EDUCATION OF LAWMAKERS. 
415 
phrase, it might be said that the education of a lawmaker must 
begin with the people who elect him, or on whom he depends 
for further political successes. Whatever a large part of the 
people demand, their representatives must and will enact. Leg¬ 
islators are seldom far in advance of their constituency. 
The concentrated primary aim of veterinarians, relative to 
needed legislation, therefore, must be to inform the public by 
precept and example that the profession is one which should 
be regulated by law—that the demand for legislation in these 
matters arises from the needs of the public. In the practice of 
veterinary medicine the interests of the patron and of the gen¬ 
eral public are involved. The immense value of domestic ani¬ 
mals and their products, and the intimate relations existing be¬ 
tween diseases of the lower animals and of man, justify and 
demand not only that those who are permitted to practice shall 
be required to furnish evidence of their qualifications, but laws 
to effectually control the spread of infectious and contagious 
diseases and for the supervision of the food supply of the public. 
It devolves upon regular veterinarians to be the leaders in 
the campaign of political agitation and education, as by their 
training they are especially fitted to be. The approaching bi¬ 
ennial sessions of the Legislatures of Missouri and Kansas and 
Iowa, and the State elections to be held next fall make this a 
peculiarly fitting time and occasion for renewal of activity on 
the part of veterinarians, and especially on the part of this asso¬ 
ciation. Whether we succeed at this time or not, in securing- the 
recognition at which we aim, we will be laying the foundations 
for success in the future. I take it that there is no question in 
the mind of any one present whether the members of the Missouri 
\ alley Veterinary Association will loyally cooperate to secure 
legislation next winter; it is only a question of how we shall 
approach the task before us. It is with the hope of exciting 
discussion which shall evolve a practical plan of action that the 
essayist has undertaken to present this subject before you. 
The foundations of the campaign must be established in 
the minds of voters, broad and strong as befits the growing im- 
