208 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



the importance of cleanliness in producing and han- 

 dling milk to the public health, a gigantic task in 

 which he has been splendidly aided by his assistants. 

 When moral suasion fails, as it sometimes does, then 

 resort is made to sterner measures, such as arrests, 

 fines, and revocation of licenses. 



As a background to the infants' depot, then, we have 

 in the first place the Milk Commission with its edu- 

 cational influence, and, secondly, the Health Bureau 

 with its alert and progressive oflicials working as 

 follows : (1) examining four or five thousand samples 

 of milk annually for nutrient value; (2) making 

 bacteriological examinations of about one thousand 

 samples of milk aimually; (3) inspecting dairies and 

 stables for cleanliness; (4) registering against the 

 name of each milkman the number of families with 

 infectious diseases to whom he supplies milk, so that 

 the danger of the milkman's carrying scarlet fever, 

 diphtheria, or typhoid fever to his customers may be 

 minimized; (5) through ordinance and license and 

 educational means trying to get the milkman to raise 

 his standards, and when these fail resorting to sterner 

 measures. It will be seen, therefore, that Rochester 

 is an exception among cities in the intelligence and 

 breadth of the measures adopted for the improvement 

 of its milk supply. 



Prior to 1897 the infantile death-rate in Rochester 

 was, as in most cities, very heavy, notwithstanding 



