759 
Secretary of Agriculture to use any part of the money appro- 
priated for the salaries and expenses of the Bureau of Animal Indus- 
try, $800,000, that he might deem necessary or expedient and in 
such manner as he might think best, to prevent the spread of pleuro- 
pneumonia, tuberculosis, sheep scab, and other diseases of animals, 
and to expend any part of the appropriation in the purchase and 
destruction of diseased or exposed animals and the quarantine of the 
same whenever in his judgment it might be necessary to prevent the 
spread of such diseases from one State to another. The authority 
of the Secretary of Agriculture to set aside $100,000 for the eradica- 
tion of tuberculosis from the District of Columbia under the terms 
of this act seems to have been ample. The fact that this appropria- 
tion was made to apply specifically to tuberculosis, whereas preceding 
appropriation acts had not named this disease, suggests that Congress 
may have had in mind when it was made the inauguration of active 
operations toward the eradication of tuberculosis. 
^Tiether the work done by the Bureau of Animal Industry in the 
District of Columbia during 1893 and 1891 was prompted by the then 
recent discovery of tuberculin and the announcement of its properties 
and uses, or was begun because of the general sanitary awakenmg 
that had been brought about by the dread lest Asiatic cholera, then 
prevailing in certain parts of Europe, should gain entrance and foot- 
hold in this country, the record does not disclose. The latter circum- 
stance, however, was a potent factor in creating a popular sentiment 
favorable to sanitary improvement. In this District an organization 
denominated the Sanitary League was formed and popular lectures 
on subjects related to hygiene and sanitation were held. In the fall 
of the year appeared the first report of the then newly appointed chem- 
ist of the health department showing the utter inadequacy of existing 
legislation for the protection of the milk supply.® The time for 
action had come. The Commissioners asked the cooperation of the 
Medical Society of the District of Columbia in framing necessary 
legislation, and the society promptly appointed a committee, consist- 
ing of Drs. C. H. A. Kleinschmidt, S. S. Adams, and W. C. 
Woodward, to investigate the subject and to report to the society. The 
report of this committee was submitted on June 13, 1894, and em- 
bodied a draft of the proposed bill. The report was approved, and 
the proposed bill forwarded to the Commissioners, but the session of 
Congress had advanced so far that favorable action was impossible. 
The legislation suggested was later approved by Dr. D. E. Salmon, 
then Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agiu- 
culture. It became a law on March 2, 1895, under the title of “An 
act to regulate the sale of milk in the District of Columbia, and for 
® Report of the Health Officer, 1893, pages 9 to 12. 
