134 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
pointment of 11011-graduate veterinarians to official positions, 
but I do wish to go on record as stating that the present State 
Veterinarian of Illinois is worthy of the position he has so cred¬ 
itably filled during the past two and one-half years. 
Very sincerely yours, 
L. A. Merillat. 
STATE VETERINARY LAWS AND STATE VETERINARIANS. 
Lincoin, Neb., April 6, 1899 
Editors American Veterinary Review: 
My Dear Sirs :—Kindly permit me to say a few words with 
regard to veterinary legislation and the State Board of Health. 
It is a noticeable fact that almost every legislator in his 
respective State is called upon to enact laws relating to veteri¬ 
nary and sanitary questions. These laws are year by year being 
more rapidly enforced. The boards are asking for more ap¬ 
propriations, which is just. And it is a surprising fact that in 
some States the Legislature is entirely ignorant of the amount 
of good that this State work is doing. If these State legislators 
were asked to appropriate the minimum sum for a State Board 
of Health to which the veterinary department is connected, and 
especially veterinary sanitation, many of them would invariably 
ridicule the veterinary services ; but if these men were acquainted 
with the losses that occur, through lack of such services and with 
the good that veterinarians can do their respective States, they 
would certainly vote for appropriation. For example, the State 
Legislature of California is now asked to enact some laws which 
if passed will be the best laws in the United States, in regard to 
this particular subject ; and these laws would probably never 
have been passed in that State had not the farmers and the stock- 
raisers of the State been thoroughly frightened by the State be¬ 
coming infected with Southern cattle ticks, which caused all the 
other States to quarantine against it. This has opened the eyes 
of the people, and to-day they are asking for protection. . Min¬ 
nesota has, I believe, the most conservative law in the Union in 
regard to this subject and one of the best men to enforce the 
State law. This can be clearly shown by the way they have 
handled glanders and by the way they have handled the quaran¬ 
tine system ; and they have given other States something to go 
by. This question that is now being so vigorously taken up in 
Minnesota will no doubt be taken up in the future by other 
States but, as I have intimated, it will take time for the Legis¬ 
lature iu other States to be taught the lesson that the State of 
