EDITORIAL. 
487 
making 1 it a misdemeanor, punishable by fine or imprison¬ 
ment, or both. 
We learn by a letter before us that there are eighty-two 
veterinary graduates in Iowa, and that it is through the ac¬ 
tion of the Iowa State Veterinary Medical Association that 
the appeal to the Legislature is to be made to pass the law. 
Now, how will this measure operate, if consummated? Will 
it elevate the profession ; will it tend to prevent quackery > 
would it be a long stride in the right direction ? These are 
the questions to be confronted. Oitr answer will certainly be 
that this, or a measure of this character, cannot be otherwise 
than advantageous to the profession, and that it would cer¬ 
tainly prevent a great deal of quackery, and for that reason, 
every effort ought to be made to carry it fully into effect. 
By all means, prevent, if possible, birds of carrion from im¬ 
posing themselves upon the public as respectable fowls. 
We think that legislative action, carried to this length, 
would unquestionably be just and beneficent, but beyond 
this it would be overstepping its province, and the power 
which might be asked to examine men about to compete for 
the light to practise in our ranks, before a board of examin¬ 
ers, ought not to be looked for. Nor would we acquiesce in 
the legislative action which would allow societies to grant 
diplomas or issue certificates to the alleged, “ self-made,” 
men who have ignored the existence of our veterinary 
schools, while they could have availed themselves of their 
advantages, for the last twenty-five years. 
The generation of “ self-made” men, which existed prior 
.to the establishment of veterinary schools in this country, is 
Pietty nearly extinct, and the generation of this last quarter 
of century has no longer the same excuse, and if veterinary 
practice is a remunerative occupation, and if the title of 
veterinarian is worth wearing, it is worth working and con¬ 
tending for. 
We are far from confident of the success of our friends in 
Iowa, in obtaining the passage of this bill, but they, never¬ 
theless, have our best wishes in their contest. But when it 
comes to the question of giving them the power to examine 
