52 ESSENTIALS OF VETERINARY LAW 
exceeded their authority, and the issuance of the 
license was secured by mandamus.!” 
The issuance of the license is a purely executive 
duty, even when the officer issuing it is vested with 
discretion.1® If the statute merely requires presen- 
tation of a diploma from a legally organized col- 
lege, the officer must be satisfied that the diploma 
is genuine, that it was issued from a college which 
was legally organized, and that the holder is law- 
fully entitled to the same. Frauds have been at- 
tempted in each of these points. If in addition, the 
statute adds the requirement that the college shall 
be of good standing, without making it clear what 
the basis of judgment must be, it is left to the board 
to determine this point, and it is presumed that the 
board shall act with discretion, and not arbitrarily. 
All tests must be reasonable and impartial; they 
must not violate the principle of equal protection, 
nor create any special privilege. The qualification 
required must be obtainable by reasonable effort.!® 
There is no ‘‘school’’ in science, and the idea of a 
‘school’? of medical practice is essentially com- 
mercial. The law should be based upon scientific 
knowledge and training, and as such no special 
method of treatment should be favored or dis- 
criminated against.®° 
Owing to the very great differences which were 
found in the teaching of different schools, and as 
17 State v. Lutz, 136 Mo. 633. Health, 22 Ky. L. 438, 50 L. R. 
18 People v. Apfelbaum, 251 A. 386; State v. Gregory, 83 
Til. 18. Mo. 123; White v. Carroll, 42 
19 Dent v. West Virginia, 129 N. Y. 161; Allopathic St. Bd. 
U.S. 114. of Medical Examiners v. Fow- 
20Nelson v. State Bd. of ler, 50 La. Ann. 1358, 24 8. 809. 
