50 REPORT OF THE No. 55 



nearly five million people with nearly two million quarts of milk a day that is the 

 enormous problem of New York, a problem enhanced by the varying classes, races' 

 and languages, from the millionaires of Fifth Avenue, who can pay twenty cents a 

 quart, to the poor struggling mothers of the Bowery who must buy their milk by 

 the half pint. Dr. Thomas Darlington, Health Commissioner, is the man upon 

 whom falls the responsibility of protecting these millions as far as may be from 

 contaminated milk. Nearly six years ago he accepted this responsibility, and the 

 record of reform which he has achieved not only attests his success but furnishes 

 an inspiring story to those who face the same problem in less complicated form. 



Before Dr. Darlington became Health Commissioner, he was 1 somewhat of a 

 specialist in infantile diseases, and hence his sympathies as well as his energies 

 were promptly directed towards improving the milk supply with a view to saving 

 the lives of the babies. He was confronted with the fact at the outset that the 

 milk of New York City came from about 35,000 farms scattered through six 

 States extending as far away as 400 miles. There had been considerable trouble 

 with both water and formaldehyde in the milk and each person who handled the 

 milk put the responsibility on the other. Dr. Darlington concluded that a definite 

 plan of action was imperative and he decided to find out exactly what conditions 

 were. 



Two experienced inspectors were engaged to make a preliminary survey. They 

 went to the dairies, they went to the "creameries/' they went to the milk shops. 

 "Creameries/ 7 be it understood, are a feature somewhat peculiar to New York City 

 and do not mean the same as the word "creameries" means in Ontario. They are 

 merely the milk receiving stations, located in the country, to which the milk is 

 delivered by the farmers before being shipped to the city. There are between 800 

 and 900 of these stations in the multifarious organization which supplies milk to 

 New York. To these the inspectors went, and to some of them Dr. Darlington 

 accompanied them, to become personally acquainted with the conditions, and the 

 loss of his breakfast was one of the incidents indicating conditions at one point 

 of inspection. In fact there was' nothing very encouraging in the entire situation, 

 but a start was immediately made to raise the standard. A personal letter was sent 

 both to farmers and creamery owners stating specifically what was necessary to 

 improve their particular premises. Photographs taken on the spot were sent out 

 to further accentuate the necessity for improvements. An attitude of firmness 

 was maintained by the Health Commission alike toward the large creamery pro- 

 prietor who had $100,000 at stake and the small dairyman of whom an outlay 

 of $5 was all that was asked. Regulations were adopted and instructions printed 

 on strong, durable linen, and 30,000 copies of these were posted up for the guid- 

 ance and education of the dairymen. Then all this was followed up with more 

 detailed and more rigid inspection. There was a loud outcry that all these re- 

 strictions would drive the farmers out of business, and it drove out exactly 47 

 out of the total 35,000, and most of these were admitted after they had made the 

 required improvements. 



CLEANLINESS THE MOTTO; INSPECTION THE METHOD. 



Dr. Darlington is a firm believer in the merits of inspection and information. 

 He considered that clean milk was the ideal after which the Department should 

 strive and to obtain it he inaugurated a system of inspectional supervision extend- 

 ing as rigidly as possible from the cow to the consumer. Heretofore there 

 had been inspectors in tho city, but inspection of the farms the sources of the 



