Swill milk scandal

For the same sanitary reasons that made milk popular, Americans consumed alcohol at the highest per capita rates in US history,[4] and New York City was home to a large number of distilleries.

Distilleries in London had experimented with feeding the waste product of their industry—the fermented mash of rye, barley, and wheat commonly referred to as "swill"—to cattle with some success, and New York City distillers soon followed suit.

[8] Swill milk dairies were noted for their filthy conditions and overpowering stench both caused by the close confinement of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of cows in narrow stalls where, once farmers tied them, they would stay for the rest of their lives, often standing in their own manure, covered with flies and sores, and suffering from a range of virulent diseases.

[11] The Tammany Hall politician Alderman Michael Tuomey, known as "Butcher Mike", defended the distillers vigorously throughout the scandal—in fact, he was put in charge of the Board of Health investigation.

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper staked out distillery owner Bradish Johnson's mansion at 21st and Broadway and reported that amid the investigation, Tuomey was observed making late-night visits.