CORRESPONDENCE. 
351 
To begin with, the opinion that it is ‘‘ impossible for the 
army veterinarian to obtain a higher rank than color-sergeant ” 
is correct only in so far as he cannot advance in rank or pay. 
But the U. S. Army veterinarian is not a soldier, therefore he 
cannot be a sergeant; he is a civilian without any specified 
rank. It is true that the official warrant—not commission— 
transmitted by the War Department to the newly-appointed 
army veterinarian reads that he is “ appointed a veterinary sur¬ 
geon with the rank of sergeant-major, and that he is to be re¬ 
spected accordingly.” But these warrants were printed shortly 
after the Civil War, and, although still used, are no longer in 
accordance with the present opinion of the War Office. The 
Adjutant-General and the Secretary of War have repeatedly 
ruled that the “ veterinary surgeon is a civilian employed to 
treat sick and disabled public animals.” This puts him in a 
doubtful position as to his rank, but gives him personally more 
freedom in the exercise of his duties, and a chance to associate 
with officers if his culture enables him to do so. But, un¬ 
fortunately, there have always been some veterinarians in the 
army who were perfectly willing to be recognized as sergeants, 
men whose inborn subordinate souls were tickled by the friend¬ 
ship of the commissary sergeant as the lord of the store¬ 
room. So I say that the old phrase, mentioned again in the 
above article, that “ the day of the horse-doctor has passed,” is 
not true ; we have them yet with ns and the woods are full of 
them. 
Of course, the majority of those who 'wish to see the army 
veterinary service reorganized are not personally interested in 
it, but wish to have the disgrace wiped out that still hangs over 
the American veterinary profession. Yet I fear the bill before 
Congress will never be a success, and I have repeatedly said so. 
To ask Congress to give the army veterinarian a commission as 
second lieutenant is simply to ask a personal favor without any 
guarantee that the veterinary service will thus be materially 
bettered. From my knowledge of the army service it would 
not do so. Therefore, we should present to Congress a bill 
which first of all guarantees the Government an efficient veteri¬ 
nary service by making it a branch of its own. That this can 
only be accomplished by a competent veterinary corps is self- 
evident, but the officers of this corps should not be mere second 
lieutenants, but should rank at least from captain downward. 
And they should not be men who are only able “ to treat sick 
and disabled public animals,” but they should have gained special 
