FIFTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 45 



You people can hardly appreciate the conditions we had to 

 contend with in the beginning of this campaign. 



However, I am proud to see that the people of Illinois 

 are taking hold of the advantages offered them and are 

 going to clean up tuberculosis in a hurry. 



I might say that at the last session of the Legislature 

 they appropriated a million dollars for this purpose. We 

 are testing about fifty thousand cattle a month and, with 

 the presence of infection as we find it in Illinois, it costs 

 about $100,000 indemnity money a month. That will give 

 you some idea of what finances are required to carry on the 

 work as it is at present. 



We have been carrying on area work in sixty-two 

 counties at the present time. When we start at this work 

 we devote our time to testing pure-bred herds, which in 

 itself takes care of the part of the work that the plan was 

 originally intended for. But the men with the grade herds 

 wanted attention, too. We have been overloaded with 

 work, beyond our ability to handle. This naturally has 

 created demand from other sources in the way of supplying 

 funds to take care of expenses. 



Illinois is one of the leaders in progress made in tuber- 

 culosis eradication work. I am just here doing what I can 

 to further the cause along and that is what the people of 

 Illinois are doing for themselves. They are setting such a 

 pace that the surrounding states are asking how it is that 

 Illinois does it. I am proud of it and we are commanding 

 the respect of the surrounding states by the way we are 

 taking hold of this and doing it. 



We have at the present time over sixty-one thousand 

 herds of cattle under supervision in this state, representing 

 nearly 600,000 cattle. I believe that speaks, for itself. That 

 is what the people of Illinois are doing for themselves. 



I need not go into the thing and tell you what tubercu- 

 losis is. Tuberculosis in the animal of the bovine species of 

 cow and tuberculosis in man are closely associated. That is 

 why we receive these requests from public health officials 

 demanding that all cattle supplying milk be tested and 

 proved to be free from tuberculosis. 



