GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 5 



the mischievous influence of machine politics in the admin- 

 istration of health matters. Health boards have too long 

 been made the football of politics. Real progress cannot be 

 had until the health office is divorced from the political 

 influences as they exist in many of our cities and states 

 to-day. We welcome the milk problem in poUtics — so far 

 as that may be necessary to obtain legislation; but we must 

 insist that the administration of the laws must be strictly 

 non-partisan. 



Value of the milk industry in the United States 



Few people realize that the milk industry ranks among 

 the first when judged in dollars and cents. Mr. Rowl, chief 

 of the Dairy Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 writes me that in 1910 there were 22,774,033 milch cows in 

 the United States. The average value of a milch cow is 

 $40.49. Therefore the total value of the milch cows in the 

 United States is approximately one billion dollars. 



The annual average production per cow in 1900, includ- 

 ing the city cows, was 3670 pounds of milk. This makes a 

 total milk production in the United States of approxi- 

 mately ten billion gallons, a lake large enough to float 

 the navies of the world. The average per capita con- 

 sumption of milk in the United States is estimated at 0.6 

 of a pint daily. Since the present population of our country 

 is 93,402,151 persons, the amount of milk as such con- 

 sumed annually would be approximately two and one half 

 billion gallons. Only about one quarter of the milk pro- 

 duced is consumed as such; the remaining three quarters 

 goes mainly into butter and cheese. The average dairy cow 

 gives about enough milk to supply fourteen persons, pro- 

 vided it is all used as milk. The country over, there is one 

 milch cow for every four and one half persons. 



According to the census of 1900 the average farm price 

 for mUk was 8.7 cents per gallon. The figures for 1910 are 

 not yet available; when obtained, they will doubtless be 



