386 THE MEANS OF PREVENTION. 



will assume the rinderpest — breaks out at any place, say Columbus, 

 Ohio, the law requires the owner, attendant quack, empiric, or regular 

 practitioner, to at once notify the next veterinary official of the 

 State of the suspicion or actual appearance of the disease. If the 

 former is very strong, or becomes at once confirmed, he at once no- 

 tifies the inspector-general of his State, who at once notifies every 

 official veterinarian in the State, and the inspector-general at Wash- 

 ington. The latter notifies each State general inspector, who in 

 his turn notifies the State veterinary officials. What is the result ? 

 An absolute quarantine of every head of cattle in this whole country. 

 Not a single one can be moved without the permit of an official 

 veterinarian. All transported cattle are watched from place of ship- 

 ment to destination. Extension, under such circumstances, is re- 

 duced to the lowest possible limit. The same is true of every other 

 contagious animal disease. Smuggling or remov^al across State 

 boundaries of suspected or diseased animals becomes useless, for 

 notification is at once transmitted from the one State to the other. 

 There is no opposition between the authorities of different States. 

 The laws are the same. The officials belong to one organization. 

 They are appointed for a term of years. Truly, every one must see 

 that in this case we have unity in purpose and strength to execute the 

 laws. State rights are respected, individual rights honored, yet both 

 State and individual receive the fullest amount of protection for 

 their animal property which it is in the power of science to bestow. 

 I have said that the national veterinary inspector should be attached 

 to the N^ational Board of Health, and that the whole ' veterinary 

 sanitary organization should be a part of a grand national system of 

 preventive medicine. We have a National Board of Health. Oth- 

 ers have expressed their ideas of its work, therefore it may be 

 allowed me to close this section of my book with some of my own, 

 crude as they may appear. 



The National Board of Health was called into being simply on 

 account of the yellow fever. Its work, uj) to the present time, has 

 been chiefly limited to the study of that disease, and in seeking for 

 means looking toward its prevention. This much-needed work 

 should be amply supported, and obstinately persevered in, but we 

 may be sure that many years will elapse before any marked success 

 will crown our efforts. Success will come, however, if the Ameri- 

 can people can keep their balance long enough not to cry out for a 

 false economy, which is the last cry one should hear in this impor- 

 tant branch of our Government. The work of a National Board of 

 Health has, however, scarcely begun when it is limited to yellow 



