46 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



100,000; during the next five-year period it increased to 168, and dur- 

 ing the succeeding period end'ing with 1894 it was further augmented 

 to 175. The milk law was enacted, as stated, in 1895. From the 

 date of its enactment to 1899, the death rate decreased to 135, and 

 during the subsequent five-year period it dropped to 109, in the year 

 1909 reaching the gratifying minimum of 73, increasing slightly, 

 however, to 86 for the year 1910. 



A statement prepared by Health Officer Woodward (Appendix K) 

 shows that while the total number of deaths from all ages in the 

 District of Columbia increased from 4,243 in 1880 to 6,216 in 1909 

 the number resulting from diarrhea in infants under 2 years of age 

 showed a marked reduction, from 372 in 1880 to 250 in 1909, deaths 

 of infants under 1 year of age, resulting from all causes, showing a 

 diminution from 1,235 in 1880 to 1,042 in 1909. 



While it is impossible to estimate the extent to which the decrease 

 in mortality in the District has been due to the improvement of our 

 milk supply, the fact, states Dr. Woodward, that the decrease in in- 

 fant mortality has been greater than the decrease in mortality gen- 

 erally, arid the fact that there has been a very marked decrease *m the 

 infant mortality 'from diarrheal' diseases (the decrease in infant 

 mortality coinciding practically with the date of enforcement of the 

 milk law of 1895) suggests very strongly the extent of the relation 

 of the milk supply to this result. There have, of course, been other 

 important factors tending toward a reduction of infant mortality, 

 not the least essential of which has been the extremely valuable serv- 

 ice rendered by the Instructive Visiting Nurse Society and by the 

 physician attached to the Straus Laboratory in disseminating infor- 

 mation, especially among the poorer classes, with reference to the 

 proper handling of the infant, its bathing, clothing, feeding, etc. 

 This latter service, it must be admitted, has been a potential factor in 

 the decrease of infant mortality. 



WASHINGTON MILK CONFERENCE OF 1907. 



The failure of the newly installed filtration plant to improve the 

 typhoid situation in the District attracted more attention than ever 

 to the investigation of milk as a potent factor in the causation of this 

 malady, and every one of the farms supplying milk to the city of 

 Washington was inspected by the Bureau of Animal Industry in the 

 winter of 1906-7. The conditions obtaining on dairy farms furnish- 

 ing milk to the District were brought to the attention of the commis- 

 sioners and resulted in the appointment of what is known as the 

 Washington milk conference, called to deliberate with respect to the 

 milk supply of the District of Columbia, and to advise the commis- 

 sioners with reference to its improvement. This conference marked 

 an epoch in the development of the movement for sanitary milk 

 production, with particular reference to the District of Columbia, 

 . but having an extremely important bearing likewise on the encourage- 

 ment of similar action in various States and municipal jurisdiction 

 throughout the country, its influence extending even to foreign lands. 

 The report of its deliberations was published under the title 

 " Sanitary milk production," constituting Circular No. 114 of the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, issued August 2, 1907. 



