THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 37 



this point. The analysis of the water which suppHes the city was 

 shown to be free from the germs of the disease in question, but 

 the milk from a dairy herd located below the city and obtaining 

 its water supply from the river, was found to contain large num- 

 bers of the Typhoid Fever germs. The germ of this disease 

 will live for at least 30 days in impure water and milk and is a 

 splendid medium for it and when once introudced into milk they 

 will increase rapidly in number. 



There are others. There is one which I have been battling 

 with for a long time, and I expect to battle with it until my eyes 

 are closed forever. That is the White Plague. Perhaps it will 

 be well for me to give you a few statistices and then look for 

 reasons. Now, I will quote you first what the Metropolitan Life 

 Insurance Co. of New York say. They say this, that one-third 

 of our deaths which occur between fifteen and forty-five die from 

 Tuberculosis; one-third from twenty to fifty die from Tubercu- 

 losis ; one-half between twenty and thirty- five are due to Tuber- 

 culosis, and I firmly believe that they are telling the truth. 



During the Civil War which lasted four years there were 

 205,070 deaths from all causes and we are appalled at the fact. 

 There must be a calamity to make the human mind realize the 

 danger at their feet. In one of our counties in November 300 

 lives were put out in short order by a catastrophe; it stirred 

 every one even beyond the limits of Illinois, yet during that 

 same month there were at least 700 people who died in Illinois 

 from Tuberculosis. Do you hear any one hollering about that? 



There is no chance of stamping the disease out as long as 

 the source remains. There are 300,000 animals in my judgment 

 in Illinois that have the disease. Now then this disease, as I have 

 indicated before, which is the most dreaded is, that form known 

 as bovine Tuberculosis, which is transmittable to the human. 

 Now what is to be done to stop the ravages of this disease? As 

 an ofBcial, I cannot answer the question, but I can as a private 

 veterinarian, and I will answer the question, I will draw your 

 attention to some of the facts. They cannot suppress or control 

 me as long as a warm drop of blood is in my body. Some of you 

 gentlemen are versed in other lines of science; you know if you 



