NEW YORK MILK COMMITTEE 129 



tributed by milk and it is now generally accepted that tuber- 

 culosis may be communicated to the human through the me- 

 dium of the milk. It is also conceded that filthy and dirty 

 milk has been the cause of many deaths of infants and chil- 

 dren by intestinal troubles or diarrhoea. Milk is the only food 

 that is taken by many babies and invalids and it enters very 

 largely into the diet of nearly all persons of all ages. It is 

 therefore plain to see that it is the duty of the State where 

 the milk is produced and the municipality where the milk is 

 consumed (as it certainly is their right), to insist that the con- 

 ditions surrounding the production, handling and sale of milk 

 shall be such as will result in the placing in the consumers' 

 hands a product that shall be not only free from the germs 

 of disease but shall be free from filth. I believe and I think 

 no one will disagree with me that the healthy cow yields milk 

 that is clean and wholesome. If the milk from such cows is 

 found to be unclean and unwholesome when it reaches the con- 

 sumer's table the trouble lies somewhere between the cow and 

 the consumer's table and I am inclined to believe that, includ- 

 ing the producer, the dealer and the consumer, the chances 

 are fully one in three that the fault should be charged against 

 the consumer for his carelessness or ignorance in caring for 

 the milk after it is delivered to him. 



In rare cases cows that are affected with tuberculosis yield 

 milk that contains the germs of the disease. If the disease is in 

 the advanced stages, or is generalized, or if there is localized 

 disease in the udder, this will very likely be the case, but in 

 my opinion the tubercle bacilli are more likely to get into the 

 milk after it is drawn from the cow than they are to be drawn 

 from the cow's udder. 



Dr. Schroeder, Superintendent of the Experiment Station 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of 

 Animal Industry has demonstrated that "Tuberculous cows, 

 wholly free from visible symptoms of tuberculosis frequently 

 expel tubercle bacilli from their bodies per rectum." Cows 

 kept in a filthy stable must inevitably become more or less 

 soiled by lying in the filth and as it is impossible for even a 

 clean man to milk a cow whose flanks and udder are dirty and 

 not let more or less of the filth get into the milk, we can see 

 how easy it is for this filth to become the medium for carrying 



