278 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



cability of such a plan, but I do say without hesita- 

 tion that the present policy of paying the farmer 

 less than half of the value of the cattle condemned 

 is neither just nor wise. 



There should be uniform rules in all parts of the 

 United States providing for proper inspection and 

 the efficient use of the tuberculin test ; for the slaugh- 

 ter of all diseased animals and the encouragement of 

 breeding from healthy stock only; for just and 

 adequate compensation for animals destroyed, so 

 that the farmer would have to bear only his fair 

 share of the burden of loss. A large annual appro- 

 priation in each state for a period of ten years, aug- 

 mented perhaps by federal aid, would go far toward 

 suppressing bovine tuberculosis altogether. Except 

 the organization of the entire work by the federal 

 government, no other plan than one of uniform state 

 action seems adequate to the solution of the problem. 



IV 



Tuberculosis is not, however, the only evil which 

 must be remedied. It is just as important to see 

 that the cow barns, dairies, and creameries are kept 

 up to the highest possible standards of cleanliness 

 and hygiene, as to see that the cows are free from 

 tuberculosis. This is, of course, only another way 

 of saying that it is quite as important to prevent 

 the disease as to cure it. It is just as necessary to 



