MILK SURVEY OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER 215 



TESTIMONY OF DR. GEORGE W. GOLER 



The attitude of the Health Officer of Rochester, Dr. George W. 

 Goler, on the subject of pasteurization is indicated in his testimony de- 

 livered as a witness at one of the public hearings held in the City Hall 

 on July 16, 1919, which was, in part, as follows: 



"Then came the time of pasteurization. In our milk stations we 

 tried to pasteurize the milk for a little while and then gave it up in 

 disgust. We found that the milk that came to us was so dirty that we 

 believed, by our advocacy of pasteurization, we were simply aiding the 

 milk man in bringing into the city dirty milk and puttng off the day to be 

 hoped for, when milk would be sold so comparatively clean that it might 

 be pasteurized. People ought to know in regard to the milk of Roch- 

 ester, if there is only two grains in a quart of milk, that every year the 

 population of Rochester are drinking three tons of liquid manure. We 

 say that three tons of manure ought to be an absolute limit. We want 

 the men to keep it on the farm. We don't want it in the milk. Without 

 going into detail, that is the main reason why, so far as I personally am 

 concerned, that I have always fought pasteurization, because pasteuriza- 

 tion to me was very similar to that plan of putting a little formaldehyde 

 in the milk to enable the milk man to bring it into town without spoiling, 

 or that he might sell it without purifying it." 



O. You spoke about welfare stations. Tell us about those welfare 

 stations. 



A. In those stations in the first years, we pasteurized milk, as I 

 say, but we gradually gave that up, because we felt that the milk was so 

 dirty, that is, the general milk supply was so dirty we could get clean 

 milk in the city if we gave to the people of Rochester the impress of 

 our opinion that pasteurization was a desirable thing, we should then 

 simply put off the day when milk would be clean enough to be favorably 

 influenced by that kind of pasteurization, which should not be pasteuriza- 

 tion for the sake of the milk man ; but pasteurization for the sake of the 

 family. 



Q. Doctor, what is the object of pasteurizing milk? 



A. There are several objects. The first object of pasteurizing milk 

 is to make the milk so it won't spoil,* and so the milk can sell. It is a 

 milk man's process. The next object to pasteurize milk is to prevent dis- 

 semination of infectious diseases, typhoid particularly. And still an- 

 other object is to prevent the multiplication of certain organisms which 

 no doubt further and aid in the production of acute bowel diseases of 

 children. Those are the general objects. But the first object of pas- 

 teurizing you don't want to lose sight of the fact that the pasteurizing 



