by John Marshall Harlan

“ Congress went no farther than to make it an offense against the United States for any one knowingly to take or send from one state or territory to another state or territory, or into the District of Columbia, or from the District into any state, live stock affected with infectious or communicable disease. The animal industry act did not make it an offense against the United States to send from one state into another live stock which the shipper did not know were diseased. ”

“ Being asked by one of the witnesses whether he had or not allowed the state board of sanitary inspection to inspect the cattle or whether or not he had procured from the state veterinary sanitary board a certificate or bill of health to the effect that the cattle were free from all infectious or contagious diseases, the defendant said 'that the state board of sanitary inspection, through one of their inspectors, had inspected the cattle against his will and desire, but that he had not obtained from the board any certificate or bill of health whatsoever. ”

“ There was no proof in the case that the particular cattle in question had any dangerous, infectious, or contagious disease. But it did appear that after being kept a long while in Lubbock and Cochran counties, Texas, south of the 36th parallel of north latitude, these cattle were shipped on the 20th day of June, 1901, to Denver, Colorado, on their way to their ultimate destination in Wyoming, without being first inspected as required by the statute of the former state. The provisions of the Colorado statute were ignored altogether as invalid legislation. ”

“ One is the ascertainment through the Agricultural Department of the condition of the domestic animals of the United States, the causes of contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases affecting them, the best methods for treating, transporting, and caring for animals, the means to be adopted for the suppression and extirpation of such diseases, particularly that of contagious pleuro-pneumonia, and to collect such information on those subjects as will be valuable to the agricultural and commercial interests of the country. ”

“ But the difficulty with the defendant's case is that Congress has not by any statute covered the whole subject of the transportation of live stock among the several states, and, except in certain particulars not involving the present issue, has left a wide field for the exercise by the states of their power, by appropriate regulations, to protect their domestic animals against contagious, infectious, and communicable diseases. ”

“ It shall be unlawful for any person, association, or corporation to bring or drive, or cause to be brought or driven, into this state any cattle or horses having an infectious or contagious disease, or which have been herded, or brought into contact, with any other cattle or horses laboring under such disease, at any time within ninety days prior to their importation into this state. ”