SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
66 ? 
pecuniary character. It may be objected that there are others 
as well qualified for the position as Dr. Huidekoper, but it is 
more than doubtful, for with his training as a scientist, a veter¬ 
inarian and a military man, he is peculiarly fitted for the posi- 
tion. 
I may not have gone into the details of this matter suffi¬ 
ciently to point out the necessity for an organized service; 
suffice it to say that unorganized efforts are invariably abortive 
of good results, and that detailed criticism of affairs in the ser¬ 
vice would be out of place on my part. Veterinarians outside 
as well as in the service should endeavor to impress upon the 
coming Congress the importance of an organized veterinary ser¬ 
vice in the army, with a competent head, and those of us who 
have taken the examination should have the rank as well as the 
“ pay and allowances ” of a lieutenant of cavalry. 
It is not because that some success has been attained by 
those who have labored for the advancement of the veterinary 
service in the army that efforts should be relaxed ; on the con¬ 
trary, every muscle should be strained and every fair means 
adopted to establish the service with a head that will put it on 
a systematic working basis. The cavalry now is existing under 
new conditions ; animals as well as men are exposed to new and 
unaccustomed dangers; contagious disease is more prevalent in 
warm climates, and those animals under our care need more 
constant and more intelligent attention ; food is more liable to 
change and deterioration in tropical climes, and the intelligence 
and accurate knowledge of the veterinarian more often called 
into play along these lines in our new possessions, and under 
conditions such as these there should be no doubt as to the ne¬ 
cessity for organized action in meeting and surmounting the 
new problems that are daily presenting themselves, and without 
this organization I do not fear to say that the veterinary service 
of the army might just as well be allowed to remain as it was. 
Gerald E. Griffin, 
Veterinarian, ist Class, 5th Cavalry . 
SOCIETY MEETINGS, 
MISSOURI VALLEY VETERINARY MEDICAL 
ASSOCIATION. 
The meeting convened at the Kansas City Veterinary Col¬ 
lege on Mondav evening, October 23, with the following members 
