771 
respondence handled, imposing upon the department a large amount 
of clerical work. The amount of correspondence arising in connec- 
tion with the milk-inspection service is very large, because so many 
of the persons producing milk for sale within the District and whose 
premises are under inspection reside at points more or less remote 
from the city. The milk-inspection service is organized, in order to 
meet the conditions described above, as follows: (a) Supervision; 
(b) inspection of dairy farms; (c) inspection of dairies; (d) inspec- 
tion of milk. 
SUPERVISION. 
The magnitude and importance of the milk-inspection service amply 
justifies the employment of a chief inspector, to devote his time 
exclusively to supervising the work. The work to be done, however, 
calls for special qualifications, and men possessing such qualifications 
can not be induced to enter the service of the Government and aban- 
don all else, especially with no assured tenure of office, unless they are 
reasonably well paid. And no provision has ever been made for so 
compensating any such officer. As a matter of expediency, therefore, 
the supervision of this service is divided. The chief inspector of the 
health department is responsible for the sanitary condition of places 
where milk is sold within the District and for the collection and 
analysis of samples of milk and cream. The supervision of the places 
where milk is produced, the dairy farms, whether within or without 
the District, and the keeping of the records pertaining to such places, 
is intrusted to a sanitary and food inspector detailed for that purpose. 
The inspector in charge of the contagious-disease service is re- 
quired, in investigating such cases of typhoid fever, scarlet fever, 
and diphtheria as come to his notice, to ascertain whether they have 
possibly had their origin in the milk supply, and on the slightest 
suspicion to cooperate with the chief inspector and the inspector in 
charge of the dairy-farm service in ascertaining the exact facts of 
the case, and, under direction of the health officer, in taking such 
remedial action, if any, as may be found advisable. 
The inspector in charge of the dairy-farm service is supposed to 
devote at least one day each week to the personal inspection of the 
dairy farms under his supervision, and the chief inspector or his 
assistant is expected to be in the field at least one day each week 
looking after the work of the general inspection service, which is 
under his immediate control and which includes the inspection of 
dairies. All papers relating to any given dairy or dairy farm, in- 
cluding the original report made by the dairy-farm inspectors and 
carbon copies of score cards and of notices served, and copies of 
letters received and letters sent, are filed in jackets in such manner 
with the papers relating to any one given dairy or dairy farm, and 
