exhibiting symp- 



