INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE-REPORT. 439 
The securing of State laws to govern the practice of veter¬ 
inary surgery is an early movement to be encouraged, and I can 
assure you that without the aid and interest as well as zealous 
efforts of these men, your attempt to secure the same will be 
ineffectual. ' You can formulate a bill that will bring two-thirds 
of these men to your support, and such a one as will be accept¬ 
able and gladly welcomed by every qualified practitioner. You 
will find among your most regular attendants these men who are 
anxious to learn and who act as watch-dogs in every movement in 
their locality of a professional character ; thus you are able to 
secure a definite knowledge of all matters in your State per¬ 
taining to your calling. The value of this cannot be estimated. 
Popular fallacies, ignorant and crude ideas, are what to-day de¬ 
grade our profession more than anything else, and have led to 
many futile attempts to secur laws of a proper character, for 
the intelligent management of our contagious diseases, etc. By 
bringing these men together and discussing these popular points, 
and dealing less in the abstract theories of physiological research, 
etc., etc., you will convince these men of their errors, and wipe 
out many popular fallacies, as well as silencing those or making 
them more guarded in their expression, all of which will redound 
to a higher and more exalted standard of your profession. 
The moulding of popular opinion finds a useful place here, 
and careful and wise efforts of the qualified members will find a 
hundred channels to penetrate and impress, which without your 
association would long be localized in their force and value. To 
this association there should be delegates regularly sent, to make 
grander and more powerful, as well as wideu the scope of use¬ 
fulness we should represent. But it will be unnecessary for me to 
further enumerate the useful labors for such associations, as time 
will not permit, and I hope I may be able to answer in argument 
any questions, etc., that may arise as a result of this report. 
Only one more point will I revert to in this direction, and that 
is to say that calumny, cutting thrusts of criticism and the belit¬ 
tling of humble but honest efforts will never elevate or place 
your profession on the high plane we all hope it may eventually 
occupy, but will belittle and degrade your own position in the 
