1 00:00:02,430 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. After this week's episode on typhoid, we are 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: continuing our food safety theme with our episode on the 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,460 Speaker 1: swill milk scandal of 1858, which was also mentioned in 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,700 Speaker 1: last week's classic on NASA's role in food safety. This 5 00:00:18,750 --> 00:00:21,110 Speaker 1: originally came out on July 21st, 2021. We would say enjoy, 6 00:00:21,150 --> 00:00:30,100 Speaker 1: but this one's pretty gross. Welcome to Stuff You Missed 7 00:00:30,140 --> 00:00:40,239 Speaker 1: in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome 8 00:00:40,270 --> 00:00:44,350 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey. And I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Okay, 9 00:00:44,790 --> 00:00:47,190 Speaker 1: here is sort of an obvious heads up if you 10 00:00:47,250 --> 00:00:51,050 Speaker 1: saw the title of today's podcast. The topic that we 11 00:00:51,110 --> 00:00:56,010 Speaker 1: are talking about today involves really unsanitary practices that that 12 00:00:56,030 --> 00:00:58,730 Speaker 1: took place when there were not really laws regarding food 13 00:00:58,770 --> 00:01:00,950 Speaker 1: safety and quality the way we think about it today. 14 00:01:01,380 --> 00:01:04,819 Speaker 1: So it is kind of gross. That's an understatement. And 15 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,820 Speaker 1: there is also mistreatment of animals. So it is also 16 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: upsetting on that front. Just know that going in and 17 00:01:11,700 --> 00:01:13,820 Speaker 1: maybe it may be a little too intense for you. 18 00:01:14,500 --> 00:01:16,700 Speaker 1: We are covering a period of time where the milk 19 00:01:16,740 --> 00:01:20,539 Speaker 1: supply in New York was anything but appetizing. So it 20 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,690 Speaker 1: actually been going on for quite some time, but there's 21 00:01:23,830 --> 00:01:26,390 Speaker 1: one kind of very, pivotal moment in the middle of it, 22 00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: and that's really where we're focusing. And then we'll talk 23 00:01:28,819 --> 00:01:30,819 Speaker 1: about the way that problem was brought to the public's 24 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: attention and how it was handled after that. But first, 25 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:36,839 Speaker 1: we're just going to talk a little bit about why 26 00:01:36,940 --> 00:01:40,420 Speaker 1: milk became known as an essential item in U.S. kitchens, 27 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:45,020 Speaker 1: particularly for families with children. So if you grew up 28 00:01:45,060 --> 00:01:48,420 Speaker 1: in the U.S., even if you don't drink milk yourself, 29 00:01:48,460 --> 00:01:53,010 Speaker 1: you've almost certainly become accustomed to this idea of that 30 00:01:53,050 --> 00:01:56,460 Speaker 1: people think of milk as a staple food. I know 31 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: when I was a kid, I loved milk and I 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: drank it all the time. My brother was allergic, so 33 00:02:00,380 --> 00:02:03,860 Speaker 1: it was kind of a division in our household. This 34 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:05,870 Speaker 1: is one of the things that just flies off of 35 00:02:05,990 --> 00:02:10,070 Speaker 1: supermarket dairy case shelves anytime there's a heavy storm coming 36 00:02:10,470 --> 00:02:12,650 Speaker 1: and people will joke about like, what are people doing 37 00:02:12,690 --> 00:02:15,670 Speaker 1: with all this milk and bread? Is it French toast 38 00:02:15,770 --> 00:02:22,220 Speaker 1: time during the snowstorm? Milk is treated like a cornerstone 39 00:02:22,260 --> 00:02:24,679 Speaker 1: of every meal in a lot of families, and it 40 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,620 Speaker 1: is really popular. We have talked about cheese and butter 41 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,700 Speaker 1: on the show before, which are, of course, also dairy items. 42 00:02:32,690 --> 00:02:36,010 Speaker 1: But those are made with the idea of longevity. So 43 00:02:36,090 --> 00:02:38,150 Speaker 1: a food that you can have on hand for at 44 00:02:38,190 --> 00:02:41,669 Speaker 1: least a little while. Milk does not have that long 45 00:02:41,710 --> 00:02:47,570 Speaker 1: shelf life, especially in the era before artificial refrigeration. So 46 00:02:47,730 --> 00:02:51,070 Speaker 1: it's kind of an impractical thing to just have on 47 00:02:51,110 --> 00:02:54,150 Speaker 1: hand all the time. The concept of a lot of 48 00:02:54,310 --> 00:02:57,700 Speaker 1: heavy milk consumption is pretty new if you plot it 49 00:02:57,820 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: out on the timeline of human history. Yeah. For a 50 00:03:03,460 --> 00:03:07,950 Speaker 1: long time, dairy milk as a human consumable was primarily 51 00:03:08,250 --> 00:03:11,230 Speaker 1: used just as a means to feed babies. This is 52 00:03:11,290 --> 00:03:15,030 Speaker 1: also tied up with a very passionate and centuries-long debate 53 00:03:15,510 --> 00:03:18,370 Speaker 1: about human milk versus the milk from other animals and 54 00:03:18,389 --> 00:03:22,650 Speaker 1: what is appropriate for children. Even famed Puritan Cotton Mather 55 00:03:22,710 --> 00:03:26,850 Speaker 1: had opinions about breastfeeding being the only suitable way to 56 00:03:26,930 --> 00:03:30,190 Speaker 1: feed a child. And he intimated in his writing that 57 00:03:30,250 --> 00:03:33,220 Speaker 1: God would take whether a mother breastfed or not into 58 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,610 Speaker 1: account when her day of judgment came. And then during 59 00:03:36,650 --> 00:03:39,410 Speaker 1: the 19th century, there were plenty of people willing to 60 00:03:39,450 --> 00:03:44,540 Speaker 1: voice their opinion that breastfeeding was downright uncivilized. Obviously, those 61 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,180 Speaker 1: are two extremes to illustrate the vast range of positions 62 00:03:48,620 --> 00:03:52,390 Speaker 1: people had on the issue. That debate continues. You will 63 00:03:52,430 --> 00:03:55,090 Speaker 1: still find people probably who feel both of those ways. 64 00:03:55,550 --> 00:03:58,470 Speaker 1: That debate is thankfully way out of our scope here. 65 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,260 Speaker 1: Tracy and I are not moms, so we don't have 66 00:04:02,620 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: quite the same stake in that conversation that other people 67 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:07,620 Speaker 1: might have. So the key thing that we need to 68 00:04:07,660 --> 00:04:10,620 Speaker 1: focus on is that in cases where a mother's or 69 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: a wet nurse's milk were not an option for whatever reason, 70 00:04:15,060 --> 00:04:19,089 Speaker 1: over time, people started turning to other milk sources for infants. 71 00:04:20,010 --> 00:04:23,670 Speaker 1: And because cows are fairly docile and pretty easy to 72 00:04:23,730 --> 00:04:27,830 Speaker 1: work with and produce milk in quantity, They emerged over 73 00:04:27,910 --> 00:04:32,089 Speaker 1: time as the most popular non-human milk source. There were 74 00:04:32,130 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 1: people who studied the mortality rates of babies in regard 75 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,900 Speaker 1: to being fed animal milk. This was called artificial feeding. 76 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,850 Speaker 1: They were comparing that to people who were fed milk 77 00:04:43,890 --> 00:04:46,090 Speaker 1: from their mother or a wet nurse all the way 78 00:04:46,110 --> 00:04:49,940 Speaker 1: back to the 1700s. And germ theory as we know 79 00:04:49,980 --> 00:04:52,420 Speaker 1: it today was not really in the mix with this yet. 80 00:04:52,540 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: So there were some stabs in the dark regarding cause 81 00:04:55,820 --> 00:04:58,750 Speaker 1: and effect of illnesses that seemed like they were linked 82 00:04:58,900 --> 00:05:03,250 Speaker 1: to milk. One idea, which was conceived by French doctor 83 00:05:03,510 --> 00:05:08,490 Speaker 1: Alphonse Leroy in the 1770s, was for children to suckle 84 00:05:08,529 --> 00:05:12,500 Speaker 1: directly from an animal to get the freshest possible milk. 85 00:05:12,620 --> 00:05:16,860 Speaker 1: So he was onto the idea that spoilage could be 86 00:05:16,900 --> 00:05:19,770 Speaker 1: a problem. but he didn't really know that bacteria was 87 00:05:19,830 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: the culprit for that spoilage. But keeping live animals on 88 00:05:23,980 --> 00:05:28,810 Speaker 1: hand for that purpose was not exactly realistic. For a 89 00:05:28,890 --> 00:05:33,690 Speaker 1: lot of places, especially places like orphanages or hospitals. Right. 90 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: And even like anybody that lived in a more metropolitan area, 91 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:42,940 Speaker 1: it's not like go to the goat room or the 92 00:05:42,980 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: certainly not a cow in the house. There have been 93 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,140 Speaker 1: also various types of formula over the years, which can 94 00:05:49,180 --> 00:05:51,780 Speaker 1: include any number of ingredients such as flowers or even 95 00:05:52,270 --> 00:05:55,430 Speaker 1: cane sugar mixed with water or milk or some combination 96 00:05:55,450 --> 00:05:57,890 Speaker 1: of the two. And sometimes that was used as a 97 00:05:57,930 --> 00:06:00,730 Speaker 1: way to stretch milk where that supply was not as, 98 00:06:00,750 --> 00:06:05,820 Speaker 1: you know, constantly available. But over time, there were doctors 99 00:06:05,860 --> 00:06:09,779 Speaker 1: that started to recommend milk with various added ingredients as 100 00:06:09,820 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: something that could pretty effectively replicate the nutrition an infant 101 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,979 Speaker 1: would get from breastfeeding. So with doctors touting its benefits, 102 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: milk really started to take on an image as a 103 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:24,270 Speaker 1: nutritious and health bolstering beverage. This was not a universally 104 00:06:24,330 --> 00:06:27,810 Speaker 1: held opinion, though, and there were still plenty of instances 105 00:06:27,890 --> 00:06:32,090 Speaker 1: where milk caused people to get sick. This included episodes 106 00:06:32,130 --> 00:06:36,670 Speaker 1: when multiple people in communities got milk sickness after milk 107 00:06:36,730 --> 00:06:41,510 Speaker 1: from cows that had ingested some poisonous plants was introduced 108 00:06:41,529 --> 00:06:45,420 Speaker 1: into the food supply. But the trend of feeding infants 109 00:06:45,500 --> 00:06:49,140 Speaker 1: and children milk continued upward in the U.S. and in 110 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: other parts of the world as cities got bigger and 111 00:06:51,850 --> 00:06:55,530 Speaker 1: populations boomed. So that just led to more and more 112 00:06:55,570 --> 00:07:00,710 Speaker 1: demand for cow's milk specifically. So naturally, that growing population 113 00:07:00,770 --> 00:07:04,060 Speaker 1: of metro areas that needed and wanted milk led to 114 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: a boom in the dairy industry. But in many cases, 115 00:07:07,300 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: the dairies that emerged to meet those demands were not 116 00:07:10,340 --> 00:07:14,330 Speaker 1: exactly hygienic. And the cows... that were used were not 117 00:07:14,390 --> 00:07:18,390 Speaker 1: fed the best diet. Feeding more cows meant far greater 118 00:07:18,540 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: overhead for milk producers, so some of them worked out 119 00:07:21,740 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: what seemed like a cost-effective solution, and they moved next 120 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: to breweries and distilleries. And in a lot of instances, 121 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: distilleries started dairies of their own as a way to 122 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: get a piece of the ever-increasing demand. So a lot 123 00:07:36,100 --> 00:07:39,900 Speaker 1: of alcohols start out with grain that's combined with water 124 00:07:40,020 --> 00:07:43,090 Speaker 1: to give the yeast something to work with, But this 125 00:07:43,190 --> 00:07:46,410 Speaker 1: spent grain is not part of the finished beverage. It's 126 00:07:46,450 --> 00:07:51,140 Speaker 1: a waste product. And dairy producers made deals with alcohol 127 00:07:51,180 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: producers to take their runoff to feed their animals. Or 128 00:07:54,300 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: in the cases of these combo businesses, the distillers didn't 129 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,260 Speaker 1: really bother to source any other food for their animals. 130 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: They were just feeding them the runoff from their distilleries. 131 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:08,380 Speaker 1: So we should mention here that there are cases where 132 00:08:08,420 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: this is okay. If someone is soaking their grains and 133 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,730 Speaker 1: then straining them out before fermentation, these grains can be 134 00:08:16,790 --> 00:08:19,210 Speaker 1: and are fed to livestock. Like, there are a lot 135 00:08:19,230 --> 00:08:23,090 Speaker 1: of breweries today that are feeding their spent grain to 136 00:08:23,270 --> 00:08:29,180 Speaker 1: farm animals, and this is really just... The grain that 137 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:32,620 Speaker 1: has been used to make the wort to make the beer, 138 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: not like runoff that also contains alcohol and other waste products. Right. 139 00:08:38,660 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: The brewery that brewed the beer for our wedding had 140 00:08:41,300 --> 00:08:45,130 Speaker 1: a deal with farmers. Lots of places do this and 141 00:08:45,170 --> 00:08:47,490 Speaker 1: it is perfectly fine. So we are not. coming down 142 00:08:47,550 --> 00:08:49,729 Speaker 1: on those people. If you know someone who does that 143 00:08:49,770 --> 00:08:51,510 Speaker 1: or is part of one of those, we're not dogging 144 00:08:51,550 --> 00:08:53,489 Speaker 1: on them. What we are about to tell you will 145 00:08:53,530 --> 00:08:57,470 Speaker 1: explain the problem. Yeah, yeah. So what we are talking 146 00:08:57,530 --> 00:09:03,100 Speaker 1: about here is dairy cows being fed this watery spent 147 00:09:03,270 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: swill of mash that had been through the fermentation process 148 00:09:07,460 --> 00:09:12,140 Speaker 1: and boiled without being strained. And this runoff swill was 149 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,300 Speaker 1: not only kind of gross, it really didn't have a 150 00:09:15,340 --> 00:09:18,940 Speaker 1: lot of nutritional value anymore. It could also go bad 151 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,470 Speaker 1: really quickly. Unlike just the spent grain that is used today, 152 00:09:23,530 --> 00:09:27,650 Speaker 1: this was not a good food source for animals or anyone, really. 153 00:09:28,210 --> 00:09:31,230 Speaker 1: And as a consequence, the quality of the milk being 154 00:09:31,290 --> 00:09:35,670 Speaker 1: produced by animals being fed this swill was poor. At best, 155 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,110 Speaker 1: that's a very kind way to put it. That milk 156 00:09:38,130 --> 00:09:40,730 Speaker 1: was often watery, it did not have the normal fat 157 00:09:40,790 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: content of a whole milk, and also it was often 158 00:09:43,940 --> 00:09:47,459 Speaker 1: blue in color. So to make that milk appear more 159 00:09:47,540 --> 00:09:51,060 Speaker 1: wholesome than it was, dairies that used the swill runoff 160 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,250 Speaker 1: to feed their cows started adding all kinds of things 161 00:09:54,330 --> 00:09:58,370 Speaker 1: to the milk. Food colorings and molasses were added to 162 00:09:58,410 --> 00:10:01,660 Speaker 1: make it look and taste good. and in instances where 163 00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: the dairy watered down the already watery milk to stretch profits, 164 00:10:06,220 --> 00:10:10,100 Speaker 1: chalk and sometimes even plaster of Paris was also added 165 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,100 Speaker 1: to improve the texture. This sounds like it would be 166 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:18,670 Speaker 1: really bad for babies, and it was. And infant mortality 167 00:10:18,710 --> 00:10:22,270 Speaker 1: was really high. Some estimates are that nearly half of 168 00:10:22,330 --> 00:10:26,630 Speaker 1: the babies in Manhattan died pretty routinely. And because there 169 00:10:26,670 --> 00:10:30,390 Speaker 1: were innumerable issues developing as the city became more and 170 00:10:30,429 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: more crowded, it actually took a while for people to 171 00:10:33,460 --> 00:10:38,319 Speaker 1: realize that the milk supply had become poisonous. Yeah, there 172 00:10:38,340 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 1: were lots of lots of efforts at attribution about like, oh, 173 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: crowding is making disease spread more quickly. Yes, that's part 174 00:10:45,090 --> 00:10:47,010 Speaker 1: of it. You know, there were lots of other things 175 00:10:47,050 --> 00:10:48,470 Speaker 1: that they could point to and go, I think this 176 00:10:48,530 --> 00:10:51,190 Speaker 1: might be the problem. It just it took a bit. 177 00:10:52,050 --> 00:10:54,050 Speaker 1: And in just a moment, we will talk about the 178 00:10:54,110 --> 00:10:57,910 Speaker 1: journalists who started to write about this problem with adulterated 179 00:10:57,980 --> 00:11:00,060 Speaker 1: milk being fed to babies. But first, we are going 180 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:12,940 Speaker 1: to pause for a sponsor break. Frank Leslie is usually 181 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: credited with breaking the swill milk scandal open in his paper, 182 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: and we will talk about that expose in a moment. 183 00:11:19,700 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 1: But activist Robert Millam Hartley, who is known for his 184 00:11:22,780 --> 00:11:25,930 Speaker 1: work in the temperance movement, was an early criticizer of 185 00:11:25,970 --> 00:11:31,710 Speaker 1: the subpar milk supply. Well before most other writers, in 1842, 186 00:11:31,710 --> 00:11:35,570 Speaker 1: Hartley published a book titled An Historic, Scientific, and Practical 187 00:11:35,670 --> 00:11:39,350 Speaker 1: Essay on Milk as an article of human sustenance with 188 00:11:39,390 --> 00:11:43,570 Speaker 1: a consideration of the effects consequent upon the present unnatural 189 00:11:43,630 --> 00:11:46,790 Speaker 1: methods of producing it for the supply of large cities. 190 00:11:47,350 --> 00:11:50,630 Speaker 1: Hartley believed that milk produced in a wholesome way was 191 00:11:50,670 --> 00:11:53,830 Speaker 1: a perfect food, and he traced its history and the 192 00:11:53,970 --> 00:11:57,050 Speaker 1: animals that produce it in this book to support his stance. 193 00:11:58,050 --> 00:12:00,829 Speaker 1: He includes a testimonial from a doctor in the book 194 00:12:00,870 --> 00:12:03,730 Speaker 1: that reads, quote, I live in the country, but occasionally 195 00:12:03,750 --> 00:12:05,829 Speaker 1: go to the city, and while there, I make a 196 00:12:05,910 --> 00:12:09,870 Speaker 1: practice of securing, if possible, my accustomed glass of milk 197 00:12:10,030 --> 00:12:13,470 Speaker 1: morning and evening instead of coffee and tea, which for 198 00:12:13,620 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: some years I have laid aside altogether. Three years ago 199 00:12:17,580 --> 00:12:21,100 Speaker 1: last winter, I took lodgings at a respectable house near 200 00:12:21,179 --> 00:12:25,210 Speaker 1: Broadway and bespoke, as usual, my glass of milk. I 201 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:29,510 Speaker 1: observed that the taste of this milk was unnatural, unsavory, 202 00:12:29,530 --> 00:12:32,550 Speaker 1: and I had no relish for it. In fact, it 203 00:12:32,630 --> 00:12:35,910 Speaker 1: soon became loathsome, and at the end of one week 204 00:12:36,010 --> 00:12:40,130 Speaker 1: I found myself greatly enfeebled with loss of appetite, a 205 00:12:40,270 --> 00:12:44,210 Speaker 1: feverish heat of the hands, and a slightly furred tongue 206 00:12:44,270 --> 00:12:48,829 Speaker 1: with other indications of disorder. The milk, I was informed, 207 00:12:48,910 --> 00:12:52,350 Speaker 1: came from a dairy supplied with swill from a distillery. 208 00:12:53,130 --> 00:12:55,700 Speaker 1: I left the boarding house and took lodgings at the 209 00:12:55,750 --> 00:12:59,660 Speaker 1: Clinton Hotel where I found a well-flavored glass of milk 210 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: morning and evening, and in three days I was well. Mr. H., 211 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: the landlord, assured me that he was supplied with milk 212 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,820 Speaker 1: from Harlem by a farmer who fed his cows on 213 00:13:10,980 --> 00:13:15,090 Speaker 1: wholesome food. So that doctor's account goes on to warn 214 00:13:15,140 --> 00:13:17,250 Speaker 1: parents that if they are going to buy milk for 215 00:13:17,270 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: their children... they should inspect the dairy the supply comes 216 00:13:20,830 --> 00:13:24,130 Speaker 1: from themselves to see the horrible conditions the animals live 217 00:13:24,230 --> 00:13:27,270 Speaker 1: in and how their teeth are in abysmal condition from 218 00:13:27,330 --> 00:13:31,350 Speaker 1: bad food and how all of this smells anything but wholesome. 219 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:37,100 Speaker 1: Hartley's write-up, which is credited with coining the term swill milk, 220 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: includes a number of other accounts, and they're horrifying. This 221 00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:46,330 Speaker 1: includes abysmal conditions regarding animal welfare and Instances of dying 222 00:13:46,470 --> 00:13:51,170 Speaker 1: cows too weak to stand still being milked. Hartley then 223 00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:54,270 Speaker 1: lays out his own proof that the milk these poorly 224 00:13:54,410 --> 00:13:58,500 Speaker 1: fed cows produce is bad. He had conducted a number 225 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: of experiments with it and found that it couldn't be 226 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:05,140 Speaker 1: made into butter. And his words, quote, the nutrient properties 227 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:09,340 Speaker 1: of milk we have shown consist chiefly of oil and albumin, 228 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,970 Speaker 1: but so deficient is slop milk of these essential attributes 229 00:14:14,070 --> 00:14:18,570 Speaker 1: that it is incapable of producing butter or cheese. The 230 00:14:18,650 --> 00:14:21,650 Speaker 1: author proclaims, quote, there is not a more certain poison 231 00:14:21,730 --> 00:14:25,580 Speaker 1: in the form of food than this swill milk. And 232 00:14:25,630 --> 00:14:28,900 Speaker 1: his strongest case in terms of connecting swill milk to 233 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:34,470 Speaker 1: public health is the statistics that he cites. In 1815, 33% 234 00:14:34,470 --> 00:14:37,050 Speaker 1: of the deaths in Boston were children younger than five 235 00:14:37,090 --> 00:14:40,150 Speaker 1: years old. By the end of the 1930s, that number 236 00:14:40,210 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 1: had grown to 43%. And he includes similar numbers for 237 00:14:44,540 --> 00:14:47,260 Speaker 1: New York and Philadelphia. And then he goes on to 238 00:14:47,300 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: name 500 dairies in New York that were actively producing 239 00:14:51,460 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: swill milk. You would think this information would be explosive, 240 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: but it took a long time for the issues identified 241 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: by Hartley to be investigated. Some of this was because 242 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,260 Speaker 1: of Hartley's association with the temperance movement, which was not 243 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: popular in New York. There was a common perception that 244 00:15:08,970 --> 00:15:12,850 Speaker 1: Hartley was attacking distillery dairies in an effort to hurt 245 00:15:12,910 --> 00:15:16,930 Speaker 1: the distilleries themselves. This was all part of his temperance activism. 246 00:15:17,950 --> 00:15:20,670 Speaker 1: Swill milk wasn't studied by the New York Academy of 247 00:15:20,770 --> 00:15:24,660 Speaker 1: Medicine for another six years, and that study, of course, 248 00:15:24,740 --> 00:15:28,930 Speaker 1: found it nutritionally deficient. But the practice of producing swill 249 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,820 Speaker 1: milk continued, and by the mid-1850s, an estimated two-thirds of 250 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:38,310 Speaker 1: New York's $ 6 million annual spend on milk went to 251 00:15:38,450 --> 00:15:42,870 Speaker 1: swill milk. Slowly, though, the information in Hartley's book became 252 00:15:42,970 --> 00:15:46,670 Speaker 1: more and more commonly known. People started to question where 253 00:15:46,750 --> 00:15:49,260 Speaker 1: their milk was coming from and whether that was the 254 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: source of child deaths from malnutrition. Finally, in 1857, an 255 00:15:54,580 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: investigation was launched by city officials of Brooklyn. You'll recall 256 00:15:58,460 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: at this time Brooklyn and New York were kind of 257 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: two different entities. The resulting report was horrifying, detailing a 258 00:16:04,900 --> 00:16:08,900 Speaker 1: seemingly endless array of animal mistreatment and the handling of 259 00:16:08,940 --> 00:16:12,390 Speaker 1: the milk those animals produced. Those animals were crowded so 260 00:16:12,450 --> 00:16:15,510 Speaker 1: tightly together that they never moved, and their stalls were 261 00:16:15,590 --> 00:16:19,370 Speaker 1: rarely mucked out. Life expectancy for a cow at a 262 00:16:19,450 --> 00:16:23,450 Speaker 1: swill milk dairy was only about six months. This report, 263 00:16:23,530 --> 00:16:27,330 Speaker 1: which was documented through the official investigation, also had a 264 00:16:27,390 --> 00:16:31,110 Speaker 1: weight that skeptics may have found lacking in Hartley's anonymous 265 00:16:31,230 --> 00:16:34,630 Speaker 1: eyewitness accounts. The swill milk issue at this point was 266 00:16:34,830 --> 00:16:39,900 Speaker 1: at last getting very wide-scale exposure. While the report compiled 267 00:16:39,940 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: by Brooklyn authorities was really damning, it wasn't as though 268 00:16:43,780 --> 00:16:47,930 Speaker 1: everyone was reading municipal documents. The story really broke open 269 00:16:48,050 --> 00:16:53,030 Speaker 1: on the pages of Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper on May 8, 1858, 270 00:16:53,030 --> 00:16:56,820 Speaker 1: with the first installment in a series about swill milk. 271 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,860 Speaker 1: In a 5,000-word expose, Leslie shared all of the grisly 272 00:17:01,900 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: details that had been part of the city's findings and 273 00:17:04,820 --> 00:17:08,220 Speaker 1: more details. Leslie said that he had been spurred into 274 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,820 Speaker 1: investigation when a bottle of milk delivered to his door 275 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:17,060 Speaker 1: had obviously contained, heads up, this is gross, pus floating 276 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:21,070 Speaker 1: in the milk. And the details his reporters had uncovered 277 00:17:21,109 --> 00:17:27,290 Speaker 1: were accompanied with equally unsettling illustrations. These articles alerted the 278 00:17:27,350 --> 00:17:30,709 Speaker 1: public to the fact that even cows with bovine tuberculosis 279 00:17:30,730 --> 00:17:33,410 Speaker 1: were being used to produce the milk they might buy 280 00:17:33,490 --> 00:17:36,670 Speaker 1: from a vendor cart right on their own street. It 281 00:17:36,710 --> 00:17:39,130 Speaker 1: was reported that in some cases, meat from the sick 282 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,540 Speaker 1: cows that had died in these distillery dairies had been 283 00:17:42,630 --> 00:17:47,120 Speaker 1: sold at markets in poor neighborhoods. And this milk was 284 00:17:47,180 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: being sold to the public with the assurance that it 285 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,479 Speaker 1: was good and wholesome. Often, the bottles were labeled with 286 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: things like pure Orange County milk or some similar nomenclature 287 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,980 Speaker 1: to suggest that this was wholesome milk from presumably healthy cows. 288 00:18:02,820 --> 00:18:06,300 Speaker 1: Keep in mind, too, that all of this predated routine pasteurization. 289 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 1: Louis Pasteur was working on his idea that there were 290 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,169 Speaker 1: germs in play in the spoilage of liquids intended for 291 00:18:12,210 --> 00:18:15,650 Speaker 1: consumption as the swill milk scandal was playing out. But 292 00:18:15,830 --> 00:18:19,889 Speaker 1: commercial milk pasteurizers weren't even produced until the late 1880s. 293 00:18:20,450 --> 00:18:22,990 Speaker 1: And that meant that every minute that even wholesome milk 294 00:18:23,030 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: was on a street cart, it was inching towards spoilage 295 00:18:26,150 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: because it had never been sterilized. But swill milk started 296 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:33,340 Speaker 1: out dirty and just got worse. And milk wasn't yet 297 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,659 Speaker 1: being bottled at this time. It was often doled out 298 00:18:35,700 --> 00:18:38,420 Speaker 1: of pails into smaller pails, and that meant that it 299 00:18:38,460 --> 00:18:41,540 Speaker 1: was also on these carts open to debris falling in 300 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,940 Speaker 1: it at any time. The images in Leslie's, which were drawings, 301 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:50,220 Speaker 1: of course, included sick cows being held up with straps 302 00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:53,410 Speaker 1: so they could be milked, cows with sores on their 303 00:18:53,430 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: bodies from malnutrition and really filthy conditions. Leslie took out 304 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 1: ads and other newspapers to advertise the expose series on 305 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:05,300 Speaker 1: swill milk. He sent his staff artists to try to 306 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,629 Speaker 1: sneak into dairies and get material for their renderings. According 307 00:19:09,670 --> 00:19:13,050 Speaker 1: to Leslie's, quote, swill milk should be branded with the 308 00:19:13,090 --> 00:19:17,780 Speaker 1: word poison, just as narcotics are. So Frank Leslie was 309 00:19:17,910 --> 00:19:22,900 Speaker 1: genuinely exposing some truly gnarly things going on in these dairies, but... 310 00:19:23,290 --> 00:19:27,670 Speaker 1: he was also definitely doing so in a very sensationalist manner. 311 00:19:28,710 --> 00:19:31,010 Speaker 1: It's worth noting that he had worked with P.T. Barnum 312 00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:34,199 Speaker 1: on his publishing endeavors prior to going out on his 313 00:19:34,340 --> 00:19:38,020 Speaker 1: own as a publisher. Leslie not only reported the news, 314 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 1: but he did so in a way that he knew 315 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,909 Speaker 1: would incense readers. And he also published illustrations in his 316 00:19:43,970 --> 00:19:47,590 Speaker 1: articles that stereotyped Irish immigrants who worked in the dairies. 317 00:19:48,150 --> 00:19:52,050 Speaker 1: So while his exposé series was raising important issues to 318 00:19:52,109 --> 00:19:55,210 Speaker 1: public awareness... It came with its own problems and in 319 00:19:55,270 --> 00:19:57,810 Speaker 1: some ways that led him to be discredited by people. 320 00:19:58,470 --> 00:20:01,649 Speaker 1: He was also very clearly on the side of the 321 00:20:01,690 --> 00:20:05,639 Speaker 1: temperance movement. In the third installment of the Leslie's Illustrated 322 00:20:05,740 --> 00:20:09,199 Speaker 1: story about swill milk, this was evident in writing that 323 00:20:09,260 --> 00:20:12,179 Speaker 1: mentions the evil of drink in the same sentence as 324 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:16,090 Speaker 1: the dangers of swill milk. Quote, wherever large masses of 325 00:20:16,140 --> 00:20:19,899 Speaker 1: people congregate, thus creating a great demand for milk, A 326 00:20:19,940 --> 00:20:23,179 Speaker 1: distillery springs up at once, and while this furnishes the 327 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,860 Speaker 1: fiery alcohol which makes the fathers and husbands drunkers, loafers, 328 00:20:27,980 --> 00:20:32,680 Speaker 1: and perhaps murderers, the filthy cow stables, which hang around 329 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:37,060 Speaker 1: it like bloated parasites, dispense the poison that deals death 330 00:20:37,140 --> 00:20:40,460 Speaker 1: to the mothers and children. And the public did get 331 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 1: angry when they learned that they had been feeding their 332 00:20:42,700 --> 00:20:45,770 Speaker 1: babies milk that was purposely filled with things like chalk. 333 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: Because Frank Leslie had published the names and addresses of 334 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: dairies that were making swill milk and passing it off 335 00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 1: as fresh milk from country dairies, many of those dairies 336 00:20:55,820 --> 00:20:59,500 Speaker 1: soon found angry mobs at their doors. For people and 337 00:20:59,540 --> 00:21:03,400 Speaker 1: reporters who had been talking about the obviously gross milk 338 00:21:03,460 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: for a while, it seemed like there was finally some hope. 339 00:21:07,300 --> 00:21:11,820 Speaker 1: A May 13, 1858 article titled How We Poison Our 340 00:21:11,900 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: Children that appeared in the New York Times read, quote, 341 00:21:15,730 --> 00:21:18,970 Speaker 1: Swill milk is no new thing in our city. Wherever 342 00:21:19,050 --> 00:21:22,970 Speaker 1: there is a distillery, there is a temptation to manufacture. 343 00:21:23,609 --> 00:21:28,060 Speaker 1: That particular write-up walked through all the investigations, the completely 344 00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,420 Speaker 1: gross things that had been found in milk, the stench 345 00:21:31,540 --> 00:21:34,860 Speaker 1: associated with the dairies that had become more and more 346 00:21:34,900 --> 00:21:38,080 Speaker 1: of a concern as cities grew and the neighborhoods were 347 00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:41,640 Speaker 1: built adjacent to the stables. There's a tone in this 348 00:21:41,740 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: piece that lauds Leslie as sort of a savior figure 349 00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: and encourages every head of a household to examine their 350 00:21:48,460 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: own milk for contaminants, while the city manages punitive measures 351 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: for the people involved in producing swill milk. On May 22nd, 352 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,100 Speaker 1: an article appeared in the New York Times titled Swill 353 00:22:00,140 --> 00:22:03,869 Speaker 1: Milk and Infant Mortality. The lead of the story stated 354 00:22:03,910 --> 00:22:06,709 Speaker 1: that the health commissioners agreed with Mayor Tiemann that the 355 00:22:06,790 --> 00:22:10,090 Speaker 1: problem of swill milk had to be addressed, and that they, quote, 356 00:22:10,430 --> 00:22:15,190 Speaker 1: promised to enter upon the performance of a long-neglected duty. Essentially, yes, 357 00:22:15,230 --> 00:22:16,929 Speaker 1: we should have been on top of this sooner, but 358 00:22:16,950 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: we're doing it now, okay? So the plan for the 359 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,220 Speaker 1: health commission was to, quote, operate with energy and firmness 360 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 1: to purify the stables where the disgusting stuff is manufactured. 361 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,439 Speaker 1: The article stated clearly that if the Board of Health 362 00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:36,369 Speaker 1: functioned at all, this should be something it addressed. And 363 00:22:36,430 --> 00:22:40,790 Speaker 1: it called for wide-sweeping condemnation and punishments to everyone in 364 00:22:40,830 --> 00:22:43,490 Speaker 1: the supply chain, stating, quote, we take it that the 365 00:22:43,550 --> 00:22:47,490 Speaker 1: city inspector is prepared to serve his three days' notice 366 00:22:48,020 --> 00:22:51,980 Speaker 1: upon the distillers who furnish the swill at wholesale, upon 367 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,220 Speaker 1: the proprietors of the stables, and upon the milkmen who 368 00:22:55,300 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: hawk the purulent stuff at the doors of citizens that 369 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:02,070 Speaker 1: they all and severally show cause before the board why 370 00:23:02,130 --> 00:23:06,350 Speaker 1: their work of death should not be discontinued. That same 371 00:23:06,470 --> 00:23:09,190 Speaker 1: article gets a jab in at politicians who feign to 372 00:23:09,230 --> 00:23:12,500 Speaker 1: be virtuous and care about their constituents, but then do 373 00:23:12,580 --> 00:23:15,700 Speaker 1: nothing once they're in office. And it entreats the administrators 374 00:23:15,740 --> 00:23:19,880 Speaker 1: involved to act not like that, but do proceed intelligently 375 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: and remember that the public health is at stake. The 376 00:23:23,020 --> 00:23:25,919 Speaker 1: writer also compares the milk crisis to the yellow fever 377 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,889 Speaker 1: outbreak in 1856, so just a couple years prior, during 378 00:23:29,930 --> 00:23:32,530 Speaker 1: which the Board of Health convened daily and took action, 379 00:23:32,970 --> 00:23:35,889 Speaker 1: comparing the relatively low number of deaths from yellow fever 380 00:23:35,930 --> 00:23:39,310 Speaker 1: in the city to the 8,000 children they calculated had 381 00:23:39,369 --> 00:23:43,899 Speaker 1: died in 1857 from swill milk consumption. What came of 382 00:23:43,940 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 1: all this information being shared and the calls to action 383 00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:49,340 Speaker 1: in the press? We will get into that in just 384 00:23:49,380 --> 00:23:52,159 Speaker 1: a moment, but first, we will hear about the sponsors 385 00:23:52,220 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: that keep the show going. The New York City alderman 386 00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:07,379 Speaker 1: assigned to the Swillmilt case did inspect the dairies. A 387 00:24:07,460 --> 00:24:10,429 Speaker 1: team was formed made up of Tammany Hall politician and 388 00:24:10,510 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: newly elected alderman Michael Twomey, who led the effort, and 389 00:24:14,180 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: Alderman E. Harrison Reed and William Tucker, with two additional 390 00:24:18,100 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: investigators assigned. But the team gave the accused dairies a 391 00:24:23,180 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 1: heads-up that they were coming. There were reports of diseased 392 00:24:27,220 --> 00:24:30,010 Speaker 1: cows being moved in the night and replaced with healthy 393 00:24:30,130 --> 00:24:32,949 Speaker 1: ones brought in from the country farms, and also of 394 00:24:33,050 --> 00:24:37,350 Speaker 1: stables being hastily cleaned. There was also a five-day hearing 395 00:24:37,630 --> 00:24:41,449 Speaker 1: in which testimony was heard regarding the whole matter. In 396 00:24:41,470 --> 00:24:45,820 Speaker 1: an unusual turn, the defense was heard first. Edwin P. Smith, 397 00:24:45,859 --> 00:24:49,060 Speaker 1: who was the superintendent of the Johnson & Sons stable 398 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: on 16th Street, which was one of the dairy stables 399 00:24:51,940 --> 00:24:55,439 Speaker 1: called out in numerous articles about swill milk, was the 400 00:24:55,460 --> 00:25:00,100 Speaker 1: first to testify. He stated that there were about 500 401 00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:02,540 Speaker 1: cows in the stable, although there had been as many 402 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,780 Speaker 1: as 800 earlier in the year. He said there had 403 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,140 Speaker 1: been sick cows there at various times, but very few. 404 00:25:09,810 --> 00:25:12,030 Speaker 1: And he claimed that the facility was running as normal 405 00:25:12,250 --> 00:25:15,169 Speaker 1: as it always had, including before the expose, and that 406 00:25:15,210 --> 00:25:19,060 Speaker 1: his family always drank milk from the swill-fed cows and 407 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,600 Speaker 1: were in fine health. The next witness was the stable's 408 00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:27,100 Speaker 1: feeding manager, James Atchison, who corroborated Smith's story. Yeah, I 409 00:25:27,140 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: never found a very clear reason why they went with 410 00:25:30,020 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: the defense first, other than the fact that all of 411 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: the accusations had kind of been leveled in the press 412 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,420 Speaker 1: for a while before this started, so... For some reason, 413 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,860 Speaker 1: they wanted to get first in. Atchison also added that 414 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,590 Speaker 1: some of the cows who may have appeared sick were 415 00:25:44,619 --> 00:25:47,850 Speaker 1: just reacting to routine inoculations and that he had never 416 00:25:47,930 --> 00:25:51,210 Speaker 1: seen any of his animals lose their teeth from eating swill. 417 00:25:52,010 --> 00:25:56,209 Speaker 1: He gave hard numbers, whether they're true or not, regarding 418 00:25:56,230 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: the proportion of sick cows. He said that three of 419 00:25:58,630 --> 00:26:01,060 Speaker 1: the 500 they had at the time of the hearing 420 00:26:01,100 --> 00:26:05,010 Speaker 1: were sick. And he also stated that cows only very rarely, quote, 421 00:26:05,109 --> 00:26:08,130 Speaker 1: lost the use of their limbs from standing in the stable. 422 00:26:08,869 --> 00:26:10,889 Speaker 1: That is according to coverage of the hearing by the 423 00:26:10,930 --> 00:26:14,810 Speaker 1: New York Times. There were several other witnesses called on 424 00:26:14,830 --> 00:26:18,609 Speaker 1: behalf of the swill milk stables. A Dr. Wells, who 425 00:26:18,630 --> 00:26:22,570 Speaker 1: was Superintendent Smith's family doctor, testified that he cared for 426 00:26:22,590 --> 00:26:25,669 Speaker 1: the entire Smith family and had never seen any of 427 00:26:25,730 --> 00:26:30,060 Speaker 1: them ill from drinking swill milk. Animal keeper Lewis Thomas 428 00:26:30,220 --> 00:26:33,200 Speaker 1: testified that he had cared for a large number of 429 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 1: the Johnson dairy cows and that they did not milk 430 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,570 Speaker 1: sick cows. Even a butcher who purchased cows from the 431 00:26:39,619 --> 00:26:42,730 Speaker 1: Johnson & Sons dairy testified that the stock was good 432 00:26:42,970 --> 00:26:45,649 Speaker 1: and the meat he had sold was high quality. On 433 00:26:45,690 --> 00:26:48,450 Speaker 1: the following day, the hearing was delayed. It was supposed 434 00:26:48,490 --> 00:26:51,340 Speaker 1: to start at 2 p.m., but the aldermen showed up late, 435 00:26:51,780 --> 00:26:53,740 Speaker 1: and then they went to a private office instead of 436 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 1: the hearing room. And eventually they emerged into the packed 437 00:26:56,900 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: city hall room and announced that Alderman Tucker was sick, 438 00:26:59,820 --> 00:27:03,740 Speaker 1: but that they were going to carry on. They called Dr. J.W. 439 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,699 Speaker 1: Francis to testify. Dr. Francis, who had been studying the 440 00:27:07,770 --> 00:27:10,669 Speaker 1: issue of swill milk for years at that point and 441 00:27:10,730 --> 00:27:13,929 Speaker 1: had studied dairy practices both in the U.S. and abroad, 442 00:27:14,410 --> 00:27:17,550 Speaker 1: was very open in his opinion that swill milk was 443 00:27:17,650 --> 00:27:21,470 Speaker 1: terrible for children, that cows fed distillery swill were in 444 00:27:21,530 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: a continuous state of inflammation and He also said that 445 00:27:24,820 --> 00:27:28,060 Speaker 1: their livers and stomachs were diseased, their tails and hoofs 446 00:27:28,220 --> 00:27:30,609 Speaker 1: often fell off. That was something that had also been 447 00:27:30,940 --> 00:27:33,050 Speaker 1: shown in some of the illustrations that had appeared in 448 00:27:33,070 --> 00:27:36,490 Speaker 1: the press, and that they were certain to become ill 449 00:27:36,570 --> 00:27:41,649 Speaker 1: due to their diet. Twomey kept asking if Dr. Francis 450 00:27:41,710 --> 00:27:45,950 Speaker 1: had chemically analyzed any of the milk himself. And the 451 00:27:45,990 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: doctor replied that he had not, but had read many 452 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:51,419 Speaker 1: reports on the matter and had treated children that had 453 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: become seriously ill from a diet of swill milk. Dr. 454 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,010 Speaker 1: Francis also cited the fact the issue of swill milk's 455 00:27:59,090 --> 00:28:03,050 Speaker 1: danger had been well-known and well-documented in the medical community 456 00:28:03,109 --> 00:28:07,710 Speaker 1: for years already. Throughout the hearing, Alderman Twomey was hostile 457 00:28:07,780 --> 00:28:12,540 Speaker 1: to witnesses who testified against the Swilderys, starting with Dr. Francis, 458 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:17,500 Speaker 1: who he interrupted repeatedly and accused of spreading rumors. The 459 00:28:17,580 --> 00:28:22,230 Speaker 1: alderman also let the Johnson Derry's medical expert question Dr. Francis. 460 00:28:22,830 --> 00:28:26,210 Speaker 1: The next doctor called was a Dr. Griscom, who reiterated 461 00:28:26,250 --> 00:28:29,200 Speaker 1: a lot of Dr. Francis's points. Yeah, if you read 462 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 1: through the word-by-word accounts printed in the paper, it sounds 463 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,830 Speaker 1: like Twomey was just constantly going, are you done? Are 464 00:28:36,850 --> 00:28:38,410 Speaker 1: you done? Are you done? Like, while they were in 465 00:28:38,430 --> 00:28:43,090 Speaker 1: the middle of discussing things. He was not cool. A 466 00:28:43,150 --> 00:28:47,090 Speaker 1: farmer named Norman Van Nostrand testified that, yes, there were 467 00:28:47,190 --> 00:28:49,960 Speaker 1: cows that were so ill in the 16th Street dairy 468 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: that they had to be suspended from straps, but that 469 00:28:53,020 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: he was under the impression that their milk was given 470 00:28:55,260 --> 00:28:58,380 Speaker 1: to the hogs and never sold to the public. But 471 00:28:58,460 --> 00:29:01,530 Speaker 1: after those first two days, a lot of testimony backed 472 00:29:01,590 --> 00:29:05,350 Speaker 1: up all the stories of horrible animal treatment and adulterated milk. 473 00:29:06,170 --> 00:29:09,010 Speaker 1: Before the Saturday session of the hearings could even begin, 474 00:29:09,090 --> 00:29:11,690 Speaker 1: there was a lot of back and forth about whether 475 00:29:11,810 --> 00:29:15,250 Speaker 1: legal counsel should be on hand and whether the hearing 476 00:29:15,290 --> 00:29:19,930 Speaker 1: was considered a legal investigation. All present were assured that 477 00:29:19,950 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 1: it was not a legal matter, but merely an inquiry 478 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,950 Speaker 1: by a committee of the Board of Health with a 479 00:29:26,030 --> 00:29:30,700 Speaker 1: narrow focus of determining whether swill milk was detrimental to health. 480 00:29:31,100 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 1: The next witness called was the city inspector, a Mr. Morton, 481 00:29:34,620 --> 00:29:37,850 Speaker 1: and his testimony was quite damning. He spoke of having 482 00:29:37,890 --> 00:29:42,340 Speaker 1: the stables watched years before and seeing diseased cows dressed 483 00:29:42,380 --> 00:29:45,700 Speaker 1: for market after they died there. He spoke of his 484 00:29:45,780 --> 00:29:48,620 Speaker 1: employees that were sent to watch the swill stables being 485 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 1: driven away by dairy employees. He also noted that he 486 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,060 Speaker 1: had visited some of the stables to find cows being 487 00:29:55,100 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: kept in stalls too small to allow them to move 488 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,300 Speaker 1: around at all or even to lie down. Health Warren 489 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:07,260 Speaker 1: Louis J. Kirk also testified. He had performed post-mortem examinations 490 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: of some of the swill milk cows and described them 491 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: as being, quote, very much diseased. When asked about the 492 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,220 Speaker 1: conditions of the stables, he stated, quote, it is not 493 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:20,020 Speaker 1: just the place for a cow if you want to 494 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:24,070 Speaker 1: keep her healthy. He was quickly dismissed. The rest of 495 00:30:24,110 --> 00:30:26,890 Speaker 1: the hearing played out in a similar way, with witnesses 496 00:30:26,950 --> 00:30:29,450 Speaker 1: who spoke well of the swill milk stables being asked 497 00:30:29,870 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: the same sorts of softball questions repeatedly, reiterating the health 498 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 1: of the animals and the suitability of the milk for consumption. 499 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,260 Speaker 1: Witnesses who were critical of the swill milk dairies were 500 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: often cut off or interrupted or had their credibility undermined 501 00:30:44,420 --> 00:30:47,940 Speaker 1: by the committee. Frank Leslie became so frustrated that he 502 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: stopped attending midway through the five-day hearing. As the newspapers 503 00:30:52,740 --> 00:30:56,460 Speaker 1: reported on the daily events and testimonies, these accounts often 504 00:30:56,540 --> 00:31:02,300 Speaker 1: ran alongside expert opinions in the paper. The June 1st, 505 00:31:02,300 --> 00:31:05,420 Speaker 1: 1858 New York Times included a statement that opened with, 506 00:31:06,030 --> 00:31:08,950 Speaker 1: now that the public mind is aroused to the horrible 507 00:31:09,150 --> 00:31:12,390 Speaker 1: evils of the slop milk trade and its destructive effects 508 00:31:12,470 --> 00:31:16,430 Speaker 1: on infant life, the time appears opportune to present the 509 00:31:16,470 --> 00:31:21,560 Speaker 1: testimony of physicians on the subject. For however indisputable and 510 00:31:21,700 --> 00:31:25,500 Speaker 1: conclusive may be the language of facts and experience in 511 00:31:25,580 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: reference to the evil, yet from its very nature the 512 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,680 Speaker 1: demonstration might appear incomplete in some minds without the testimony 513 00:31:32,780 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: of medical men. That statement was signed by more than 514 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,140 Speaker 1: four dozen doctors. They included death statistics of infants and 515 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,200 Speaker 1: their belief that swill milk was contributing to many of 516 00:31:44,260 --> 00:31:47,550 Speaker 1: the infant fatalities in New York and Brooklyn. At the 517 00:31:47,610 --> 00:31:50,709 Speaker 1: end of the investigation, the aldermen took several weeks to 518 00:31:50,770 --> 00:31:54,430 Speaker 1: review the material, and then they issued their opinion. And 519 00:31:54,450 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 1: that was that swill milk was not dangerous to the 520 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:01,540 Speaker 1: health of infants or adults. The only criticisms they made 521 00:32:01,580 --> 00:32:04,220 Speaker 1: were that the ventilation in the stables could be better 522 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,040 Speaker 1: and that the stalls could be widened, but that they 523 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:11,200 Speaker 1: saw healthy animals in good condition and well-kept facilities when 524 00:32:11,220 --> 00:32:14,250 Speaker 1: they visited. So we should mention that there was one 525 00:32:14,590 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: vocal dissenter on the city council, and that was Councilman 526 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,460 Speaker 1: Charles H. Haswell, who was one of the investigators assigned 527 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:24,700 Speaker 1: to the team. He wrote his own minority report as 528 00:32:24,780 --> 00:32:28,420 Speaker 1: the hearing's conclusion. He believed that the stables had been 529 00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:31,750 Speaker 1: cleaned only for the committee's visit and that swill milk was, 530 00:32:31,870 --> 00:32:36,050 Speaker 1: in fact, quote, injurious to health. One journalist called this 531 00:32:36,110 --> 00:32:39,910 Speaker 1: a manly and sensible minority report. That turn of phrase 532 00:32:39,950 --> 00:32:44,170 Speaker 1: made me laugh a little bit. That majority report of 533 00:32:44,190 --> 00:32:48,050 Speaker 1: the council caused outrage, of course. In the July 16th 534 00:32:48,090 --> 00:32:50,570 Speaker 1: edition of the New York Tribune, a commentary on the 535 00:32:50,610 --> 00:32:54,750 Speaker 1: situation started with, quote, Upon printing the second day's proceedings 536 00:32:54,790 --> 00:32:56,870 Speaker 1: of the Committee on the Swill Milk Business on the 537 00:32:57,030 --> 00:32:59,969 Speaker 1: 3rd of June, we foresaw that the affair was to 538 00:33:00,010 --> 00:33:02,490 Speaker 1: be a mere farce, that the report would be made 539 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: as favorable as possible to the swill men. But when 540 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,660 Speaker 1: the highest medical talent in the city came forward to 541 00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 1: denounce the business, as little short of licensed infanticide, when 542 00:33:13,180 --> 00:33:16,340 Speaker 1: the health officers showed that the rotten carcasses of cows 543 00:33:16,700 --> 00:33:20,610 Speaker 1: were surreptitiously sold for human food, even in the best markets, 544 00:33:21,310 --> 00:33:24,570 Speaker 1: when citizens of high standing added their personal knowledge of 545 00:33:24,590 --> 00:33:27,770 Speaker 1: the filthy nature of the business and the offensive character 546 00:33:27,810 --> 00:33:30,400 Speaker 1: of the stables, when not a voice was raised in 547 00:33:30,460 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: favor of the nuisance, except from persons immediately interested therein, 548 00:33:35,100 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 1: we could not believe that could have induced any three 549 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,890 Speaker 1: members of the committee to make a report so utterly 550 00:33:41,970 --> 00:33:45,510 Speaker 1: opposed to the evidence as that which they finally produced. 551 00:33:46,090 --> 00:33:50,930 Speaker 1: Frank Leslie's newspaper skewered the committee members on July 10th, writing, quote, 552 00:33:50,990 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: the committee of the Board of Health selected by Mayor Tymon, 553 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:58,500 Speaker 1: having ended their labors, have handed in their report. Everyone 554 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:01,820 Speaker 1: predicted the nature of the report, not, however, from the 555 00:34:01,900 --> 00:34:05,590 Speaker 1: character of the evidence brought forward, but from the character 556 00:34:05,620 --> 00:34:09,549 Speaker 1: of certain men composing the committee. They have subscribed their 557 00:34:09,610 --> 00:34:13,390 Speaker 1: names to a series of deliberate lies. They have distorted facts. 558 00:34:13,830 --> 00:34:17,169 Speaker 1: They have become false witnesses. At the same time being 559 00:34:17,250 --> 00:34:20,770 Speaker 1: corrupt judges, they have trifled with and periled the health 560 00:34:20,810 --> 00:34:23,930 Speaker 1: of the city. They have taken counsel with the owners 561 00:34:23,989 --> 00:34:26,859 Speaker 1: of the nuisance they were looked to abate. They have 562 00:34:26,900 --> 00:34:30,049 Speaker 1: betrayed the trust reposed in them by their constituents and 563 00:34:30,070 --> 00:34:33,530 Speaker 1: the Board of Health. They have proved themselves every way 564 00:34:33,770 --> 00:34:40,250 Speaker 1: immeasurably false, incapable, and corrupt. This article excludes Haswell as a, quote, 565 00:34:40,450 --> 00:34:44,549 Speaker 1: gentleman and consequently an honest man for his dissenting report. 566 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 1: In an effort to prove that Tuomi had possibly taken 567 00:34:47,700 --> 00:34:51,340 Speaker 1: a bribe to find in favor of the Swillmote producers... 568 00:34:51,340 --> 00:34:54,540 Speaker 1: An affidavit that had been sworn to Robert Stribbig, Commissioner 569 00:34:54,580 --> 00:34:58,419 Speaker 1: of Deeds, was printed in Leslie's. A person, not named 570 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,759 Speaker 1: by the paper, although they said they would provide that 571 00:35:00,860 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 1: information to the appropriate authorities, said that they witnessed the 572 00:35:04,739 --> 00:35:09,100 Speaker 1: alderman visiting Bradish Johnson, the owner of the 16th Street Dairy, 573 00:35:09,260 --> 00:35:13,560 Speaker 1: on May 26th, two days before the committee visited the facility. 574 00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:17,739 Speaker 1: That same person also saw Twomey return to Johnson's home 575 00:35:17,780 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 1: later that evening, staying three hours from 7.30 to 10.30 p.m. 576 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,700 Speaker 1: Michael Twomey, along with Reed and Tucker, were also featured 577 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:30,340 Speaker 1: in a cartoon in Frank Leslie's Illustrated showing the three 578 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:36,109 Speaker 1: men whitewashing sick cows, their pockets stuffed with money. Twomey 579 00:35:36,140 --> 00:35:39,730 Speaker 1: and Reed filed libel suits against Frank Leslie, although those 580 00:35:39,830 --> 00:35:43,469 Speaker 1: suits seemed to fizzle out, they were abandoned, maybe in 581 00:35:43,489 --> 00:35:46,130 Speaker 1: an effort on the parts of these aldermen to distance 582 00:35:46,230 --> 00:35:50,060 Speaker 1: themselves from this whole thing. And of course, this entire 583 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,070 Speaker 1: episode had the effect of scaring a lot of people 584 00:35:53,270 --> 00:35:56,870 Speaker 1: away from all milk so that legitimate dairy farmers found 585 00:35:56,910 --> 00:36:01,189 Speaker 1: themselves worried about their futures. A write-up titled The Milk 586 00:36:01,250 --> 00:36:04,450 Speaker 1: Business of Long Island appeared in the Brooklyn Evening Star 587 00:36:04,590 --> 00:36:08,540 Speaker 1: on June 11, 1858, while the committee was still prepping 588 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,839 Speaker 1: its report. And in the Evening Star, the case was 589 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,440 Speaker 1: made that only about 10,000 of the 100,000 quarts of 590 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:19,759 Speaker 1: milk consumed in Brooklyn each day came via railroad from 591 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:24,140 Speaker 1: wholesome dairies. It described the farmers producing this wholesome milk 592 00:36:24,239 --> 00:36:28,380 Speaker 1: as quote, well-conditioned Quakers owning their own farms and conducting 593 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:32,920 Speaker 1: their affairs with industry and conscientiousness. It was just a 594 00:36:32,980 --> 00:36:36,500 Speaker 1: matter of getting consumers on board with this higher quality 595 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:39,360 Speaker 1: of milk, which could be gotten in much greater amounts, 596 00:36:39,540 --> 00:36:42,720 Speaker 1: according to this placed article. There was also a list 597 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,100 Speaker 1: of the dairies of Long Island that had been certified 598 00:36:45,140 --> 00:36:48,480 Speaker 1: for their quality, touting that they had full grazing pastures 599 00:36:48,580 --> 00:36:51,490 Speaker 1: filled with healthy cows and that their farms were open 600 00:36:51,550 --> 00:36:55,450 Speaker 1: for anyone to visit for inspection. Michael Twomey ran for 601 00:36:55,510 --> 00:37:00,029 Speaker 1: Congress later that year, but was soundly beaten. He did 602 00:37:00,090 --> 00:37:04,090 Speaker 1: continue a political career, but the swill milk scandal stuck 603 00:37:04,140 --> 00:37:08,480 Speaker 1: to his reputation for decades. In 1878, 20 years after 604 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:10,880 Speaker 1: the worst of the New York milk crisis, this was 605 00:37:10,980 --> 00:37:14,060 Speaker 1: still used to skewer him in the press. When he 606 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,569 Speaker 1: ran for coroner that year, a long article came out 607 00:37:17,620 --> 00:37:21,130 Speaker 1: that rehashed his part in the events of 1858 and 608 00:37:21,290 --> 00:37:25,029 Speaker 1: reiterated the commonly held belief that corruption had been at 609 00:37:25,070 --> 00:37:28,710 Speaker 1: the center of the committee's handling of this matter. Although 610 00:37:28,750 --> 00:37:32,130 Speaker 1: the 1858 committee's findings were a disappointment to New York 611 00:37:32,230 --> 00:37:35,750 Speaker 1: and Brooklyn activists and residents who hoped that this swill 612 00:37:35,790 --> 00:37:38,879 Speaker 1: milk problem would be addressed, the issue did not end there. 613 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:43,100 Speaker 1: Calls for reform to save the city's children continued to 614 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:47,320 Speaker 1: be made of local and state government. Concurrently, issues of 615 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:51,100 Speaker 1: adulterated milk and protests over it developed in other U.S. 616 00:37:51,140 --> 00:37:55,760 Speaker 1: cities as well. And as train transport and preservation science advanced, 617 00:37:56,260 --> 00:37:59,060 Speaker 1: it became easier to supply the growing needs of heavily 618 00:37:59,100 --> 00:38:06,719 Speaker 1: populated area with healthy milk from trustworthy dairies. On April 23, 1862, 619 00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:09,860 Speaker 1: an act to prevent the adulteration of milk and prevent 620 00:38:09,900 --> 00:38:14,279 Speaker 1: the traffic in impure and unwholesome milk was passed into 621 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:17,460 Speaker 1: law in New York. This was one of many steps 622 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,060 Speaker 1: toward the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act 623 00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:27,530 Speaker 1: of 1906 at the federal level. So, uh... That's pretty, 624 00:38:28,250 --> 00:38:32,230 Speaker 1: pretty gross. It's horrifying. Yeah. And I mean, a lot 625 00:38:32,270 --> 00:38:35,270 Speaker 1: of newspapers from that time were really sensationalized in how 626 00:38:35,310 --> 00:38:41,120 Speaker 1: they covered things. But even taking that into account, still horrifying. Yeah. 627 00:38:41,380 --> 00:38:44,319 Speaker 1: I mean, a lot of them were running like the 628 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,180 Speaker 1: word for word testimonies from the hearing. And so it 629 00:38:47,219 --> 00:38:51,360 Speaker 1: becomes pretty obvious like how that was playing out and 630 00:38:51,420 --> 00:39:00,850 Speaker 1: how utterly horrible it was. Yeah. Yeah. Super gross. Thanks 631 00:39:00,870 --> 00:39:03,750 Speaker 1: so much for joining us on this Saturday. If you'd 632 00:39:03,790 --> 00:39:05,700 Speaker 1: like to send us a note, our email address is 633 00:39:05,820 --> 00:39:11,020 Speaker 1: historypodcast at iheartradio.com. And you can subscribe to the show 634 00:39:11,140 --> 00:39:14,510 Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 635 00:39:14,550 --> 00:39:15,570 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.