EDITORIAL. 
253 
SANITARY MEASURES. 
The fight against the invasion of contagions diseases is slowly 
organizing in the West. The enactment of laws by some of the 
Western States and Territories, with the appointment of official 
State and Territorial veterinarians, illustrate the importance that 
is attached by the people to the protection of their domestic ani¬ 
mals from animal scourges. The proclamations and the rules 
and regulations lately issued in Illinois and Wyoming, and which 
we publish to-day, will be found interesting reading, showing, as 
they do, the importance which is attached to that very first step 
in sanitary medicine, viz., the “ declaration.” Probably it was 
not very necessary to have this brought to the attention of the 
State veterinarian and his assistants by a set of rules established 
through a Live Stock Commission, as the veterinarian ought fully 
to appreciate and know that this is his first duty to the people of 
the State. But, after all, in our land, and so long as this sanitary 
service is in its infancy, it is better that the imposition of this 
declaration should be enforced, if only to brace up the courage 
of those who may from personal feeling be induced to neglect it. 
But there is also another important step in this action ; it is mak¬ 
ing it obligatory upon the owners of animals to comply with the 
laws, and to give the veterinarian all the opportunities he needs 
in order to make his investigation successfully useful. 
With the new action which is to be taken against pleuro-pneu- 
monia must be considered that of the cattlenlen of Kentucky, 
who propose to raise money and establish a fund with which all 
affected and contaminated animals are to be bought to be de¬ 
stroyed. If this action is effectively carried out and followed up 
by the proper vigilance against possible new outbreaks or new 
importations, this single-handed action of Kentucky may prove 
satisfactory, just as, years ago, it proved to be in Massachusetts. 
And so long as the General Government at Washington seems to 
be willing to limit its action merely to investigations and nothing 
else, the action of the State of Kentucky is to be commended as 
a good precedent, aud probably the only mode by which she can 
protect and save her live stock. This is not, however, sufficient. 
