OUTLINES OF A POLICY OF REFORM 283 



sent out by the Health Department of the City of New 

 York, for I rarely heard of the state inspectors. 



Wherever I have gone, I have found the careless 

 farmer and the ignorant farmer embittered because 

 the inspectors — "Darlington's Devils" they are 

 often called — had compelled them to be more care- 

 ful in handling the milk or keeping their cows. On 

 the other hand, I have found the careful and com- 

 petent farmers, especially the younger men, appre- 

 ciative of the importance of strict cleanliness, often 

 grateful for advice given by the inspectors, and less 

 inclined to complain of "red tape" and "fads" than 

 the others. Above all, I have never heard any sug- 

 gestion of graft, though I have pushed inquiries in 

 that direction very far. Of the few places visited 

 in Pennsylvania much the same might be said. Wher- 

 ever I heard condemnation of Dr. Dixon's policy, or 

 of his inspectors, it was from men who obviously be- 

 longed to the reactionary, slovenly school of farmers. 



Personally, I look mainly to increased and more 

 efficient inspection for the improvement of our public 

 milk supply. Not the old-fashioned inspection which 

 aimed mainly at catching culprits, but the more effi- 

 cient inspection which seeks the intelligent coopera- 

 tion of the farmer, the inspection which lays most 

 stress upon education and least upon persecution. 

 The most efficient worker for reform is not the sharp- 

 nosed inspector who catches the occasional culprit, 



