ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 127 



In our work we found a good many things that are amusing, 

 some ahnost pathetic if we considered the effect of them on the 

 health of the babies and invahds of the community, and ah were 

 interesting. 



We had not proceeded far with the work till we discovered 

 that most of the cities had health departments, some humane 

 societies, with the officers in many instances sleeping so soundly 

 it was a shame to give them so rude an awakening as to drop 

 into their city, collect samples and then tell the papers we could 

 not come oftet because of lack of funds but that ourfindings 

 would show the necessity of thorough work by the city health 

 departments in the future. 



We went to one city and the health officer suspected that 

 things were in bad shape but didn't like to go after anybody, 

 living right there as he did, and just trying to get started in 

 business. As indicating further how we found local conditions 

 we went to another city and the first milk man we met informed 

 us that the city had a milk inspector who took samples every week 

 and as it was a city from which any good inspector and health 

 commissioner could easily drive adulterated milk in a month 

 (they had been at it a year) we felt satisfied our trip would be 

 for naught. However, we took samples from 15 out of a total 

 of 18 dealers and the analysis showed four samples to be adulter- 

 ated with formaldehyde and three adulterated with water. 



Suit was brought in the seven cases and six of the seven 

 pleaded guilty and paid a fine. One case is pending. In addition 

 to this a large percentage of the cans used in that city were 

 unspeakably filthy and entirely unfit for use in the sale or trans- 

 portation of human food. 



In citing this it is not my purpose to charge any official with 

 wTong intent, for we have made it a point to co-operate with 

 local authorities where possible, but if these conditions do not 

 show rank negligence they do show gross incompetence and show 

 w^hat may be expected when inspection is done by novices or men 

 not trained in the work, and is a condition which the public should 

 insist on having corrected. 



