38 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
This circular does not fully explain his scheme. His true 
motive, as I am aware, is to sell an M.D. diploma, which he car¬ 
ries with him, printed in Latin on parchment with the seal and 
two signatures of the faculty (presumably of a mythical college) 
affixed. All that remained to complete this bogus document was 
the filling out of a vacant space thereon, with an inscription of 
the name of the would-be purchaser, in consideration of the pay¬ 
ment of fifty dollars. 
The vender represented it to be a regular M.D. diploma, and 
that any individual holding it has a legal privilege of practicing 
human medicine in any State of the Union, irrespective of his 
qualifications. 
He is careful, however, to say that he does not sell the diplo¬ 
ma, but presents it to any individual who will give fifty dollars to 
become a member of the Alumni Association of the Bellevue 
Medical College of Boston, Mass., so that they may be enabled to 
establish a veterinary department in connection with the college. 
He has been working his scheme upon others, to my knowl¬ 
edge, but could not learn that he met with any success. One of 
the veterinarians thus approached informed me that after obtain¬ 
ing the confidence of the professor, he offered to accept fifteen 
dollars on account, trusting him to pay the balance at will. He 
offered him the agency of this district, to sell without discrimina¬ 
tion his worthless documents to any purchaser he could find. I 
have often heard of ways and means whereby diplomas could 
be bought from dishonorable institutions without attending the 
c5 O 
lectures, but such base impudence of ?in individual to travel about 
the country peddling diplomas under the pretences that this man 
does, I could not believe, until I had occasion to witness the fact 
by an attempt made to victimize me. 
I have no doubt that upon a careful scrutiny of this worthless 
sheet we would find that the wording is of such a character as to ex¬ 
empt him from criminal proceedings, regarding the sale of bogus 
medical diplomas. Something ought to be done, however, to 
protect the veterinary fraternity from such impostors, especially 
when they practice their deception in connection with the pre¬ 
tence of advancing veterinary education. 
