ARMY VETERINARY LEGISLATION. 
733 
armies. The United States stands alone among the principal civilized 
countries of the world in having no organization of a veterinary service 
for the care of its army animals. It is only in the last year that an ex¬ 
amination for competency has been required from the veterinarians em¬ 
ployed in the cavalry regiments. 
The Annual Report of the Quartermaster General of the army for 
1899 shows the purchase during the year from July 1st, 1898, to June 
30th, 1899, °f the following animals : 
Cavalry Horses . . . 
Artillery Horses . . 
Riding Horses . . . 
Draft Horses . . .• , 
Pack Horses . . .. , 
Bell Horses . . . . 
Draft Mules . . . , 
Pack Mules . . . . 
Oxen. 
Total 
Number. 
Total Cost. 
Aver, per Head 
2,094 
$219,727 17 
$104 94 
7-75 
96,374 04 
124 35 
176 
22,730 00 
129 15 
15 
2,496 50 
166 43 
7 i 
3,595 00 
50 63 
1 
50 00 
50 00 
3,834 
416,131 50 
10S 54 
301 
28,294 00 
94 00 
16 
1,600 00 
100 00 
7,283 
$790,998 21 
There remained on hand at the close of the fiscal year, June 30th, 
1899, 12,622 horses and 13,158 mules, valued at over $2,500,000. 
In addition to this enormous investment in animals for the cavalry, 
artillery and transportation, the army purchases large quantities of ani¬ 
mal food, the quality of which requires inspection. 
General Philip Sheridan, the great cavalry officer, when Lieutenant 
General of the army, had drafted a scheme of organization for a Veteri¬ 
nary Corps, but his death delayed the consummation of his plans, and 
it was not until the last Congress, that active measures were taken, with 
the approval of the Secretary of War, toward the foundation of a proper 
veterinary service for the army. 
Senator Kenney of Delaware, in introducing a bill with this object, 
said among his reasons for the necessity of the legislation : 
In any reorganization of the army of the United States there is no 
question of more importance to its efficiency and welfare than a prop¬ 
erly established veterinary corps. In and out of the army for many 
years there have been men who have appreciated the value and neces¬ 
sity of a veterinary corps in our army, and on more than one occasion 
bills looking to that end have been formulated and presented to Con¬ 
gress, but none have ever been enacted into law. 
Most of the European nations have as a part of their military estab¬ 
lishment well-organized veterinary corps. 
The English army has a principal veterinary surgeon with the rank 
of a colonel, a first-class veterinary surgeon attached to each army 
corps, a first-class veterinary surgeon attached to the inspector-general 
of the line of communication, with subordinate grades of veterinary 
surgeons and veterinary surgeons on probation. 
The French army has n first-class principal veterinary surgeons 
