Disease in milk; the remedy, pasteurization; the life work of Nathan Straus

Front matter

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Introduction To Second Edition

Letter from William Jennings Bryan 14

Letter from Admiral Dewey 14

Introduction by Professor Abraham Jacobi IS

"Tuberculosis in Cattle as a Source of Infection to Infants and Children,"

by Professor M. P. Ravenel 19

Pasteurization," by Dr. E. C. Schroeder 21

Mr. Straus' Pioneer Work/' by Dr. Rowland Godfrey Freeman 22

Pasteurization Practically Necessary," by Surgeon-General Rupert Blue.... 23 The Chief Defense Against Milk-Borne Infections," by Former Health Commissioner S. S. Goldwater 23

Letter from Former President William H. Taft 25

Letter from Dr. Charles J. Hastings 25

Letter from Professor W. T. Sedgwick 26

PASTEURIZATION The Milk Problem and Mr. Straus' Solution

Why There is a Milk Problem 28

The Milk Problem; What Pasteurization Is and Does 29

Description of Pasteurization and Modification 33

Distribution of tiie Pasteurized Milk 39

Medical Assistance in Connection with the Milk Stations 43

Location of the Nathan Straus Milk Stations in New York 43

Formulas Used in the Modification of Milk 44

Bacteria in Certified Milk Before and After Pasteurization 45

Leaflet, ** Advice to Mothers" 46

Coupon on Which Free Milk is Supplied 47

Verdict of the U. S. Government 48

Canada's Report on the Nathan Straus Work 48

THE ADOPTION OF PASTEURIZATION

Motto for Mr. Straus' Work 50

New York City's Milk Supply 51

The Randall's Island Demonstration 51

Efforts in the Board of Aldermen 52

Report of the Jacobi Commission 52

The Federal Investigation of the Milk Problem 53

The Difference Between Real Pasteurization and Commercial Pasteurization. Letter condemning the "flash" process, Nov. 28, 1908 54

f. Pierpont Morgan's Dairy Herd 55

Tational Commission on Milk Standards 55

Adoption of Pasteurization by New Yoiic City 56

New York City's Milk Regulations 56

Attitude of the State of New York 60

The Crisis in Mr. Straus' Work 61

Bitter Personal Attacks 61

Decision of Mr. Straus to Close His Stations 61

Efforts to Prevail Upon Him to Continue His Work 62

Conference at the Colony Club 62

Mass Meeting in Cooper Union 63

"Municipal Kesponsibility for Babies" 65

Letter by Mr. Straus to the Hon. John Purroy Mitchcl, Oct. 15, '10.

Action by the City Authorities 66

Mr. Straus' Decision to Continue His Depots 66

"Forget Me: Honor the Bab3r" 67

Letter by Mr. Straus to Mr. Henry W. Schloss, Oct. 27, 1910.

Banquet Given bv Citizens of New York in Honor of Mr. Straus 67

Pasteurization in Other Cities 70

Chicago's Adoption of Pasteurization 70

Cities Which Require or Encourage Pasteurization 71 k

44^5

INFANT MILK DEPOTS Page

The Nathan Straus Depots in New York City 75

Statistics of the Straus Work 75

Brooklyn Stations 77

Philadelphia Pasteurized Milk Society 77

Milk Commission, Chicago 77

Pure Milk Commission, St. Louis 79

Momingside Presbyterian Church Milk Station 79

Municipal Milk Depots 79

Milk Depots in Other Cities 79

Milk Dispensed by the Glass 81

Report of the International Health Commission, Rockefeller Foundation, on

the Nathan Straus Work 82

PASTEURIZATION IN THE HOME

Nathan Straus* Device for Pasteurizing in the Home 85

Directions for Manufacturing Home Pasteurizer 86

Description of Home Pasteurizer, Direction for Using It 87

INFANTILE DEATH RATE

Tables Compiled by Dr. William H. Guilfoy 90

Babies' Lives Saved in Twenty-four Years 91

Conmients on Mr. Straus' Work 92

MILK WORK ON TWO CONTINENTS

Congresses of the "Gouttes de Lait" 95

Heidelberg and Sandhausen 96

Dublin 97

Karlsruhe and Eberswalde 97

Frankfurt- on- Main, Berlin, Vienna, London 97

Lecture at the University of Heidelberg 97

Demonstration With Model Plant 99

Surgeon General Wyman's Indorsement 99

Dr. Krauskopf's Brochure 99

Toronto, Wilkes-Barre, Jersey City 100

Papers Before Various Congresses 100

Stopping Typhoid Epidemic in Cassel 101

Pasteurizing Plant Erected in Washington, D. C 103

Statement by Prof. M. J. Rosenau 103

Letter from President Taft 104

Congress for the Protection of Infants, Berlin 105

Letter from Secretary of State Knox 106

Vllth Congress Against Tuberculosis 107

Before the California Legislature 107

Disease Prevention Day 107

Victory for Pasteurization in Philadelphia 108

Cream, Butter, Ice Cream and Cheese 109

Septic Sore Throat 110

ilnfantile Paralysis, by Dr. Leopold Stieglitz Ill

Mr. Straus^ Warning in 1910 112

The Epidemic of 1916 112

An Outbreak Traced to Milk 112

No Cases Among the "Straus Babies" 113

Letter by Mr. Straus to Surgeon General Blue 114

Letter from Prof. Hideyo Naguchi 115

"One Fact That is Not Guesswork" 116

PHILANTHROPIC WORK BY MR. STRAUS

Other than the Protection of Babies from Raw Milk

Dealing with Poverty; Coal Depots, Grocery Store, Lodging Houses 119

Ice Plant at Santiago 121

Church at Lakewood, N. J 121

Recreation Piers 123

The Anthracite Coal Strike 125

Relief of Earthquake Victims 125

Page

National Farm School 127

Unemployment in 1914-15 127

Lock-out of Garment Makers 131

Relief of Tuberculosis Victims 131

Jewish Consumptive Sanitarium, Duarte, Cal 131

Varied Activities 133

American Jewish Congress 134

TUBERCULOSIS PREVENTORIUM FOR CHILDREN

The Story of the Preventorium, by Dr. Alfred F. Hess 137

Beginning of the Work 139

Opposition in Lakewood 139

Statement by Mr. Straus 141

Letter from Mrs. Grover Cleveland 143

Editorial from the New York "Evening Sun" 143

"Mr. Straus' Greatest Benefaction." Letter by the Hon. Marcus M. Marks 144

MR. STRAUS' WORK IN PALESTINE

Work in Palestine 147

The Soup Kitchen 149

Healtii Department for Palestine 151

Workrooms for Unskilled Labor 151

Site for a University 153

The Nurses' Settlement 155

The Pasteur Institute 156

Division of the Work 156

Seven Hundred Fed Daily 157

"The Nathan Straus Institutions in Jerusalem" 158

Official Report from Otis A. Glazebrook, U. S. Consul at Jerusalem, Oct. 2, 1915.

"Activities of tfie Pasteur Institute in Jerusalem," From ''Hacheruth". . . 161

Treatment of Cholera 161

Work of the Pasteur Branch of the Health Bureau 162

War ReUef Work 163

Palestine Food Ship "Vulcan" 164

Sale of Steam Yacht 164

Letter from Mr. Justice Louis D. Brandeis 164

Concluding Remarks 166

ESTIMATES OF NATHAN STRAUS

An Appreciation, by Mary Marx Bemheim 171

"Nathan Straus, the Life-Saver," by Arthur Brisbane 173

REPRINTS OF BROCHURES, MAGAZINE ARTICLES, ADDRESSES AND LETTERS IN FURTHERANCE OF PASTEURIZATION OF MILK

How the New York Death Rate Was Reduced 179

Reprinted from "The Forum" of November. 1894.

Letter Sent to the Mayors of the Principal Cities of the United States and

Canada, June 8, 1895 185

How to Reduce Infant Mortality 187

Letter to the Presidents' of the Health Boards of American Cities and Canada. March 22. 1897.

The Influence of a Pure Milk Supply on the Death Rate of Children 195

Paper read before the National Conference of Mayors and Councilmen at Columbus, Ohio, September 29, 1897.

Why the Distribution of Pasteurized (Sterilized) Milk Should Be a Function

of Everv Municipality (November 15, 1900) 201

Infants' Milk Depots 203

Paper read before the British Medical Association at its Annual Meeting, July 24th to 28th, 1905, at Leicester, England.

Pure Milk Supply a Municipal Duty (December 4, 1905) 206

Striking at the Cause of Tuberculosis, Statement issued in October. 1906 207

Pure Milk or Poison? Address to the Milk Conference, Nov. 20, 1906 211

Inspection Docs Not Give Security 215

Statement before the Board of Aldermen of Xew York City, Feb. 21. 1907.

Page

The Ideal Milk and the Real MUk 217

Statement before the Board of Aldermen of New York, March 7, 1907.

Raw Milk 219

Paper read before the American Anti-Tuberculosis League at Atlantic City, N. J., June 4, 1907.

The American Solution of the Milk Problem 221

Address at the Second International Congres des' Gouttcs de Lait, Brussels, September 12, 1907.

The Best Prescription 227

Statement for the Committee of One Hundred for the Federal Regulation of the Public Health, November 22, 1907.

Milk Inspection — Why It Fails 228

An article in "The Milk Reporter," April, 1908.

Milk-Pasteurization an Economic and Social Duty 229

Address delivered to the Students of Political Economy in the University of Heidelberg, July 24. 1908.

America's Latest Contribution to the Milk Question 241

A Review of the United States Government Report, *'Milk and Its Relation to Public Health," August, 1908.

The Congress on Tuberculosis 249

Letter to Dr. G. Lloyd Magruder, October 5, 1908.

The Practical Side of the Milk Problem 250

Extracts from an article in the "Independent," November, 1908.

Chicago Teaches the World 251

Letter to Mayor Busse, December 26, 1908.

Why the Death Rate Does Not Go Down (December 20, 1908) 252

Why We Still Have Tuberculosis 252

Statement at the Philadelphia Tuberculosis Exhibit, February 13, 1909.

Why the City Should Require Pasteurization 253

Statement before Board of Aldermen of New York City, April 12, 1909.

The Cost of Preventable Sickness 255

Statement at Budget Conferences at the Colony Club, April 20, 1909.

Shield the Babies from the Milk That Kills 256

Letter to Alderman James W. Redmond, April 29, 1909.

Putting Babies in Coffins 257

Letter to the Hon. Charles S. Denecn, Governor of Illinois, May 1, 1909.

Mothers' Day. An Open Letter to the Clergy, May 1. 1909.. 258

An Efficient Programme for the Prevention of Tuberculosis 255

Letter to the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, May 12, 1909.

Extinction of Cows and Men 262

Paper before the International Dairy Congress, Budapest, June, 1909.

Necessity for Pasteurization of Milk and Benefits Attained Thereby. 263

Paper pres'ented to the International Congress of Applied Chemistry at London, May, 1909.

Woman's Influence 265

Greeting to the International Council of Women in Session at Toronto, Canada. June, 1909.

The Least Dreaded Danger the Greatest (June, 1909) 266

The Infection of Children by Milk from Tuberculous Cows 267

Report of the Vllth International Tuberculosis Conference at Stockholm, July 8, 1909.

Progress in America in the Fight Against Tuberculosis 271

Report to the Vllth International Tuberculosis' Conference, July 10, '09.

Tuberculous MUk 272

Statement to the Association of State and National Dairy and Food Departments in Session at Denver, Col.. August 21, 1909.

Prevention of Infectious Diseases Caused by Milk 273

Paper submitted to the International Medical Congress at Budapest, . August 31, 1909.

The White Peril 277

An article in "The Delineator," August, 1909.

The City's Duty to Prevent Tuberculosis 283

Letter to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the City of New York, October 22, 1909.

Page

The Tuberculin Test 284

Letter to the Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, Dec. 12, 1909. The British Milk BUI 284

Letter to the Hon. John Burns', London, June 29, 1909. Typhoid Epidemic in New York City Due to Raw Milk 285

Report to the American Public Health Association in Session at Richmond, Va., October 22, 1909.

The Strategic Point of Attack 286

Letter to Dr. Eugene H. Porter, Commissioner of Health, State of New York, March 7, 1910.

Appeal to the Chicago City Council 286

Cablegram from Gibraltar.

The Crime of Tuberculosis 287

An article in "The Reform Advocate," Chicago, May 21, 1910. Woman's Sphere 290

An article in "Good Housekeeping," September, 1910. Saving Children from Milk-Borne Diseases 291

Paper submitted to the Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting of the American Public Health As'sociation, Milwaukee, September, 1910. League to Fight Unnecessary Diseases 292

Letter to Prof. J. Pease, Norton, October 22, 1910. Municipal Government and the Milk Supply 293

Paper before the Council of One Hundred at New Haven, Nov. 14, 1910. My One Idea 295

Speech at Banquet in Honor of Mr. Straus at the Cafe Boulevard, January 31, 1911.

Prevention of Infantile Mortality 298

Paper before National Congress of Mothers at Washington, May 2, 1911. Progress Made in America in the Protection of Child Life 301

Report as Official Delegate pres^ented to the Third International Congress for the Protection of Infants, Berlin, September, 1911. Twenty Years' Practical Experience in Modifying and Pasteurizing Milk for

Infant Feeding 307

Paper presented to the Third International Congress for the Protection of Infants, Berlin, September, 1911.

Tribute to Surgeon-General Wyman 310

Letter to the American Public Health Association in Session at Havana, Cuba. December 7, 1911.

Ofhcial Report on the Third International Congress for the Protection of

Infants, held in Berlin, September 11 to 15, 1911, as submitted to President Taft 311

No Safety Without Pasteurization 314

Statement at the Milk Conference, Charities Building, Jan. 22, 1912. Progress Made in America in the Prevention of Tuberculosis 315

Official Report to the Seventh International Congress Against Tuberculosis, Rome, April, 1912.

The Function of Voluntary Organizations in the Campaign for the Betterment of Milk Production and Distribution 925

Address to the Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and Demography, Washington, September, 1912.

Teaching Children Prevention of Diseases 332

Letter to the Hon. S. E. Baldwin, Governor of Connecticut, Jan. 31, 1914. Give the Baby a Fair Chance to Live 333

Address to the Legislature of the State of California, March, 1914. Confidence in the Abolition of Tuberculosis 336

Letter on the occasion of the Dedication of a Sanitorium, June 4, 1914. The Foundation of the Child Welfare Movement 337

Paper presented to the Third International Congress on the Welfare of the Child, at Washington, D. C, April 23, 1914. Disease Prevention Day. Letter to the Governors of the States, June, 1914. . 338 Knowledge that Protects the Family from Its Chief Foe 339

Paper prepared for the Home Education Congress, September, 1914. Proved Methods of Prevention. 343

Letter to the North Atlantic Conference on Tuberculosis. Sept. 30, 1914.

Page

Certification of Tuberculous Milk 344

Letter to Dr. J. Whitridge Williams, Baltimore, Md., November 23, 1914.

The Relation of the City to the Milk Supply 345

Paper read before the American Public Health Association in Session at Jacksonville, Fla., December 5, 1914.

The National Health Guard 349

Letter to Mr. Elmer R. Rittenhouse, President Life Extension Institute, December 29, 1914.

ADDRESSES AND LETTERS BY MR. STRAUS ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS

"A Brotherhood of Life" 352

Statement on the "Titanic" disaster, May. 1912.

Protest Against War 353

Address at Unveiling of Monument in Memory of Jewish Soldiers Who Lost Their Lives for the Union. May 7, 1905.

The Jew Has a Work to Do 354

The Tragic Fight for Public Health. Statement. January 20, 1%9 355

The Federal Health Agencies 356

Letter to President Taft, April 7, 1909.

The Rockefeller Foundation 357

Reply to an Inquiry, March 3, 1910.

The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research 357

Letter to Mr. John D. Rockefeller, December 15, 1913. Tribute to Dr. Edward L. Trudeau 358

Letter on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of Dr. Trudcau's' Work, Jan. 28, '10. Tribute to Senator Gallinger 358

Letter on the occasion of a Dinner to Senator Gallinger, March 20, 1911. The Controlling Motive of My Work 359

Written for "The Christian Herald," December. 1913. What the Newspapers Can Do 360

Letter to Illinois Daily Newspaper As*sociation, May 15, 1909. The Medical Profession 361

An Appreciation for "The Medical Review of Reviews," April 12, 1915. Opportunity of the Medical Profession 361

Letter to Dr. W. C. Gorgas, June 8, 1909.

Dr. Osier's Call to His Profession 362

Letter to Dr. Osier, March 19, 1911.

The Clinicians and the Laboratory Men 362

Letter to Dr. W. A. Evans, June 20. 1912.

Hospitals ^ 363

Speech on Jewish Hospital Night, Brooklyn, May 4, 1915. Poverty 364

Letter to the Rev. J. D. Herron, January 24, 1912. Tribute to Dr. Jacobi .^ . . .' 365

Speech in honor of Dr. Jacobi's 85th Birthday Anniversary, Mav 6, 1915. What Medical Men Can Do 365

Letter to Dr. Stephen II. Blodgctt, January 20. 1914. The Abolition of War 366

Letter to Hon. Theodore Marburg. Secretary .American Society for Judicial Settlement of International Disputes, June 18, 1912. The Peace of the World 366

Letter to the Hon. Seth Low, Chairman New York Peace Society Mass Meeting, January 10, 1913.

"Peace" the Only Word' for Veterans. 367

Address' at Memorial Services of the Hebrew Union Veterans' Association. June 15, 1915.

The Test of Character 368

Letter to Rev. Dr. John Ilaynes Holmes, December 15, 1913. Industrial Insurance 338

Letter to Dr. W. 1. Schcreschewskv. 1914.

War and War Preparedness: What Shall Patriotic Men Do? 369

Address before the Laymen's Efficiency League, Synod Hall, Cathedral of St. lohn the Divine, Oct. 19, 1915.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page

Portrait of Mr. Nathan Straus and his brothers, Isidor and Oscar S. . . Facing Title

The First Infant Milk Depot in America 10

Cartoon, ''I Drink to the General Death of the Whole Table" 12

Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Laboratory 32

Modification Table 34

Milk Heater, Separator, Bottle Filling Machine 34

Balcony and Bottle Filling Machines 36

Pasteurizing Ovens 36

Delivery Automobile 38

Bottle Washing Machine 38

Interior of Tompkins Square Park Station 40

Station at 348 East 32d Street 40

Interior of Old Laboratory in Avenue C 42

Souvenir at Banquet in Honor of Mr. Straus 68

First Nathan Straus Milk Station 72

Pasteurizing Room in First Nathan Straus Laboratory 72

City Hall Station, 1894 72

Nathan Straus Laboratory in Avenue C 74

Philadelphia Pasteurized Milk Society Laboratory 76

Station in Momingside Presbyterian Church, New York 78

Automobile Refrigerator Truck in Baby Day Parade 78

Tompkins Square Station 80

Pasteurized Milk Sold by the Glass 80

Diploma Awarded Mr. Straus by Exposition Internationale, Paris, 1908 84

The_Nathan Straus Home Pasteurizer 85

Plans for Makin? Home Pasteurizer 8b

Nathan Straus Laboratory, Washington, D.C 94

Main Nathan Straus Station, Washington, D. C 94

Sandhausen Milk Kitchen 96

Exhibit with Model Plant, International Tuberculosis Congress, 1908 98

Pasteurizer znd Bottle Filler 98

Nathan Straus Laboratory. Washington; Separator, Bottle Filling Machine.. 102

Pasteurizing Oven 102

Cartoon, "The Courts Sustain the Pasteurization Order" 108

Nathan Straus Relief Station, 1893-94, Packing Room 118

Coal Depot 118

Cartoon on Mr. Straus' Fight for Pasteurized Milk on Recreation Piers 122

Coupon for the Distribution of Food to Earthquake Victims 124

Feeding the Unemployed, City HaU Park, 1914-15 126

Hot CofiFee and a Roll for One Cent 128

Meals for the Unemployed 128

Unemployed Men Getting Meals at Nathan Straus Depot 129

Coupon for Distribution of Milk for Strikers' Babies 130

Nathan Straus Cottage, Jewish Consumptive Sanitarium, Duarte, Cal 132

Tuberculosis Preventorium for Children, "The Little White House" 136

Girls' Dormitory 140

Open-Air Shack for Boys 140

Tuberculosis Preventorium Dining Room 142

Children Being Saved from Tuberculosis 142

Nathan Straus Foundation, Jerusalem

Typical Group in Jerusalem 146

Outer Room, Nathan Straus Soup Kitchen 146

Waiting Room, Nathan Straus Soup Kitchen 150

Interior of Soup Kitchen 150

Women's Dining: Room, Nathan Straus Soup Kitchen 152

Men's Dining Room, Nathan Straus Soup Kitchen 152

Workroom for Unskilled Labor 154

Nurses' Settlement 154

Portrait of Mr. Nathan Straus Facing 177

Diplomas Awarded Nathan Straus for His Work for Pasteurization 178 i^

THE FIRST INFANT MILK DEPOT IN AMERICA.

Nathan Straus Pasteurized Milk Station, East Third Street Pier,

New York City, 1893.

Foreword

(To First Edition)

The presentation to the public of this book has a definite purpose, and is animated by a single hope. In calling the attention of others to the life work of my husband I trust that beneficent spirits may be stimulated to go and do likewise and achieve greater things for humanity. My husband's philanthropic service for the last three decades can in all literalness be said to have been dedicated to the one thought of saving human life. From the time when Mr. Straus made his first gift in the fight against tuberculosis, by presenting a small cottage to the Trudeau Sanitarium in the Adirondacks, over thirty years affo, until his more recent conception of the idea of a PREVENTORIUM against tuberculbsis — all through his consistent and energetic warfare against impure milk and his championship of the PASTEURIZATION OF MILK, the ideal which was the guiding star of his career was PREVENTION. This ideal led him to undertake the extension of his propaganda all over the world. And this ideal called forth from Professor Abraham Jacobi in a letter of June 5, 1895, the following encouraging words: '*! trust you will be able to extend the blessings conferred by you still further, not only over the city but outside also. I believe a call over your name will sufiBce to arouse the humanitarian interest of practical philanthropists in other large communities with the same salutary results obtained by you in New York.'' May this compilation of the record of my husband's work prove such a "call" in the most comprehensive sense. And the more all co-operate in this divine work of saving life the sooner will be realized the law of universal human brotherhood.

August 28th, 1907.

My dear Mr. Straus:

It gives me much pleasure to testify to the great good you have done by distributing pure milk among the poor of New York. Service is the only measure of greatness, and you, like other public benefactors, will be known to future generations, not by your income, but by the outgo — the overflow — of your life, which has so largely contributed to the welfare of otliers.

May your years be long upon earth and may they be brightened by the knowledge that you have by your generosity brought health and happiness to thousands of homes.

Yours truly,

August 25, 1907.

Hon. Nathan Straus,

My dear Friend:

If all the little children whose lives you saved could mass themselves around the building now to be erected, you would have the most splendid memorial ever made to man.

It makes me glad to give testimony to your wisdom and your heart.

Your friend.