THE VETERINARIAN IN RELATION TO PUBLIC HEALTH. 
GST 
which would obviously prevent any extensive traffic in the af¬ 
fected animal. Glanders, on the contrary, slightly impairing in 
many instances, the commercial usefulness of the animal affected, 
and causing symptoms easily overlooked by the laity, is spread 
from state to state through the traffic in latent and chronic cases. 
Judging from statistical reports there are many sections of the 
United States where glanders is practically unknown, and it 
should be the object of every veterinarian to prevent its introduc¬ 
tion into these territories. 
With the practical demonstrations which have been given of 
the possibility of its eradication through the means of suitable 
measures of control, a heavy responsibility rests upon the prac¬ 
titioner to report to the proper authorities every case with which 
he comes in contact, be it latent or active, letting the responsibil¬ 
ity for any neglect to make use of all known precautions against 
its spread rest with those who are intrusted with the administra¬ 
tion or enactment of the law. Such responsibility cannot be long 
evaded if veterinarians individually and collectively through the 
medium of their societies use their influence in proper channels. 
This statement applies generally to all infectious diseases of 
animals. While the law in many states requires the reporting of 
infectious diseases by any citizen who may be aware of its exist¬ 
ence, failure to do so is often the case through ignorance of the 
law or because of a lack of a due sense of responsibility. This 
cannot be the case with a graduate veterinarian and so far as it 
relates to the non-graduate, ignorant and often unmindful of the 
law, owing no responsibility to’ Alma Mater or Veterinary Med¬ 
ical Association, one of the best reasons exists for the legal pre¬ 
vention of his practice. 
The practitioner is the wire completing the circuit between 
infectious disease and the legal machinery for its suppression. 
Let him fail in any respect in the performance of this duty and 
the most effective laws are nullified, and where none exist the day 
of their enactment is indefinitely postponed, giving opportunity 
for infectious disease to obtain a foothold, which will not be eas¬ 
ily uprooted. In sanitary medicine, the old adage: “ An ounce of 
prevention is worth a pound of cure,” has especial application. 
