184 
J. E. BROWN. 
Did I hear a voice dare to raise the question, Will they 
support them ? 
Not much. Everybody knows too well the sort of stuff that 
these fellows are made of. 
They are not perfect. No, not that; but they do belong to 
that class that “ never say die ” when engaged in a good work. 
We have our imperfections just like the balance of weak, 
struggling humanity. We have our short-comings, which I be¬ 
lieve, if we were duly reminded of from time to time, would 
work a wonderful improvement in our general condition. 
We do not see our own imperfections as others see them. 
Might I be pardoned, then, if I should call attention to some 
of them as they have appeared to me ? 
One thing is the neglect of certain duties which we owe to 
the associations of which we are members. 
For many years, as many of you know, it has been my priv¬ 
ilege to serve my own State’s association as Secretary, and I 
speak with that knowledge that comes by the line of experi¬ 
ence. 
As the time for our meetings would approach it would be¬ 
come necessary to go among our members and solicit papers, 
reports of cases, etc. 
The excuses that have been offered in reply were simply 
astonishing. 
It was not that the members lacked interest exactly; they 
were interested in the success of the meetings and so expressed 
themselves, but the illustration I wish to make is this : that 
the veterinarians, like the representatives of every other line 
of business here in the West, are so imbued with the spirit of 
hustle, that it is only by an extreme effort that they can con¬ 
tent themselves to quietly sit down and give their time and 
attention to such matters. 
Now, gentlemen, let us not neglect such duties. 
Eet each member bear in mind that he is jointly responsi¬ 
ble for the success of the meetings. 
As we work along, from time to time new ideas and new 
