Seattle Dairymen Face Lawsuits Over Contaminated Milk
A series of lawsuits alleges that local milk suppliers sold tainted dairy, leading to severe illness in children.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The blow at the pocketbooks of a number of local dairymen has been struck in the civil courts. Attorney George C. Congdon has started suit in a number of cases for heavy damages in behalf of persons who have been put to expense and hardships by reason of illness occasioned in their families by milk poisoning. Papers in several cases have been served, among them being the case of George W. Mockwitz of Interbay against F. J. Edmunds, proprietor of the Maple Mountain dairy, for $2000, and that of Mrs. M. Miller of South Seattle vs. P. Denny, proprietor of a dairy at Van Asselt, for $500. In the latter case, the healthy little baby of Mrs. Miller was reduced to a pitiable skeleton, under the formaldehyde treatment, before the trouble could be discovered by Dr. Ludlow, the attending physician.
“In the latter case, the healthy little baby of Mrs. Miller was reduced to a pitiable skeleton, under the formaldehyde treatment.”
This story predates modern food safety regulations, reflecting a time when 'milk poisoning' was a frequent and terrifying reality of urban life, similar to contemporary concerns about the oversight and safety of food supply chains.
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