SHUFFLING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 397, 5 January 1909, Page 2

SHUFFLING.

''.'■'■ CKARCE AGAINST THE RAILWAYS. , .DIRTY STOCK TRUCKS. ' '.',, • There was a- general complaint of, 'dirty sheep trucks.ior the conveyance of stock at the recent Wairarapa.- Show. _ Consequently' the Wairarapa A. and P. Association wroteto the Railway Department complaining of the trucks.; A reply was received the other dayjto. the effect that, as the Carterton stationmaster had stated that hfe had -, seen ho dirty trucks, and the association- had written, thanking the Department for its,courtesy, its letter of complaint could, not:be understood. ; ..,, , ; ;, . - ' At the. last meeting of the association'> the matter was further discussed,.when;Mr. W. C. Buchanan, M.P., expressed the opinion: that the' Department was shuffling.the question. It was. a -wellJfflbwh;,fact,- said':-Mr." Buchanan, that the trucks were very, dirty.•"This opinion. was : corroborated, by.Mr. OE. Eagle, jun., and Mr. Buchanan said that he would have- great pleasure in : assisting to draft a suitable: reply to -the' • Department. There ,was no. doubt about the courtesy; of the railway officials, but that virtue was, aNegligible one; in comparison with .the cleanness of cattle trucks. ' ;, -,;, • _ .-..,.,, ..y.,',. ■It may be.stated (adds our correspondent)' that stock-breeders made:a very loud .complaint regarding the dirty; state of the rail-; 'way trucks; which conveyed their,.cattle: t<) : 'the Wairarapa Show. :The matter ,is ; somewhat serious to stock-breeders, .as their- sheeD, and cattle are : valuable, and rare quite liable to contract/disease through being carried ,ifl. infected vehicles. >. The general view of ...those who are complaining in, the matter is thatthe condition of many of the railway : stocktrucks is a travesty upon Mr. M.'Nab's .proposed dairy regulations.';... .• .: ' •.';-!.., A Serious Necessity/ ; ',-■■ •In reference to these Wairarapa complaints recorded'by our Wairarapa correspondent; it is interesting to recall- what happened to the"' famous champion dairy cow Granny's' Girl. .After that valuable'animal" (worth over £100) had returned home-from the last Manawatir Show, she developed a serious contagious disease of the udder. v Among the sources of infection suggested as the origin of the disease was' the railway truck in which- she travelled to and from the show. Whether or not this, suggestion was anywhere near the truth still remains, a matter of conjecture,, but if the Railway .Department persists;; in treating complaints with the' indifference: re; .yealed m the letter to the Wairarapa body, it will probably increase, the suspicion which is already gathering around its cattle trucks and arouse against it a very-hostile feeling from show exhibitors and stock owners generally.: I! '- ";;::■::;:"', •;■ --;';: -.■:'■:. \ Dirt and Disease, ... ;■" The. trouble is not one merely of dirt. The departmental officers surely cannot be aware that the excreta; of cattle is the most prolific . of all sources of infection of .tuberculosis. And among other, very serious' diseases com-, muhicablo from-infected cattle VtrucksT-eh-dangering both the dairy cows' and the human beings who drink their milk—are mammitis and cow pox.-From uncleaned cattle'trucks all of these diseases may he contraoted by the travelling animals' and carried home and spread throughout valuable herds. ; - r - Decenoy and Disinfectants. ; It is therefore not only a question of ordhi- . riryj decency that is 'involved,: but a matter concerning 'the prevention.of very serious disease's.' The, three diseases'pained exist' allarge 6xtent : 'throu^out ,; Nejy Zealand, and tluß,'faftief tKan'' justifying -iridif-, ference onthe 'part of 'the' Railway greater caution.'Even . the mere, syringing''.of; theTmuokjfrom.'■ the' ■floors,, of the. trucks: is fluite'iriadequate to the • ;requirtmentV'of the' ! ■ tone, of-the'^complaint's;'''evens- this 'ii\riOt done'' ; (afterievery/loa'd. . Nothing-; short -at a.proper' ■'. disinfecting- of-' every! truck. after: every- 'load-' will . make-these -truoks :; safe^-for use for•healthy stook: -■ If the.Wairarapa people,- and -those interested in• the:/other.shows of the Dominion, demand this from the. Railway. Department,-' they; may ,-feel at least- that''they are demanding only - what is both essentia]. and reasonable.;' And doubtless the. genera! public, who are'interested .hi -anything that will minimisethespread of disease among the cattle'whose milk' and flesh; they -consume,' will support them in their battle with the Department. ~'r". '.. ■'.'■.'■'.■:.".' - r ' : ■■'.'■■'■ ";-;': ■'■"