OUTLINES OF A POLICY OF REFORM 295 



BO pure that pasteurization would be unnecessary 

 and foolish. 



Upon these general lines, .it seems to me, our cities 

 must proceed. Infants' milk depots are generally 

 necessary, and in most of the large cities, as well as 

 in many of the small ones, conditions are such that 

 pasteurization of the milk supplied for infant feeding 

 seems to be inevitable for a very long time to come. 

 While this should be regarded as an evil to be over- 

 come, and efforts to obtain a pure supply should be 

 made, in my opinion it is necessary to recognize the 

 condition — and to pasteurize. In our great cities, 

 without exception, there is need for a chain of such 

 depots at which parents can obtain satisfactory 

 food for their infants. I protest against the taint of 

 charity in connection with such depots, for they are 

 as necessary to the fairly well-to-do citizen as to the 

 poorest. In the homes of the wealthy, where ex- 

 pense is not considered, where trained nurses and other 

 competent help are available, there is a chance to 

 obtain milk of a high grade and to modify and pas- 

 teurize it skilfully and under aseptic conditions. But 

 this is practically impossible for all except the wealthy 

 few, for the great mass of ordinarily prosperous 

 families not less than for the poorest. Such depots 

 should, in my judgment, be under medical super- 

 vision, nurses and physicians being employed in con- 

 nection with them to advise mothers concerning the 

 care of their babies. 



