SPECIAL MEETING. 11 



not exist if we could only send them over Avith a clean bill 

 of health ; but that so long as contagious pleuro-pneumonia 

 existed on this continent American cattle could not enter the 

 British Kingdom except to be immediately slaughtered on the 

 wharves. 



The chief interest of the meeting seemed to centre in the 

 fact that contagious pleuro-pneumonia was present in certain 

 stables in the city of Chicago, the greatest live-stock market 

 of the world ; and that steps should be immediately taken 

 for its extirpation. The dreaded disease, owing to the neg- 

 ligence of the Legislatures of the States where it has so long 

 existed, has at last crept across the AUeghanies, and threatens 

 the entire cattle industry of the West. The outbreak of 

 contagious pleuro-pneumonia in Chicago is supposed to be 

 confined to four distillery stables, — the Phoenix, Shufeldt, 

 Chicago and Empire distilleries. These stables, which con- 

 tain in the aggregate 2,500 or 3,000 head of cattle, have 

 been quarantined by the Federal and State authorities, so that 

 if there are no other infected centres the danger is not very 

 great. Whether there are or are not other places where the 

 disease exists, remains to be seen. There is no encourage- 

 ment for owners of cattle to report cases to the authorities, 

 as the place is only quarantined, while the cattle die and the 

 owner gets no compensation. A milkman at the Shufeldt 

 distillery stables said : ' ' The present course pursued by the 

 State is simply robbing us ; if we were compensated for the 

 slaughter of all diseased and exposed animals, we would do 

 all in our power to aid the authorities in stamping it out." 



Resolutions were adopted by the convention urging upon 

 Congress the importance of national legislation and appro- 

 priations to eradicate contagious pleuro-pneumonia from the 

 United States ; and calling on the State and municipal gov- 

 ernments to co-operate with the Federal authorities in their 

 efforts to stamp it out. Massachusetts stamped out con- 

 tagious pleuro-pneumonia herself, without any outside assist- 

 ance, and it seems strange that other States cannot do like- 

 wise ; but on the other hand, it is said that the trouble is 

 assuming such proportions as to be of national importance, 

 and that the governments of certain States have always been 

 so apathetic in regard to the disease that it is doubtful if 



