New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-08
VETERINARY SURGEONS.
THEIR PROGRESS IN AMERICA.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST QUAcxs IN THE PROBES
sION-sOME LAMENTABLE IGNORANCE.


hardly matter Of pride. The American dentist beats
] the world, the American physician IS everywhere
accorded recognition ard respect by his fraternity but
the American veterinarian is far behind the rest OF
the world in tho healing art though he Is now riding
| his horses with determination 10 catch up The
| simple explanation Of why the American Veterinary
profession Is not up the standard that Its best fol-
towers set IT, Is that for long time the American
people did appreciate the value OF slfu veterin-
| airy surgeons 1t IS as Professor James Law, chief
inspector of the United State Animal Bureau, puts IT,
AS land becomes valuable said he, the other
day stock gets more valuable and the veterinarian
| is more appreciated
While land cheap, and Is cheap, people were
accustomed and IN fact to regard
the death Of stock matter Of little consequence.
There then. say twenty five years ago, from which
time the profession dates It's substantial progress little
demand in this country for welleducafed
veterinarians He was then, perhaps he
IS In good many places,
the horse DOCTOR or worse STILL the Cow DOCTOR
big fellow with a rough voice and shaggy overcoat,
who smeled Of his patients, spit tobacco Juice and
cussed, like a herd driver. Twenty five years ago
in this city there were according 70 DR.. Alexander f.
I.autard the dean of the American Veterinary Col
lcge in West Ffy-fourhst. only three well educated
veterinary surgeons. Now there between fifty
and sixty skul practitioners here, whose APP
pear in the business directory But tho names In tho
directory do not give an Idea of the real number Of
men practising here And quacls still flourish, not
alone in this city, but all the countr-.
SOME MEN MAKING MUCH MONEY.
II does not pay sklfu veterinarian TO follow his
profession In country town and hundreds Of towns,
| villages and hamlcts Throughout the land rejoice in
/ their horse and doctors" Many Of them are
men Of good common sense and can pull their patients
through but the largo cities where stock is valuable,
can't exactly be proud of veterinarians of class that
| An pfnna1 mot
tell its troubles, not sue for damages. but II 1t
could, would it not resent the offices of DOCTOR
| who scarcely write his own name!
Yet, on good authority, 1T may be said that thcre
are such men in the profession. II IS said that out
OF 1000 or 5000 veterinary surgeons In the country
only 1000 educated.
The profession has long had to bear
tho odlum of quacks with much cost
| TO itself. Two years ago the societies showed
the Legislature the necessity Of passing an act for
regulating the practice OF veterinary surgery 1t was
! provided that all veterinarians who had practised
three years prior the passage Of the act should be
allowed continue in practice on filing with the
County Clerk certificate to that effect. That was
the only way 10 deal with the matter, but 1t opened
large barn door for lot of periurers and quacks
TO troop through and It IS against these Qnacks that
the profession, ifs societies and representative men
protest continually. All doctors now have to pass
regular examination be graduates Of veterinary
college practise in this State, but it VIII be twenty
years before the profession is rid OF these men,
The East Side IS afflicted with number OF quacks
who have no more right to for sick animals than
q blacksmith has TO tune a piano. superintendent
Hanklnson OF the Society for the Prevention OF
! Cruelty to Animals, constantly hears OF these men
and others like them in the city. Some OF them
| do not own even the ordinary appliances OF their
| calling. They hire couple Of stalls In broken
down stable for their patients, where they fix up
ri. ,tIo nfrrn nT h.
society found a couple Of horses In a lamp. dark
stable suffering from tho CHAMBERS
SOME MEN MAKING MUCH MONEY.
The suffering brutes should have been knocked on
| the head long before that, but they were being
treated by DOCTOR who had promised to cure them
for a small sum OF money. superintendent Hankinsoh
says that he could not arrest the owner OF the horses
because he had employed veterinary surgeon. ms
| IS one instance in many which takes place In this
city and which are proof that there is money in the
business for sLilfu young veterinarians. several OF
them here make incomes from $4,000 TO Slo,Ooo
Professor Law employs from fourteen to sixteen
surgeons in the services Of the bureau OF which he
| is the head The lowest salary he pays is $1,000
year. and that to recent graduate, While one OF MS
most capable assistants gets $40 day and expenses
"Look al my .Rogues' Gallery" said well known
veterinary surgeon the other day, pointing 10 the pic
urcs of the graduates OF his college All Of those $50
fellows except halta-dozen, are doing well, making
from Fl 400 to $4,000 year. Professor Lianard Is
an enthusiast In the future Of his profession In ten
years. said he. with a shrug of his shoulders, tho
! American veterinarian will eclipse the world why
! should not the professor DO rights lie came here
TWENTY-FIVE years ago from France Then, in this city,
there were only three properly educated Veterinarians
and now there are between fifty and sixty. There are
now two colleges several wellequpped hospitals, vet
Urinary societies and veterinary journalism firmly estab-
ushed Besides that, the profession Is respected by
the medical fraternity. One of the colleges here IS sadly
overcrowdcd and has sent out appeal fog building
fund The hospitals always full and are obliged to
turn away patients at times. The value OF stock has
greatly increased The domestic animals Of the United
states now represent aggregate wealth OF upward OF
az. 100000 900.
There are about six veterinary colleges in this conn
fry and four Of them. like American institutions,
owe their TO their efforts Tho European
colleges are subsidized by their Governments. Yet
France said have only three colleges, Germany no
more than this country and England even less. But
governmental assistance enables even Rumana TO give
students five years France four, Portugal
five Russia four Sweden fonr. Holland four, Germany
three and ne-haf and England three. The
quircd here ia only years and short years at that
Germany requires about forty hours of recations and
lectures week for the first year, and nearly sixty
hours the second year.
WHAT A "oUACK" WILL DO.
But municipal interest IN inc prolcsson r'Fc Woulu
at present be Of value 70 reputable practitioners
than governmental interest in the way of the police
courts. FOR example. Here IS class Of veterinarians
who cannot be reached by the Law, this Instance
Will show. driver arrested recently by super
ntendent HankInsOn for beating his horse. lie had
fqycd raw spot on his horses back SIX inches long
and three wide. When the brutal driver brought
before the Court, he claimed that the had been
caused by the harness catching on the hide when the
horse fell down Tho driver produced veterinary
surgeon who swOre that such the The
prisoner was discharged but he arrested again IN
a day or two the same charge Once more the
veterinarian undertook TO deceive the Court into
believing that had been caused By the harness
catching the horses hide when, a matter OF fact
the officers OF the Society for the Prevention OF Cruelty
10 Animals had arrested the in the aci Of beating
his horse. The Court fined the prisoner S25, but thai
" veterinarian" IS still practising.