REPORTS TO COMMITTEE ON DISEASES OF U. S. V. M. A. 
265 
for their prevention, and the demands of the people have been 
met by the Legislatures of many States enacting sanitary laws 
creating veterinary bureaus, with competent veterinarians in 
charge, with full authority for the investigation and control of all 
outbreaks of disease among the domestic animals, and to give to 
the people a practical knowledge necessary to cure or preven¬ 
tion. 
The grave danger to the stock-growina industry from an 
invasion of contagious pleuro pneumonia was presented to Congress 
at its last session and resulted in the passage of an act creating 
the “ Bureau of Animal Industry.” The functions of this bureau 
are to invest!, ate and collect statistics as to the number of cattle in 
the United States, the manner in which they are handled (whether 
on farms or ranges), number of beeves marketed annually, cost of 
transportation from different points; diseases, the manner of their 
spread, mortality, etc., all of which will be laid before the next 
Congress for suitable legislation. 
The printed reports of this bureau have been of great benefit 
to the whole industry, by giving to them official information of 
infected localities, thereby enabling the buyer to make his pur¬ 
chases with confidence in places not infected. 
My opinion is, and the proof is abundant, that State sanitary 
laws are a necessity to the welfare of a State, and fully competent 
to stamp out contagion or prevent its entrance when properly en¬ 
forced ; and while the state , county , or municipal laws are in force 
Congress cannot enact any law giving a federal officer authority to 
enter any person’s barn-yard, or to examine his stock, or, in the 
event of contagious disease, to stamp it out by slaughter or quar¬ 
antine of the cattle. 
During the past three years I have resided in Wyoming Ter¬ 
ritory, and I have been called on to examine into many outbursts 
of disease among cattle. Formerly all cattle were branded and 
turned loose on the range. Owing to the wide extent of this coun¬ 
try, these cattle were seen only at the annual “round-up.” No 
sick ones were noticed ; but now many men of small means have 
fenced a few sections of land and attempted to raise cattle. The 
nucleus of their stock is imported from the States, where they 
