NEW YORK MILK COMMITTEE 39 



law. Three days ago, in the Supreme Court here in New York 

 City, a milk dealer was fined because he had sent some dirty cans 

 back to the producer in the country. A few years ago, the matter 

 of washing cans and bottles which were to go back into the country 

 cities and towns, was unthought of. I myself have done some work 

 in those country institutions, and I know that I am not exagger- 

 ating when I say that in many instances, the condition of the cans 

 going back to these institutions a few years ago, was simply in- 

 describable. Not alone rotten milk, but every rotten thing you 

 could possibly think of (cries of "Amen!" "That is right!" etc.) 

 found its way into those cans. The Legislature passed a law re- 

 quiring cans and bottles to be cleaned, and we are doing the best 

 we can to enforce that law. 



About a month ago, I had two of our detective agents who are 

 not known to any one in New York, slip in here and quietly go 

 the rounds, and inside of four or five days they had made thirty 

 cases which, of course, is a very small number when you con- 

 sider the large number of dealers working here. Three days ago 

 the first one was tried in the Supreme Court in this City, as I said, 

 and the defendant was fined, and how much do you think he was 

 fined? There were three dirty cans, and that gentleman walked 

 up and paid to the State $50 a can. He paid $150. As soon as that 

 verdict was announced, the others couldn't come too fast to the 

 representative of the Attorney General and ask on what basis they 

 could settle. One of those gentlemen to-day is worrying under the 

 possibility of having to pay a fine exceeding $25,000. 



Now, until a short time ago our efforts concerning the milk itself 

 were confined to the detection of adulterations, skimming and 

 watering, and we are doing that work yet a great deal of it. 

 There is a heavy penalty. There is never a time when we have 

 not a number of cases pending here in New York City cases of the 

 adulteration of milk. 



Besides what we are doing of course, the City Health Depart- 

 ment is doing a large amount of the same kind of work. 



Last winter, on the recommendation of Gov. Hughes, the Leg- 

 islature enacted an amendment to the Agricultural Law, which 

 provided that the Department of Agriculture should look to the 

 sanitary conditions under which milk was produced and handled. 

 That had not been a distinctive part of our law previously. Since 

 last winter, we have done as much along these lines as our funds 

 would permit. We have not been able to increase our force, but 

 our present agents have been instructed to give attention to the 

 sanitary conditions of dairies, wherever they can do so. To-day, we 

 have pending, not only in this city but in the different parts of the 



