178 
J. F. KENNEDY. 
equal, takes his place in the scientific, social, moral and com¬ 
mercial world along with the ablest jurists, physicians, clergy- 
* 
men and educators ! 
It seems to me from a diagnostic standpoint the veterinary 
practitioner should be even better equipped than the physician. 
The latter is greatly aided in his efforts to arrive at a proper 
diagnosis of the disease of his subject because of his ability to 
speak and to understand language. The subject of the veteri- 
ary surgeon, on the other hand, is mute. The character of the 
disease, its location and progress can only be learned by a sign- 
and-symptomatic language only acquired by patient study, thor¬ 
ough acquaintance with the anatomy, physiology and pathology 
of the animal, and by clinical observation ; and these same 
qualifications must be adapted to the horse, cow, sheep, poultry 
etc., as individuals differing greatly. Hence, though he may 
not be able to speak the language of the domestic animals, he 
must be able to readily understand their speech as voiced by 
their physical condition. Another reason why the veterinary 
surgeon should be thoroughly competent is that his subjects 
have no choice. They are entirely subject to the choice of their 
owners, who may from ignorance, prejudice, or mistaken economy 
select some one, if there are any such, who don’t know the dif¬ 
ference, anatomically, between ahorse and a chicken, much less 
between a cow and a hog, and whose treatment is about as 
scientific. For this reason and because of the vast sums of money 
represented by the domestic animals of Iowa, the highest possi¬ 
ble qualification should be required of those who enter upon this 
practice. 
It seems to me a burning shame that in this intelligent 
State of Iowa, and in this enlightened day, any man without 
any knowledge whatever of veterinary science, without knowing 
even the A, B, C of the anatomy of domestic animals, can swing 
to the breeze his sign as “ veterinary surgeon ” ; and there is no 
law to inquire into his qualifications, and no power to regulate 
his practice. 
The man or woman who teaches the farmer’s children ; the 
