VETERINARY INSPECTORS IN THE U. S. BUREAU OF 
ANIMAL INDUSTRY VERSUS THE AMERICAN 
VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
By Dr. Ernest I. Smith, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Huntsville, 
Ala. 
Some time ago I received a communication from one of the 
secretaries of the American Veterinary Medical Association re¬ 
questing that I remit the necessary fee and join the association. 
The secretary was doing his duty, as every one of them should 
do, i. e., increase the strength of his organization and have some¬ 
thing to show every year for his efforts. Upon receiving the in¬ 
vitation, I replied as follows: “ Dear Sir—Your kind invita¬ 
tion to join the A. V. M. A. at its next meeting has been received, 
and I thank you very much for it, but it appears to me that the 
association has a strong, sneaking desire for numbers, not active 
membership, and I would be one of the great number in the 
B. A. I. who could never attend, and, therefore, what would 
there be in it for me? Very respectfully. (Signed) E. I. Smith.” 
The closing word in the above letter may sound very egotis¬ 
tical and extremely selfish, but when it is applied to over eight 
hundred others it at once assumes a far different meaning. As 
far as I am concerned, I am delighted to know that I am eligible 
for membership to such a mighty scientific body, and hope to be 
able to join its ranks in the near future. 
It is no doubt true that many inspectors in the B. A. I. belong 
to the A. V. M. A., and are satisfied to annually pay their dues 
and allow their names to rest in peace; but that is not the spirit 
which keeps such a society in operation and gives it the notoriety 
of being one of the foremost sanitary organizations in the world. 
Attendance and activity are the vital factors which give it life; 
but still there are a great many members who never answer to the 
calling of the roll and never profit by the extraordinary pro- 
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