U. S. VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
415 
army, some as veterinarians in the cavalry, and others as contract veterinarians 
hi the other arms of the service. Whether this bill passes the present Congress 
and becomes a law or not, we are satisfied that very great progress has been 
made. A live interest has been aroused in the minds of the army officers them¬ 
selves that an improvement in the system of veterinary service is demanded in 
the interests of the army itself. Members of Congress have learned that it is 
needed, and we have the precedent of having carried a bill through the Commit¬ 
tee on Military Affairs and placed it on the calendar. For the guidance of your 
future committees, we feel entitled, as the result of our hard labor, to be compe¬ 
tent to judge of what is needed, and we presume to dictate certain courses which 
must be pursued if any success is to be looked for. 
1st. A bill for an army veterinary service must have the approval of the War 
Department before it will be considered in committee. 
2d. The first service established must be a small one, with officers of moder¬ 
ate rank, or it will otherwise incur the natural jealousies of officers of other 
arms who would be outranked at small posts. 
3d. No service will be established which does not demand examination as 
one of the qualifications for entering it. 
4th. The misfortune of any one or more veterinarians previously employed 
by the government, who might be thrown out by an examination, must not be 
allowed to weigh one atom as against the good of the whole profession and the 
better service for the army which could be rendered by veterinarians endowed 
with the authority with which a commission as an officer would invest them. 
Your committee has performed its work with regard only to the good of the 
profession at large ; it would like to have done more, but every matter had to be 
looked to in person, and numerous visits to Washington entailed not only loss of 
time, but also considerable expense. We are indebted to a member of the As¬ 
sociation, who desires to withhold his name, for a check which defrayed the ex¬ 
pense of one visit. 
Respectfully, 
Rush S. Huidekoper, Chairman. 
Daniel Lemay, 
Cooper Curtice, Committee. 
\ 
REPORTS OF VARIOUS COMMITTEES. 
Secretary Hoskins submitted the report of the Committee on 
Publication, as follows: 
During the year we have issued one thousand copies of the Revised Consti¬ 
tution and By-Laws : 400 copies of Lists of Officers and Members; 500 copies 
of Lists of Officers and Committees; 500 reprints of all Committee Reports ; 500 
reprints of Itinerary for Chicago Meeting; 350 reprints of Proceedings of 26th 
Annual Meeting ; 1500 Programs of Meeting. 
All these have been first furnished to the members, after which the balance 
were distributed among members of the profession all over the country. In all 
about 4000 pieces of mailable matter have been distributed over the country, en¬ 
tailing a vast amount of clerical work. During the year I have completed for the 
