186 
J. E. BROWN. 
It was the lack of differentiation by the public that has 
been our constant chagrin and that has figured so conspicu¬ 
ously in the defeat of so many of the very laudable measures 
attempted by us, which we well knew would mean a betterment 
in many of the conditions wherein the public would share the 
greatest benefits. 
It was the lack of respect, confidence and influence in the 
profession by the public that has stood between us and our ac¬ 
complishment of the greatest public good. We become impa¬ 
tient and fret because we cannot eradicate these prejudices 
from the public mind more rapidly and command a greater in¬ 
fluence, and I wonder if we ever stop to consider that one of the 
principal reasons why we cannot is the ever presence of “ the 
wolf in disguise.” 
They pose as qualified veterinarians and boast of diplomas 
as good as anybody’s. We find them lounging about the 
streets, livery barns and race tracks, and they manifest about 
the same degree of self-respect as do the men they find in such 
places and with whom they associate. 
Gentlemen, do you realize that the one thing, greater than 
all others, that stands to-day between us and that respect and 
influence which we would that we might command, is that 
which savors of so much quackery and lack of self- respect—the 
careless habits and the unclean daily deportment to which so 
many veterinarians are slaves, yet so unfitted and unbecoming 
to professional men ? 
Can we not, then, arouse within the hearts and minds of all 
our brethren a more determined effort toward the manifestation 
of the dignity that naturally should come with education, and 
that always commands respect from all classes. 
I am not advocating absoluteness in this respect excepting 
as it may apply to the character and integrity, for there need 
never be any blight attached to that, for no one knows better 
than the speaker how difficult it is at all times and how impos¬ 
sible it is sometimes for a busy practitioner to maintain a pre¬ 
sentable appearance ; but in the interests of the profession I 
