September 10, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



325 



for just compensation at market value for 

 all stock, pedigreed or otherwise, destroyed 

 by state or nation, in the work of extirpa- 

 ting animal diseases; such compensation 

 to be fixed by two appraisers, one ap- 

 pointed by the sanitary authorities and the 

 other by the owner of the stock, etc. ' ' 



The bitterness has apparently been in- 

 tensified by the appraisals of the agents of 

 the bureau, unsatisfactory to the owners of 

 pure-bred and high-grade live stock. There 

 are apparently two questions involved: 

 one is the delay in diagnosis and quaran- 

 tine, the other is the matter of the appraisal 

 of prize cattle. Thus far only one side of 

 the question has been heard and it would 

 seem fitting that judgment of the bureau 

 should be suspended until the report of the 

 committee of investigation is available. 

 Whatever the blame for the outbreak, there 

 can be no serious criticism of the efliorts of 

 the veterinarians to eradicate it. All that 

 was humanly possible was done to check 

 its progress after the disease was deter- 

 mined, and it is only fair to render credit 

 for what has been accomplished. We do 

 not believe the veterinarians should be de- 

 posed as administrators of sanitary aiiairs. 

 We do not believe a stockman, "not a 

 scientist," no matter how high his business 

 qualifications, could have rendered more 

 efficient service in cleaning up the outbreak 

 than have the veterinarians. 



Sanitary administration is one thing ; ap- 

 praisal is another. Appraising does not 

 come in the veterinary curriculum. We 

 believe the two should not be confused. 

 The second resolution of the National 

 Records Association is an admission that 

 the remedy for this cause of bitterness is 

 legislation by the states and nation and in 

 this remedy the stockman may expect the 

 hearty cooperation of the veterinarian. It 

 is gratifying at this time to say that New 

 York state is the first to enact legislation of 



this character. Because appraisals are not 

 satisfactory is no reason why veterinarians 

 should be displaced in the administration 

 of sanitary affairs. The remedy is in 

 legislation. 



Lamentable as this experience with foot 

 and mouth disease has been, it points the 

 way clearly, among other things, to the 

 fact that a technical veterinary education 

 should be built upon something more than 

 a grammar-school foundation. Something 

 more than the general education of a child 

 of thirteen or fourteen years should form 

 the basis of a preparation for technical 

 studies which are to fit him to stand as a 

 bulwark of protection between insidious 

 diseases, on the one hand, and the health of 

 millions of dollars' worth of live stock, on 

 the other. 



Some years ago a former Secretary of 

 Agriculture, with the idea of improving the 

 service of the United States Veterinary In- 

 spectors, through a committee of veterina- 

 rians, formulated certain changes in the 

 curricula of the veterinary schools. The 

 recommendations of the committee were 

 converted into regulations by the Secretary 

 of Agriculture and the United States Civil 

 Service Commission. Although it was stated 

 that there was no desire to control the 

 schools, but merely to make known the re- 

 quirements of the government for grad- 

 uates who planned to enter the service of 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry as vet- 

 erinary inspectors, the effect was much the 

 same as control, as apparently none of the 

 intitutions were desirous of being omitted 

 from the list of eligible schools as pub- 

 lished by the department. We have always 

 felt that the secretary erred in regarding 

 the curriculum as more important than 

 the man. 



To improve conditions it would seem 

 logical that the effort should begin at the 

 foundation and that it should be unneces- 



