NEW YORK MILK COMMITTEE 35 



can point out any single item or element that would tend to in- 

 crease the efficiency and wholesomeness of this universal food prod- 

 uct, especially for children. 



I feel, too, that the consumers of milk and the producers of milk 

 are to be congratulated upon the progress that has been made. I 

 feel that we are too apt to deplore the weaknesses that we see, and 

 not give encouragement and appreciative expression to the good 

 that has been done. I do not believe that more progress has been 

 made in the production and distribution of any food product in 

 the last ten years than has been made in connection with milk, 

 when you take into account the great difficulties of educating the 

 producers to produce clean milk, and of educating the transporta- 

 tion companies in means of transporting it, and of educating the 

 consumers in means and methods of caring for it after they receive 

 it. When you take this thing into consideration, the magnitude of 

 the undertaking becomes enormous. 



But tremendous progress has been made, and I feel that we 

 should be congratulated rather than that a pessimistic attitude on 

 this question should be taken, because there is a momentum for good 

 in the work that is being done throughout the length and breadth of 

 this country. 



But to come to the subject, it would seem that if care is taken 

 in the production and in the handling and in the transportation and 

 in the care of milk, the other and most vital question to be con- 

 sidered is the health of the cow which produces it. The inspec- 

 tions have extended, in various ways, and by various means. The 

 purposes of inspection have been variously interpreted. But we 

 who are watching the situation as to the health of the animals are 

 somewhat depressed to read, as we are obliged to and have done 

 within the last few months, or, at least, in recent times, that the 

 results of investigations have shown that a considerable percentage 

 of tuberculosis of children is derived from the bovine type of ba- 

 cilli, and that the examinations of the milk in our large cities (there 

 are reports of such examinations and investigations in nearly every 

 city), show that tubercle bacilli are quite commonly found in 

 market milk. We have, to be sure, the certified milks and the 

 guaranteed milks, with which all the precautions are taken that can 

 be taken, even including very delicate and sensitive scientific tests, 

 but for the great mass of the milk, these things are not done. In 

 the State of New York, I doubt if more than two per cent, of 

 the herds have been tested, and are under careful supervision, so 

 far as the tuberculin test is concerned. Now, that being the case, 

 and on account of the almost insurmountable difficulties of bringing 

 about a uniform and universal tuberculin test and the exclusion of 



