368 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



the District of Columbia, regulated the sale of milk and cream in the District 

 of Columbia, and having been enacted by Congress, would doubtless apply quite 

 as well to " original packages " as to any other form in which the milk might 

 be sold. The Federal food and drugs act of June 30, 1906, which is distinctly 

 an interstate act, although it regulates local commerce within the District of 

 Columbia, applies to milk and cream. 



24. To what extent are milk products (including also prepared, condensed, 

 modified, and powdered milk) regulated by the provisions of the pure food and 

 drugs act? 



Answer. So far as the provisions of the act referred to are applicable to the 

 products named, and generally speaking they are applicable to them quite as 

 much as to other food products, the manufacture and sale of milk and milk 

 products (including also prepared, condensed, modified, and powdered milk) is 

 governed by the provisions of said act. 



25. Kindly furnish copies, if practicable, or refer the committee to the milk 

 law of 1895, and any House or Senate bills or documents relating to legislation 

 already in effect and contemplation, or regulations of the health department 

 referring to the subject under investigation by this committee. 



Answer. A copy of the milk law of 1895, of the regulations promulgated by 

 virtue thereof, of the act regulating the manufacture and sale of foods in the 

 District of Columbia, enacted in 1898, and of the Federal food and drugs act 

 of June 30, 1906, are inclosed herewith ; also copies of the bill now pending look- 

 ing toward the improved regulation of the milk supply of this District. 

 Yours, very truly, 



WM. C. WOODWARD, M. D., 



Health Officer. 



COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



HEALTH DEPARTMENT, 

 Washington, December 20, 1910. 



Mr. J. Louis WILLIGE, Chairman, etc., 



Chamber of Commerce, Washington D. C. 



DEAR MR. WILLIGE: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 

 24th ultimo, requesting certain information relative to the milk supply of this 

 District. I regret very much that absence from the city has prevented a more 

 prompt compliance with your request, and hope that the following information 

 will meet your needs. 



1. What routine, if any, is prescribed for procuring reports of communicable 

 diseases among dairymen and dairy farmers, and their assistants. 



Answer. No routine has ever been laid out aimed at this particular end. 

 The reporting of all cases of communicable diseases, with but few exceptions, 

 within the District of Columbia, is required by law. These reports, however, 

 do not state whether the patient or any member of the household is employed 

 on a dairy farm or about a dairy. Such information is obtained by the inspector 

 who visits the premises, and such visits are always made in connection with 

 reported cases of typhoid fever, scarlet fever, and diphtheria, the diseases most 

 likely to be communicated by milk. Outside of the District of Columbia, cases 

 of communicable diseases are not reported to the health officer, whether they 

 occur on dairy farms or not. The employment of any one who has been exposed 

 to diphtheria, scarlet fever, erysipelas, smallpox, anthrax, or other dangerous 

 contagious diseases, in or about the dairy or dairy farm, is forbidden by law. 

 ( See sec. 3, an act to regulate the sale of milk in the District of Columbia, etc., 

 approved Mar. 2, 1895.) 



2. Are there any restrictions against feeding " wet malt," or other brewery 

 products, to milch cows? 



Answer. No effort has been made to restrict the feeding of dairy cows with 

 any of the foods named. The only brewery product, however, that, to the 

 knowledge of the health department, is used for milch cows, is wet malt. This, 

 it is believed, can be safely fed until it has begun to sour; after it has begun 

 to sour it is regarded as having spoiled, and its use would not be tolerated any 

 more than the use of any other spoiled food for dairy cows. In the considera- 

 tion of this matter, the committee must bear in mind the difference between 

 wet malt and other brewery products on the one hand, and distillery waste 

 on the other, so as to avoid coming to erroneous conclusions as to the views 

 of various sanitary authorities with respect thereto. 



3. Has the feeding of such products a prejudicial effect upon the milk of 

 animals so fed? 



