PROFESSIONAL ETHICS. 
43 
puting the diagnosis of another, and speaking of his treatment 
in a sneering way. While, strictly speaking, we may not have 
said anything against him, by insinuating we have injured 
him more than we could possibly have done in any other 
way. 
Some people we work for become dissatisfied with us if 
the animal treated is not well in a few days, and, considering 
neither the nature of the disease nor the time required for its 
cure, they change doctors. The second one called puts on a 
wise look, examines the animal, and finding out what the first 
doctor said the disease was, he gives it another name. For 
example, if the one said it was influenza, the other will say 
distemper. Thus he does all in his power to build himself up 
at the expense of the first doctor, whom he knew to be right. 
Even if the first man called had made a mistake, it had been 
more generous in the second to have refrained from pointing 
out his error. We all make mistakes, and the man who ex¬ 
pects to build up a practice by pointing out the mistakes of 
others will soon find that he himself is not free from like 
faults. What is more, he harms himself and the profession he 
represents. He has no right to build himself up at another’s 
expense, and at the same time cause the public to lose confi¬ 
dence, not only in him, but in his profession. 
As to making uniform charges, this is very difficult to do, 
as in some localities you can charge more than in others. I 
am strictly opposed to cutting prices, and also to one man of¬ 
fering to do certain work for less than some one else has 
offered to do it. Heretofore, the local, legitimate and honest 
veterinarians have been handicapped by a class of traveling 
horse doctors, or dentists, as the case may be; but the people 
have learned by experience that it is safer not to patronize 
this class. They came into town, putting out big advertise¬ 
ments as to their ability and knowledge, and as a result they 
did a great deal of work that the local veterinarian should 
have had. and a great deal that should not have been done. 
For all this, they charge two or three prices. Their patrons 
soon found that they had been beaten, and blamed the whole 
profession. 
There is another class of veterinarians who use the saloons 
