524 
SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
Army Legislation, to sustain and aid them in the continuation of their 
difficult work. If they shall fail this year to secure 'the enactment of 
this reform that the army needs so sorely, we must not be discouraged, 
but continue the struggle until the military veterinarians are given 
commissions and are organized into a compact and serviceable corps 
with a veterinarian at their head, whose rank is in proportion to the 
magnitude and importance of the work he is required to control. 
I believe that the veterinary profession of the United States is deter¬ 
mined to have its due in this matter, and is determined that the army 
shall have a veterinary equipment that will be a credit to this country. 
The ancient system now in vogue, that is the source of enormous losses 
to the tax payers, that lessens the efficiency of the army, and is an in¬ 
sult to the veterinary profession, must be supplanted, no matter how 
much time and effort are required to do it. 
In the publication of veterinary literature, this Association has al¬ 
ways taken a prominent and leading part. The oldest veterinary period¬ 
ical in this country was originally the journal of this Association. 
During recent years its annual proceedings have constituted most im¬ 
portant contributions to our literature. These volumes reflect the 
thought, the attainments, the ideals and purposes of what is highest 
and best in our profession. It is fitting, therefore, that they should 
appear in a form that is commensurate with all they represent. 
In the encouragement and development of the public relations of 
veterinary work, this Association has always taken a foremost position. 
This will be shown by reference to the resolutions adopted at our annual 
meetings. These resolutions have come to be looked upon as the 
authorized voice of the veterinary profession, and it is, therefore, im¬ 
portant that they shall always be well considered, conservative and safe. 
The papers that have been read at the meetings of this Association, 
and the discussions that have taken place have had the effect, in large 
measure, of solidifying and unifying the thought and effort of veterinar¬ 
ians on questions of moment. The methods employed in controlling 
various infectious diseases, and the organization of State Boards of 
Veterinary Medical Examiners are instances in point. 
The development of knowledge of disease and of effective methods of 
prevention and cure during the past decade, has been marvelous indeed. 
It is gratifying to consider that much of this advancement has been the 
work of comparative pathologists and of veterinarians. It is only quite 
recently that the advantages that may be derived from the study of 
comparative pathology in relation to the development of the whole sub¬ 
ject ot disease, and especially to human diseases, have been recognized. 
In fact, scarcely any attention was paid to this subject until Bollinger 
explored the almost virgin field of animal pathology thirty years ago, 
and Virchow and Birsch-Hirschfeldt also recognized the value of the 
broadening discipline and the new lights to be derived from the study 
of the diseases of animals. Attention has been forcibly drawn to this 
subject by the researches of Johne, Kitt, Smith, Moore and McFadyean. 
In the realm of bacteriology, students have not drawn sharp lines be¬ 
tween genera, and confined their studies to the organisms that attack a 
single kind of animal. Many bacteriologists, following the example of 
the great leaders, Pasteur and Koch, have studied the bacterial diseases 
of. useful animals. The idea is gaining ground that disease must be 
