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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON 25, D. C. Albuquerque, N. M. September 8, 1947 The President The White House Dear Mr. President: The folks in the Department have sent on to me your letter of August 25 about your brother's neighbors who believe they have a cure for foot-and-mouth disease. I appreciate, as you do, the offer of these good people to help in fighting the disease that has gained such a foothold in Mexico. I am going to have our people in the Bureau of Animal Industry get in touch with Mr. Burgdoerfer to ascertain whether he has information not available to them. If he is willing to inform the Bureau of the formula and manner of use of his preparation, it will be given thorough consideration. Our scientists in the Bureau of Animal Industry have given me their comments concerning the possibility that the preparation suggested by Mr. Burgdoerfer may have some usefulness in the campaign in Mexico. They tell me that they have received many communications from public spirited people offering a variety of preparations to combat the disease. Drawing upon the know- ledge gained from many years of extensive experimentation and field operations in European and South American countries where the disease is endemic, as well as from the several outbreaks in the United States, our people say that no substance is known which can "cure" the disease, Our entire effort in the Mexican campaign is to eradicate the disease and not merely to temporize with it by treating the individually affected animals. As you know, the nature of foot-and-mouth disease is such that most of the animals recover without any treatment, although with considerable loss from the standpoint of meat or milk production and breeding value. It is therefore rather easy to arrive too quickly at a conclusion that a particular treatment has been effective. It would be disastrous to an eradication campaign to embark upon a program of treatment of the animals without thorough knowledge of the efficiency of the treatment. From our experience FOR VICTORY BUY UNITED STATES WAR BONDS AND STAMPS

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Page context
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    "ocrText": "DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE\nWASHINGTON 25, D. C.\nAlbuquerque, N. M.\nSeptember 8, 1947\nThe President\nThe White House\nDear Mr. President:\nThe folks in the Department have sent on to me your letter of\nAugust 25 about your brother's neighbors who believe they have a\ncure for foot-and-mouth disease. I appreciate, as you do, the\noffer of these good people to help in fighting the disease that\nhas gained such a foothold in Mexico.\nI am going to have our people in the Bureau of Animal Industry\nget in touch with Mr. Burgdoerfer to ascertain whether he has\ninformation not available to them. If he is willing to inform\nthe Bureau of the formula and manner of use of his preparation,\nit will be given thorough consideration.\nOur scientists in the Bureau of Animal Industry have given me\ntheir comments concerning the possibility that the preparation\nsuggested by Mr. Burgdoerfer may have some usefulness in the\ncampaign in Mexico. They tell me that they have received many\ncommunications from public spirited people offering a variety\nof preparations to combat the disease. Drawing upon the know-\nledge gained from many years of extensive experimentation and\nfield operations in European and South American countries where\nthe disease is endemic, as well as from the several outbreaks\nin the United States, our people say that no substance is known\nwhich can \"cure\" the disease, Our entire effort in the Mexican\ncampaign is to eradicate the disease and not merely to temporize\nwith it by treating the individually affected animals.\nAs you know, the nature of foot-and-mouth disease is such that\nmost of the animals recover without any treatment, although with\nconsiderable loss from the standpoint of meat or milk production\nand breeding value. It is therefore rather easy to arrive too\nquickly at a conclusion that a particular treatment has been\neffective. It would be disastrous to an eradication campaign to\nembark upon a program of treatment of the animals without thorough\nknowledge of the efficiency of the treatment. From our experience\nFOR VICTORY\nBUY\nUNITED\nSTATES\nWAR\nBONDS\nAND\nSTAMPS"
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