p. 527 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 33. (8/24/1915)

Earlier text: The Patience and Impatience of Job

Milk as a Disease Transmitter

By Daniel H. Kress, M. D.

The Children Often Wholly Dependent on Cow's Milk — Care Should Be Used in Securing an Article Free from Disease

By DANIEL H. KRESS, M. D.

MILK is a staple article of food upon the tables of civilized nations to such an extent that the cow has been termed the "meek foster mother of the human race." Upon her the younger members of the family especially depend for nutrition. While this vital fluid may be used by mankind, and is of value as a food when pure, no one factor contributes more heavily in the production of disease than a tainted or impure dairy supply. Unfortunately, milk forms one of the best breeding grounds for bacteria of all kinds; and since it cannot be taken as nature designs it should, direct from the udder, every effort must be made to prevent exposure and the introduction of foreign matter.

Unprotected milk is a source of danger. The bacteria which gain entrance, though few in number, multiply with such extreme rapidity that in a few hours, under favorable conditions, they are innumerable.

Few are aware of the amount of filth that finds access to the ordinary unprotected milk pail. It has been estimated that in one large city alone, more than twenty tons of cow manure is consumed by the inhabitants of the city each year by the use of milk.

Great alarm is felt when the water supply of our cities contains bacteria to the number of one thousand to the cubic centimeter, and efforts are wisely put forth to improve, at great expense, the purity of such water. Yet it is not uncommon to find from ten to twenty millions of bacteria to an equal quantity of milk served on the average city table.

GUARD AGAINST AVOIDABLE CAUSES

State laws have been enacted to lessen the dangers arising from impure milk. An absolutely pure milk supply is out of the question. Therefore all that any state law can demand, is that avoidable causes of contamination be guarded against. In Michigan, where water containing five hundred bacteria to the cubic centimeter would not be tolerated, the law demands that the milk shall not contain more than two hundred thousand germs to the cubic centimeter. If water containing five hundred bacteria to the cubic centimeter is dangerous, milk containing one thousand times that many would be one thousand times as dangerous as a carrier of disease.

Dr. Wiley discovered that the ice cream served in the city of Washington contained anywhere from fifty millions to four hundred millions of bacteria to every cubic centimeter. To ascertain the number contained in each teaspoonful, it is needful to multiply this by five, as there are five cubic centimeters to the spoonful. We find, therefore, that ice cream may contain anywhere between two hundred fifty millions and two billions to each teaspoonful.

INFECTED MILK AND INFANT DISEASES

The many diseases of infancy are without doubt due largely to infected milk, which forms the chief article of food for the young. The modern mother either cannot or will not nurse her children. German women are said to be better able, and also more willing, as a rule, than the average mother; yet it has been found that in the city of Berlin, only one mother out of every four now nurses her children, and over two thirds of the babies have to be artificially fed. In American cities it is not better.

COW'S MILK NOT A PERFECT SUBSTITUTE

Cow's milk is not a perfect substitute for mother's milk, no matter how carefully or scientifically it may be modified or prepared; but since it is the food that has to be accepted as a substitute, every effort should be made to furnish it as free as possible from bacteria. As all the milk contains bacteria, the only practical remedy — although there are objections to it — is in boiling, or pasteurization. Wherever this has been carried out, excellent results have been obtained. For instance, in Sandhausen, near Heidelberg, where pasteurization of milk has been enforced by law, the mortality of infants under one year of age has been reduced from forty-six per cent to ten per cent since its introduction.

TYPHOID IN MILK

Dr. John Trask, past assistant surgeon of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, called attention to 317 outbreaks of typhoid fever epidemics, 125 scarlet fever epidemics, and 51 diphtheria epidemics, brought about through the agency of milk.

In the past, typhoid fever epidemics were attributed to the water supply; but after improved water supplies eliminated water as a factor, and typhoid fever epidemics still continued, the attention was called to milk as a causative factor of these epidemics. Dr. Harrington, of Massachusetts, reported eighteen local outbreaks of typhoid fever; and of this number, fourteen were traced directly to the milk supply.

Scarlet fever epidemics due to infected milk are not uncommon. In an outbreak in Boston, of 227 cases in four days, 195 were in families supplied by the same dairy. This dairy also sold milk at Cambridge, Somerville, and Everett. In these four places, 717 cases of scarlet fever were reported. Eighty per cent of them were supplied by the same dairyman. In 1906, during a period of three months, twenty cases of scarlet fever occurred at Melrose, Massachusetts. Nineteen of these were customers of one milkman.

At Evanston, Illinois, an outbreak occurred in January, 1907. Out of 157 cases, 153 were in families that received their milk from a dairy which supplied only one eighth of the milk used in Evanston. Many other similar cases might be cited to demonstrate that scarlet fever is spread frequently through the use of milk.

DIPHTHERIA IN MILK

In 1877, an outbreak of diphtheria due to the milk supply was reported in England. In 1886, a similar epidemic was reported at Melrose, Massachusetts. In 1898, an outbreak of fifteen cases was reported in Philadelphia, in houses widely scattered, the children attending different schools, but all were consumers of milk from one dairy.

In 1903, thirty-five cases of diphtheria occurred at Los Angeles within ten days, in thirty-three families, all of whom used milk from one dairy. Diphtheria bacilli were later found in the throats of three of the milkers.

At Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Milton, Massachusetts, in 1907, seventy-two cases occurred within one week. Of this number, thirty-two were reported in one day. Of the seventy-two cases, sixty-nine were in families using milk from a dairy farm where the farmer's grandchild had the disease.

Beginning October 3, 1906, within a few days, thirty-six cases of diphtheria developed in the suburb of Clifton, Ohio, within four squares of each other. Each of the thirty-six patients drank the suspected milk. Where only one member of the family drank this milk, as happened in several families, only that member contracted diphtheria. In two families who took milk from this dairy, but sterilized the milk before using it, no diphtheria appeared. In the case of a small boy who returned from Europe on the afternoon of October 4, and who, on reaching home, at once ran to the cottage of the coachman and there drank a glass of the suspected milk, diphtheria appeared on the evening of October 6. The following day, the coachman, his wife, and their daughter all had diphtheria, all having drunk of the same milk.

At this time, two cases developed in a boarding house in the heart of the city, several miles distant from the other cases. These two, mother and child, had daily visited the boy's grandmother in Clifton, and there had drunk milk. This milk came from a small dairy, and the boy who delivered it had a sore throat.

There are a number of other diseases common in infancy and early childhood which can, with a little investigation, be traced to a dirty or infected milk supply.

BOWEL DISORDERS FROM MILK

Summer cholera among infants, dysentery, and other bowel disorders so prevalent in warm weather, when the bacterial growth in the milk is favored, are unquestionably due chiefly to the milk supply.

To deliver milk in sealed bottles is an improvement over the old method; but this does not eliminate the danger of milk contamination, for bacteria gain access to the milk before bottling. The bottles themselves, unless boiled, become a source of danger. Frequently full bottles are carried into a sick room and emptied, and the contaminated air from the sick room rushes into the space that had been occupied by the milk. These same bottles are again filled with milk, and the germs of disease are planted in the milk, where they multiply rapidly. The bottles then find their way to other homes. In this way, germs may be conveyed from family to family.

In view of these facts, it seems almost criminal to serve milk to children without first boiling or pasteurizing it. A little attention given to this will save an unnecessary outlay of means in doctors' fees, and will also save much sickness and suffering.

He Knew His Father

By William A. Westworth

A LITTLE story that I heard Brother S. H. Lane tell, I have never forgotten. He said that there was an aged brother who used to come and visit at their house once in a while, and they all thought he was a pretty good man. They loved him. One time he was to stay at the house two or three nights.

The boys had always been taught that they must say their prayers at night, and they did it conscientiously. But one night it so happened that the good old brother went to his bedroom at the same time the boys retired. They undressed quickly, and then kneeled down to say their prayers; but they were not through when they heard the old cord bedstead squeak, and they knew he was in bed before they were.

Brother Lane thought a while, then he turned to his brother, and said: "Did that man go to bed without saying his prayers? Did you hear the bed squeak? Didn't he say his prayers?" His brother suggested, "Tomorrow night we will watch him."

Above their bed was a little trapdoor leading to the loft; and from the loft they could look down through the cracks into the adjoining

room, where the old brother slept. So the next night, about time for bed, the boys hurried upstairs. They went up the ladder, and lay down on the attic floor, waiting for the brother to come up to bed. When the old man came up, the first thing he did was to kneel down, and say:

"Lord, another day is past. If there is anything I ought to make right before I go to sleep, tell it to me now." He waited a moment, then said: "I don't think of anything. Keep me till morning. Good night!"

Then he got up and went to bed. It was a strange thing to hear a man say "Good night" to God. Brother Lane said it made a wonderful impression on him. There is something so simple about it, it takes a hold of you more and more as you think about it. That is peace. That man could not have prayed that prayer unless he was used to talking to God. He was acquainted with his heavenly Father, and he knew his Father would tell him if there was anything wrong. There is such a thing as getting acquainted with God.

W. A. WESTWORTH.

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Life Sketches of Ellen G. White

By Editor

In the first 245 pages of this forthcoming book, Mrs. White gives a brief story of her childhood days, her conversion, and her early Christian life, and thrilling experiences in connection with the great second advent movement of 1840-1844. She tells, in a vivid way, the sorrows and joys of her youthful ministry in the years that followed the disappointment which came to those in the 1844 movement.

Following that is the narrative of her more extended travels and labors in connection with her husband, Elder James White, up to his death in 1881.

From that time, the relation of her life story is taken up by C. C. Crisler, who, with the assistance of W. C. White and D. E. Robinson, has completed the sketch, which includes an account of her last sickness, and the funeral services held in California and Michigan.

The book will contain about 500 pages, and will be ready in about two weeks.

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CONTENTS OF PACKAGE

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CONTENTS OF PACKAGE

Gospel Stories 5 How Esther Read Her Bible Health and Temperance 5 The Name 5 It Doesn't Pay Prophecy 5 Heralds of His Coming 5 Waymarks to the Holy City The Law 2 What Is Done Away in Christ? 2 Perpetuity of the Law 2 Ceremonial and Moral Law Distinguished Second Coming 5 We Would See Jesus 5 Signs of the End

Immortality 5 Is Man Immortal? 5 Tormented Forever and Ever 5 Rich Man and Lazarus Sabbath Question 5 Sabbath to Sunday 2 Seal of God and Mark of the Beast 5 New Testament Sabbath 5 Who Changed the Sabbath? 5 Day of the Sabbath 5 Which Day and Why? 5 Sunday in a Nutshell Miscellaneous 2 Justified by Faith 2 Spiritualism: Its Source and Character 2 Temporal Millennium 2 Bible Baptism 2 Topical Bible Studies

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In Touch With GOD

One of the many important and interesting chapters in the new book on prayer by William P. Pearce is entitled

LEARNING TO PRAY

You will be interested in reading the following selections from it:

"First, calm the mind. As a general thing, the mind does not like to converse with God. It is ever alert to the material, but sluggish to the spiritual. The soul that earnestly desires to hold converse with God, must not be hurried or disturbed in its communion. . . . 'Be still,' said Jehovah, 'and know that I am God.' Not till the disquieted lake is calm can one get a vision of the stars, and not till his disturbed soul becomes quiet can one gaze on the unseen and eternal."

"Second, close the eyes. There are so many things to attract one's attention, that without closed eyes, the thoughts are liable to wander. When Elijah prayed for rain, he 'went up to the top of Carmel,' and the record says, 'He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees.'"

"Third, be thoughtful. God reads the thoughts. Words are the expression of thought. Ages ago, King Solomon said: 'Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.' Eccl. 5:2. 'Prayers are not measured,' as John Mott said, 'by their extent, but by their content.'"

"Fourth, be reverent. Never take liberties in prayer. Pet phrases and familiarities are unbecoming."

"Fifth, be personal. When the little church at Jerusalem prayed for Peter, Luke tells us it was 'unto God,' not men."

"Sixth, be simple. Rhetoric and eloquence are in no sense requisites to real prayer. 'God cares not,' as Bishop Hall said, 'about the arithmetic of our prayers, how many there are; nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how eloquent they be; nor the geometry of our prayers, how long they be; nor the music of our prayers, how sweet our voice may be; nor the logic of our prayers, how argumentative they may be; nor the method of our prayers, how orderly they may be; nor even the divinity of our prayers, how good the doctrine may be.' What He wishes is a childlike expression of love and tender solicitation."

"Seventh, be sincere. . . . Jesus denounced the Pharisees for their insincere praying. . . . God considers the petitioner rather than the petition. 'The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him . . . in truth.'"

"Eighth, be specific and importunate. Ask for what is needed, not wanted, and ask until it is received. It is Jacob wrestling, and Abraham pleading, and Moses interceding, to the willingness to be blotted out of God's book, and the Syrophœnician woman supplicating. 'My daughter,' she said, 'is grievously vexed with a devil.'"

"Lastly, be confidential. Robert Burns lamented that he could not 'pour out his inmost soul without reserve to any human being without danger of one day repenting his confidence.' Not so with our heavenly Father. He can be trusted."

This book abounds in these practical suggestions on the prayer life. The author has been particularly successful in emphasizing the points made, by short, appropriate experiences and illustrations. These serve to make the book as interesting as it is helpful and inspiring. Its scope is indicated by its chapter titles:

Prayer Advantages of Prayer Causes for Negligence in Prayer Learning to Pray Unanswered Prayer Conditions to the Answer Answered Prayer The Wooing Prayer The Circle Prayer The Intercessory Prayer Special Prayers The World-Wide Prayer The Curative Power of Prayer The Prayers of Jesus The Prayer Life

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Unusually Good

By Editor

Readers of this paper will greatly appreciate the October number of the Signs of the Times Magazine. There are a dozen or more good, timely studies, besides the usual complement of current topics.

Notice the list:

"Great Signs and Wonders Soon to Be Manifested on the Earth." Nothing like them ever before seen by mortal eyes. The sacred Word points these out, just as it pointed out the awful strife now seen.

"MORMONISM IN THE CRUCIBLE." An insight into interesting facts.

"VANITY A CAUSE OF CANCER." A new view of this terrible disease.

"WHICH DAY IS THE SABBATH?" Can we know definitely? What difference does it make?

"THE GREAT PEACE MOVEMENT." A prominent sign of the end. Does the Bible say it will triumph?

"THE FIRST GREAT DECEPTION." Where and when was it? Why should it concern us?

"THE KINGS OF THE EAST." They are to do a certain work. What about them?

"AWAKENED!" God's call to non-Christian lands. Their response. What is impending?

"THE GLORIES OF THE HEAVENS." A study in astronomy.

"THE GALLIPOLI PENINSULA IN THE LIGHT OF PROPHECY." It will pay you to keep in touch with these things.

"THE PATH OF GLORY." "A POETIC PROPHECY."

A good selection of appropriate illustrations.

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MOTTOES, MOTTOES

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Remarkable Manufacturing Activities

THE strenuous activities of the factories in the great manufacturing centers of the eastern part of this country are perhaps without a parallel, and these activities are absorbed almost wholly in the manufacture of supplies for the soldiers at the battle fronts in Europe.

As an illustration of this, the Wall Street Journal reports a factory that is within “eight miles from Wall Street.” This company is expending twenty million dollars in enlarging its plant and increasing its equipment. Five million of this has already been spent or contracted for.

In this construction, it has under way a “new gun shop that will be the largest in the country. It will be 600 feet long by 90 feet wide.”

“At the moment, five buildings are being erected, and plans have been issued for five more. The foundation of the buildings is of concrete, and work is being rushed as quickly as possible.”

“In the old shops, and in as much of the new plant as is serviceable, work on war contracts is going on night and day, including Sunday.”

The Journal further says: “The biggest line of work at present is the turning out of torpedoes for the English navy. It is said those contracts alone are valued at $25,000,000. Each torpedo is worth from $4,000 to $5,000.”

“Another big line of work is the manufacture of high explosive shells of all sizes, ranging from the 4½ inch to the 15 inch lyddite.”

“Early in September the company will be making 1,500 of those high explosive shells a day, according to reports in war supply quarters. Those shells, it is figured, will have an average value of $200 each, which would make the company’s yearly output of those shells alone in excess of $100,000,000, if the 1,500 a day rate is maintained that long.”

“Supplementing those three big lines, the company is doing a large business in rifle barrel stock.”

“Earlier estimates on the total business of the company gave a range from $50,000,000 to $150,000,000. It is now believed, from reports that are current in banking circles, that estimates can start from the $150,000,000 figure and progress upward.”

These figures are for but one concern, in one locality, yet they are so large as to be staggering. One of the most ominous things in connection with it all is that where there are such heavy investments in equipment for manufacturing war supplies, there will be the strongest kind of selfish interest to keep the war going.

In language that is so simple and clear that a little prattling child can understand it, the apostle Paul tells us that the last days will be grievous because men will become “lovers of self” and “lovers of money.” 2 Tim. 3: 1, 2, A. R. V.

The world is not only war mad, but it is commercially mad; and the two influences are working together to create the perilous conditions of the time. This is not the discussion of a theory, but it is the statement of stubborn fact, which ought to cause thinking men to meditate seriously. Men who are intoxicated with the commercial affairs of this world may try to present a rosy future that will keep us from seeing the inevitable crash that must soon result from these conditions. It is folly to think that prosperity built upon such madness and greed can be permanent. There can be but one result. Sensible men and women will open their eyes wide enough to see.

Friends of Peace Will Meet

By Editor

A FEDERATION of a dozen or thereabouts of peace organizations have arranged to meet in Chicago, September 5 and 6. The program provides for a "grand peace demonstration on Labor Day, September 6." The principal sessions of the convention will be held at the colosseum, but overflow meetings will assemble in various other auditoriums.

The convention is an outgrowth of big peace meetings held in Madison Square Garden, New York, June 24, at which it was claimed a hundred thousand persons assembled; and later at San Francisco, where the estimate is made that one hundred and twenty thousand people attended.

One of the chief objects of the convention will be "to voice the existing overwhelming sentiment against America's participation in the present world conflict." The various churches are "invited to send to the convention as many delegates as possible, as the sentiment against war will be measured largely by the number of delegates."

Among the renowned speakers that are expected to address the convention are the Hon. William J. Bryan, the Hon. James Nagel, Senators Hoke Smith of Georgia, Works of California, Hitchcock of Nebraska, and Clapp of Minnesota, Congressmen Mann and Buchanan of Illinois, the Hon. Mr. Porter, Ex-Governor Pennypacker of Pennsylvania, and Miss Jane Addams of Chicago, as well as many clergymen and other scholars of national reputation.

Movements looking toward the peace of the world are being inaugurated everywhere; and sooner or later, without much doubt, these combined influences will meet with apparent success, for it is difficult to see how the prophecies concerning the world-wide message of the soon coming of Christ can be fulfilled without a further time of peace in which to accomplish this work. And it is only proper that we should hail every movement that is truly working for the peace of the world, since God will doubtless use such movements in fulfilling the remarkable prophecy in the book of Revelation which tells of His divine power holding the winds of war in this time when the nations are so angry.

But while recognizing all true efforts for peace, we at the same time must not lose sight of the prophecies, particularly those in Isaiah and Micah, as well as some of the statements of Paul, which predict world-wide peace movements that are based upon wrong principles, and that are doomed to utter disappointment. There will come a time, in the very last of the last days, when the people as a whole will be "saying, Peace and safety." Paul unmistakably affirms this. Hence, while the student of Bible prophecy, being a follower of the Prince of peace, will ever favor peace, and will ever work to secure it, yet on the other hand, he will know that it is useless to hope for any permanent peace in this wicked world. We are living in the time when the prophecies have foretold that the nations will be angry.

Three or four years ago, when strong men were affirming that we would never have any more wars, because the world had become too intelligent and too businesslike to engage in such destructive work, the students of prophecy were everywhere proclaiming that the seers of old had foretold that wars, the worst the world has ever known, would characterize the last days. Moreover, they affirmed that the whole world, in the madness of demoniacal war, would meet on the battle fields of Armageddon just before the second coming of Christ.

The war now raging in Europe is not this Armageddon war. In all probability, it will be succeeded by the profoundest time of peace, to outward, superficial appearances, that the world has ever seen. But if we are standing in the light that is shining from the Guidebook, we will not be entrapped by the fatal delusion; for Armageddon lies on just ahead of us, just as surely as God is God and has spoken through His word.

Shells of Flame

By Editor

ONE of the latest developments in the devices for killing men is a shell that throws a liquid which bursts into flame when it strikes. Yet men in these war times will face just such things, and fight to the death in the flames produced by such missiles.

Before Europe's war broke out, we were told that we could never have another war, for numerous reasons, and among the strongest that were urged was the idea that weapons were becoming so destructive and would inspire such terrors that men would not face them. But every theory has been exploded, and the war that has now been raging for a year under these modern conditions is increasing its furies and its barbarities every day.

It is not for us to say which nation is the worst; but we may call attention to existing facts, and invite the world to examine these facts in the light of the prophecies which tell that the world would break out in tornadoes of war just before the second coming of Christ.

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