PREVALENCE OF BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS. 
461 
xtent, but this is because some of our breeders have nurturede 
this malady as carefully for years as though they were trying to 
breed tubercle bacilli instead of cattle. 
In Massachusetts our system for dealing with bovine tuber¬ 
culosis is faulty. In the first place, this is a commission-ridden 
state: everything is managed by commissions of three or four 
men. It is a well known fact that an army with three generals 
would meet with defeat; a ship with three captains would meet 
with disaster; a railroad with three superintendents would go 
into bankruptcy; and yet that which would bring defeat in war, 
disaster to commerce and bankruptcy in business is expected to 
work successfully in the affairs of an over-taxed people. These 
are the views of Seth Low, President of Columbia College, and 
Gamaliel Bradford. The only possible excuse for such a system 
is that it furnishes salaries for a lot of played-out politicians and 
impecunious lawyers, instead of placing the management of 
affairs in the hands of single responsible heads directly account¬ 
able to the appointing power. 
Another criticism of the present state of affairs is the system 
of town and city cattle inspectors. One city or town may ap¬ 
point a competent veterinarian to such a position—these instances 
are rare—a few more cities or towns may appoint an incompetent 
veterinarian, who is but a very slight improvement over any 
other ignoramus, but in most instances the appointees are men 
of no special qualifications for the positions they hold; their 
examination of herds are farces, and the certificates they write 
are not worth the paper they are written on. 
I am in favor of having a state veterinarian who shall be 
responsible either to the State Board of Health or to the State 
Board of Agriculture, depending upon whether this subject is to 
be considered most important from a public health or an agri¬ 
cultural point of view, then divide the states into districts, say 
ten or a dozen in number, and appoint the best veterinarian in 
that district (that is, the best cattle practitioner, as the best 
horseman is not always the best cowman); district veterinary 
inspector to act under directions from the state veterinarian. 
