;U^ SECOND ANNUAL BANQUET \ OF THE Society of Comparative Medicine OF THE New York State Veterinary College HELD ON THE Tenth anniversary of the founding of the College IK I MM Of iM mmmrm The New Ithaca Hotel Wednesday Evening, February fifteenth 1905 r Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/secondannualbanqOOnewy ~~ 5 . ■ '"'.%,„. c SECOND ANNUAL BANQUET OF THE Society of Comparative Medicine OF THE New York State Veterinary College HELD ON THE Tenth anniversary of the founding of the College The New Ithaca Hotel Wednesday Evening, February fifteenth 1905 Anamnesis " / would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study " — Ezra Cornell. 1865. Cornell University established by act of legislature. 1 868-1 896. Dr. Law, Professor of Veterinary Science in Cornell University. 1894. "There is hereby established a State Veterinary College at Cornell University." — Laws of New York, 1894. 1896, Sept. 24th. Inauguration of New York State Veterinary College, with Dr. Law as Director. Number of students enrolled, eleven. 1897. Degrees conferred upon three men. 1904. Degrees conferred upon sixteen men. Total number of degrees conferred, from June, 1897, to 1904, inclusive, 68. 1904-5. Number of students enrolled, 108. Committee Frederick Henry McNair, '05, Chairman Frederic Willment Andrews, '05 Arthur James Burley, '05 John Gordon Wills, '06 walter nelligan, '06 Walter E. Frink, '07 Owen Emmett Williams, '07 cheer leader Cassius Way, '05 Toasts Toastmaster - - Dr. P. A. Fish Alma Mater Welcome - - - - F. B. Smith, '05 President of the Society of Comparative Medicine The University - - PRESIDENT J. G. Schurman Dr. Law in his relation to Cornell University, New York State, and the United States - - Hon. Andrew D. White Alumni Song Dr. Law as a Scientific and Professional Man - Dr. V. A. MOORE Dean Law through the eyes of Dean White - Dr. David S. White Presentation of Loving Cup - - Dr. D. H. Udau,, '01 Response - - - > - Dr. James Law Evening Song It is much to be regretted that the addresses of President Schurman, Ex- President White, and Dr. Law could not be included in this collection. No manuscripts were prepared and, as no stenographer was present, the ad- dresses must necessarily be omitted. o > 0> w O ft w o w bfl DR. LAW AS A SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL MAN VERANUS A. MOORE Professor of Comparative Pathology and Bacteriology, New York State Veterinary College, Ithaca, N. Y. Mr. Toastmaster, Honored Guests and Fellow Students : I accepted the invitation of your Committee with a feeling of mingled hesitancy and pleasure. Hesitancy be- cause of a consciousness that there would be others present who could respond more graciously, and the pleasure came with the joy that naturally goes with the opportunity of doing, or trying to do, that which all consider a privilege and an honor to do. For, Mr. Toastmaster, there are many scientific and professional men scattered throughout this commonwealth, the states of the Union, and the nations of the world who would be glad to be here, to reply to this toast, and to pay a personal tribute to the high character of the scientific and professional attainments of our honored Director. Every institution has its traditions and legends. When I came to the University as a freshman in 1883, the first legend I heard, was, that in the beginning, Ezra Cornell had sent President White to Europe to get a ' ' Horse Doctor". When I expressed surprise, as I did, my in- formant said, "what Ezra Cornell wanted and Andrew D. White did was all right ". It is all right. President White procured the man, not the proverbial ' ' Horse Doctor ' ' but an educated, cultured Veterinarian, with high professional ideals, who was made Professor of Veterinary Science in a great, but a new University. This, so far as I have learned, was the first time Veterinary Science had been admitted into the curriculum of an 5 — 6— American University with equal rank, hour for hour, with languages, mathematics, history, and philosophy. More than that, this was the beginning of a new epoch in Veter- inary education in America ; the guiding light to many important discoveries in human pathology, and the founda- tion for a series of inquiries that have resulted in doing more than we can measure for humanity and in making possible the development of tropical and sub- tropical countries. When I was a freshman, we had many credulous men, men who came here to learn and who were willing to be- lieve everything they were told by everybody, even sopho- mores. One of these men was taking the course in mechanical engineering. Presently he was observed to be studying a strange book on his way to and from Sibley. We investigated the matter and found that our classmate had, according to instructions, bought a copy of Dr. I^aw's Farmers' Veterinary Adviser which he was memorizing page by page in order to be able to compute the horse-power of a locomotive. We took the incident as a healthy ' ' jolly, ' ' but the industrial history of the last twenty years shows that the direct and indirect results of the efforts of the author of that book has extended to and touched very per- ceptibly the activity not only of locomotives but of other implements incident to human activity. A professional man, whose lot is cast in a University family, must of necessity be exercised by the responsibility of his teaching, his investigations, and the channels through which his efforts and results may extend into the outer world to benefit humanity. In this he must display his ability and demonstrate his right to a place of honor in scientific and professional circles. It was in such an environment that our Director has operated. His enthu- siasm stimulated his students not only to learn the facts presented, but to desire to inquire into their genuineness. His clear vision into the future as indicated by present knowledge inspired many of his pupils with a desire to loosen as many new truths as possible from the great un- known, to investigate, to do research. In this respect he has been most successful for in this channel he has found not only the lever but also the fulcrum for which the ancient philosopher sought in order that he might move the world. I well remember the narrow, long, lecture room in the old chemical building where we listened every morning at eight o'clock to the inspiring lectures on comparative anatomy, infectious diseases, or parasitology. I well remember the clinics in those days. There was no hospital, the operating room had neither roof nor stocks, and the ' ' table ' ' was mother earth. Nevertheless, the fame of our Director as a practitioner was wide spread and in the paddock back by the University barn there were gathered animals from far and near for treatment. However primitive the equipment, we were taught the latest results of scientific medicine and surgery. While the great Iyister was developing antiseptic surgery in the old world our Veterinary Professor was applying it to animals in the new. The solicitude of the Doctor for better educated Veterinarians as he would occa- sionally refer to the needs of the profession, the necessity for a college with its greater opportunities, and the confi- dence with which he was laboring to the end that it would come, reminds one of the humble parents of Pasteur who in their devotion to their little Iyouis were accustomed to say " we will make an educated man of him." In those days of small beginnings many men were in- spired to research work who received their veterinary de- gree elsewhere, or who went out to do great service in biology or human medicine. Among the students of those days were four who specialized with Dr. I^aw and who received from the University the degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Science. One of these, for reasons I do not — 8— know, changed his profession to the law. The other three soon attained international reputations. One of these, Dr. D. B. Salmon, entered the government service and began the investigation of the infectious diseases of animals. Soon he was instrumental in organiz- ing the Bureau of Animal Industry over which he presides. Nowhere in the history of the world has there been a stronger or more efficient organization of its kind. All through the years of its development Dr. L,aw was a valued advisor. The second of these, Dr. A. M. Farrington, has risen to be the director of the Federal Meat Inspection Service. This has not only a great sanitary significance, but it is of much value to our nation commercially. It is recognized as being the most valuable meat inspection service in exist- ence. Surely the reasons for such an inspection as taught long years'^ ago by our Director have found expression in this service, which is the passport for our beef and pork and cattle to the markets of the world. The third of these three earlv graduates, Dr. F. L. Kil- borne, was jointly associated with Dr. Theobald Smith in the investigation of Texas cattle fever. They not only found, as our Director had predicted, that there was a specific cause for this malady, but they demonstrated that it was transmitted from animal to animal by means of the cattle tick. This enabled the formulation of regulations that have saved annually tens of thousands of dollars to the cattle industry of the States. In addition to its great eco- nomic value it was a brilliant biological discovery which proved to be of still greater sanitary significance and com- mercial importance. The German Commission was, soon after this discovery, appointed to investigate the means of transmission of malaria in man. They found, as you know, that it was the mosquito. In his report, Robert Koch had the honor — 9— and graciousness to admit that the discovery of the tick transmission of Texas fever made his discovery possible. Then came the Cuban war. A great man in Washington saw that our boys were going to Cuba not to be shot in battle so much as to die from the " yellow plague." He procured a commission to investigate the infectious diseases of the island, and that greatest of all commissions — because of the intelligent directness of purpose and determination of its members — yet appointed to investigate human diseases, headed by Major Walter Reed demonstrated that the cause of yellow fever was transmitted by a species of mosquito. This being done, yellow fever was swept from the ' ' Pearl of the Antilles, ' ' and that wonderful island is now waiting without a terror for development. In a private conversation with Dr. Reed he told me that the analogy between Texas fever in cattle and yellow fever of man was so close that the discovery of the tick theory convinced him that the other was true. Is this not a sequence of events that fixes forever the fame of him who contributed to them ? It may be of interest to mention that in the development of certain parts of Cuba the control of the infectious dis- eases of animals is imperative. Already a recent graduate and student of our Director is Veterinarian to the Superior Board of Health of Cuba for the purpose of combating and investigating the diseases of the animals of the island. An- other of our graduates is now on his way there to take a place in the Cuban Bureau of Animal Industry, and Mr. Toastmaster, if the young republic has any more good places we have got the men to fill them. During the last thirty years Dr. I^aw has been appealed to on many occasions, by both state and national govern- ments, at times when great interests were at stake. With a live stock valuation of over two billions of dollars, there are many times when skilled and wise men's services are required. In the seventies he was on an important com- — 10 mission to investigate the infectious swine diseases that were costing the country more than a million dollars a year besides the suffering from cold and hunger that came to the losers. In his report he penned that classical description of the lesions in enteric fever of swine that revealed his ability as a scientific observer. Again, when contagious pleuro-pneumonia in cattle by accident got into this country, Dr. Law rendered a professional service to the nation that we should never tire of telling. This disease, which had cost Great Britain and her colonies many millions of dollars, was threatening the destruction of our cattle and beef industry. Again our Director came to the rescue, and in this country contagious pleuro- pneumonia is a thing of the past. In 1902, when foot and mouth disease appeared in New England, Dr. I^aw was one of the first, if not the first, expert to be sent by our gov- ernment to the scene of destruction. These are but a few of the valuable professional services he has rendered, but they typify the work he has done. Still more, he has extended his influence to the veterinary profession and to help humanity generally by his publica- tions, consisting of many valuable papers and addresses on professional topics, and by his books. His Farmer's Veter- inary Adviser is found in thousands of homes in the coun- try, where it has done wonderful service for good. Again, as our menu card suggests, he is the author of a system of Medicine, the most comprehensive system of Veterinary Medicine now in print. In all his active life, in the many spirited professional struggles for the upbuilding of his profession and for loftier ideals to work to, the hero of the evening has always been in line, always standing for the truth as he saw it, always strong in the courage of his convictions. To say that he has always been immediately victorious in these struggles is, of course, to say too much. However, progress in the — II — world is made by retreats as well as advances so that in the end he has won. I have touched, and but lightly, Mr. Toastmaster, but a few of the events that characterize the real worth of the professional services of our beloved Director. The fact that when there is a professional issue the inquiry from all directions that we hear is ' ■ what doesDr. L,aw think of it ?' ' is an index of the esteem in which he is held by others. As time has gone by, he has detected the great truths of the science of medicine, yea, he has helped to bring many of them to light, and like Pasteur he has recognized the grand horizons beyond the facts. Again, I may compare him with the great French savant, in that the magnitude and the munificence of his work have ever stood in the front, shadowing the man. And now, fellow students, if we who have been so fortu- nate as to be under the tutelage of so great and good a man are to profit by it, if we are to give expression to our appre- ciation and do full honor to him who has labored unceas- ingly for a third of a century that this college might be, if we are to drive a stake here from which to measure future progress, I feel that we can do it in no better way than to dedicate ourselves anew to the work he has so nobly begun, to the end that the Science of Comparative Medicine shall come fully to share, if not to lead, the great wave of modern, useful knowledge "which rolls with the tide that circles the globe." DEAN LAW THROUGH THE EYES OF DEAN WHITE DAVID S. WHITE Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, O. The English speaking peoples have ever been fearful of a too paternal form of government. The avoidance of any- thing which smacked of that which they believed to con- stitute class legislation was clung to so steadfastly by our ancestry that it attained a degree of ultra- conservatism almost equal to a religion. The old theory of the state was that its chief function was to preserve order and protect the rights of man by maintaining peace. Education, accordingly, found no place in the government scheme. The business of the state was rather to suppress the bad than to stimulate the good. The old theory of the state regarded war as its principal business. The new theory substitutes PEACE for WAR. War is abnormal — pathological ; peace is normal — physiological . With the new theory of the state came the recognition of the fact that the physical dangers were not the only menaces to human progress. With the new thought came the realization that ' ' the state has no material resources com- parable with its citizens and no hope of perpetuity except in the intelligence and integrity of its people." With the profit of this experience the necessity of a more generalized education became imminent. While the reasons for this necessity may have varied with the individual, and opinions differed, the framers of public opinion uttered this in common : ' ' We demand for our children greater oppor- tunities than we have had. We ask a more general dis- 12 —i3— semination of the enlightenment, culture, and power which education brings." While our foreign critics may croak at the American tendency to look only at the material, and accuse us of ex- pending a vast amount of energy in acquiring it, it is a fact that our desire for education and our contributions, both private and state, to this end, offer a most notable and re- buking exception. As a result of the new thought our people established a public school system built upon broad lines. This victory, however, was not attained without overcoming opposition. The people saw that this was good and demanded more of it. High schools resulted. At first these were viciously assailed by the honest- meaning and otherwise. Public opinion, however, was settled upon another point. High schools were also good. They were maintained. It is therefore not strange that the impetus first given by Senator Morrill, through the land-grant college enactment, should be taken advantage of by leaders in modern thought to give stimulus to a still higher educational movement — to found a third degree in this educational masonry. The in- ception of colleges and universities with government aid, which began in this country some forty years ago was a natural development as well as an epoch making event in history. The state went into the peaceful business of higher education and has maintained it with increasing strength until now the most vigorous assaults made upon its embattlements are repulsed each year with greater ease and with less inconvenience. The fullest fruition of Morrill's great work for the higher education of the masses is noted in our more western State Agricultural Colleges. In these institutions especially were the homelier and less showy branches of learning made prominent in the cur- ricula, particularly those relating to Agriculture and the Mechanical Arts. —14— Also at many of these institutions departments of " Veterinary Science" were inaugurated. While these departments were intended for the stockman and farmer, in a few universities courses were established leading by a circuitous and too often barren route to a doctorate degree in Veterinary Medicine. Their earlier attempts to teach our profession were not altogether glory- crowned. Their poverty made it incumbent upon the directors to devote what funds they had to those technical branches which seemed to them to give the greatest return, e. g., to bring in the greatest number of students and thus attract the greatest amount of attention on the part of too frequently prejudiced legislators. Veterinary courses such as these naturally drew to them few matriculants. Internally they were unpopular. However, many a student thus obtained his first taste of things veterinary, and if not too poor, turned to complete his professional studies at a well adver- tised and spaciously equipped Veterinary College, which granted at the end of a brief and properly attenuated course of study, a diploma of macroscopic proportions. Up to 1895, with the exceptions cited, the only veter- inary colleges in America were maintained as purely com- mercial enterprises. They were all pregnant with the one ideal to make the institution pay. There have been a few exceptions, notable instances of which were schools affili- ated with privately endowed universities. Concerning these, however, the sorrowful fact remains that for lack of adequate financial support they in time tottered and fell. It was not until 1895 that modern thought was firmly enough crystallized to be directed to the importance, economic, sani- tary, and humane, of the veterinary profession. By legisla- tive enactment the State of New York appropriated $150,- 000 for the erection of suitable buildings to house an insti- tution of veterinary learning. The sum of $25,000 per annum was also given to meet its current expenses. For good — *5~ reasons this institution was located upon the Cornell Cam- pus. To-day it stands unique — the only one of its kind in the English speaking world. It seems, therefore, fitting that this day, the loth anniversary of its founding, should be commemorated, and that the man who is responsible for it all should have done unto him the highest honor which the profession at whose head he stands, is able to give. Behind all really great feats of human accomplishment will be found a man — some member of the mental aristocracy, the man of energy, tact, and brains. The founding of this in- stitution has offered no exception to the rule. The concep- tion of the New York State Veterinary College was not left to chance. No, gentlemen, it was the outgrowth of years of patient, persistent labor in behalf of a cause espoused, a profession loved and always fought for and advanced with eloquent tongue and fluent pen — with scientific attainments of the highest type ; with power to draw the strong men of public life ; with intelligence and with integrity. Behind this great piece of human work I see a man who worked in- cessantly with head, with hand, with heart for over thirty years, having as his ideal the founding of a real veterinary school, an Utopia of Veterinary Learning, in the state of his adoption. As a reward for this patient endeavor I see him finally live to realize in that grand monumental encase- ment, containing besides the material apparatus of a good equipment, a splendid aggregation of the best mental talent of the profession, the men who form the Faculty. In this instance the ' ' man behind the gun ' ' needs not my intro- duction. His name and fame are known throughout the land and across the sea. As we gather here to-night to do him honor, and witness his students extend to him a token of their love and esteem in the material form of a "' Loving Cup, ' ' I am tempted to draw from his life a lesson which will ever be to us an inspiration — that is, to be ever noble and to work. — 16— And now, Professor L,aw, I ask you in behalf of the faculty and students of the College of Veterinary Medicine of the Ohio State University, a sister institution of the Middle West, to accept our consecrated wish that you will ever be liberally endowed with life's greatest blessing of health and prosperity. For the institution you have founded, may her escutcheon ever be emblazoned with the motto : Ever upward ! Still higher ! ! Excelsior ! ! ! PRESENTATION OF LOVING CUP D. H. UDALL Associate Professor of Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, O. It is not within us to express in spoken language the pleasure that we experience this evening in thus extending our best wishes to our esteemed and cherished Professor, Dr. L,aw. Those who have met here to-night are but rep- resentatives, in a sense, of many of our colleagues who will, perhaps silently, but not less sincerely, extend to him the same compliments. We wish for him the same happiness and joyful activity that have characterized and honored his past life. We thank him for what he has been to us as a pioneer in the profession, as a scientist, as a teacher, and last, but not least, as a friend and father to every veterinary student that ever crossed our campus. There are countless other reasons why he has won the esteem and gratitude that find expression this evening from a few of his friends and pupils. When we shall have lived long enough to comprehend the limitations of the possibilities of a single personality we can more fully appre- ciate the value to our profession of the service performed by Dr. Law. Few have a clear conception of the status of our profession in America when he first became an active influence. This is largely due to the fact that it had not yet been introduced as a profession capable of supporting its own weight. Does he not deserve our plaudits when, in so short a time, his rare personality and tireless activity have given us an institution recognized by his colleagues who remained at home as superior to any of its kind in their own country. 17 — 18— His work has experienced no relapses, it has never had an opportunity to advance by the force of its own momen- tum, and best of all the influence of that work seems to be in the incipient stage. The extent of that influence is an indeterminate factor. It has created opportunities for those who would avail themselves of a veterinary education to obtain it in an atmosphere of refinement and scientific research that leaves within them ideals worthy of a digni- fied profession and stimuli to transform their ideals to reali- ties, it has created a standard which assists similar institu- tions in gaining proper recognition and support, and it has supplied a creative energy that seems destined to become a constantly increasing force in the solution of those scientific problems which logically fall in the path of the veterinarian. It is the fortune of few men with undisturbed mental and physical vigor to be able to look back at such satisfactory achievements and forward to still more satisfactory proba- bilities. His achievements have never been won at the cost of another's success. Personal ambition has had no place in the scheme of his ideals. If the shadow of failure ever fell across his path he has failed to recognize it. His qual- ities have combined the grip of a bull dog with the faith and patience of a martyr, they have been one of our chief resources in opening new paths of learning in veterinary science and they have won him a position of honor enjoyed by few in our profession. As pupils we recognize in him those qualities which in- spire one with an ambition for scientific proficiency and for the cultivation of those elements which furnish the mate- rial for character. We recognize and are impressed by that spirit of personal sympathy and interest in our welfare that forbears our faults in recognition of the best that is in us. These traits have stamped their influence on the minds of every student that ever became his pupil. In moulding their professional destiny he has unconsciously, by the force — 1 9 — of his personal example, exerted a powerful influence in the development of those faculties which we respect and admire in our fellow creatures. That personality which has won him the esteem of those with whom he occasionally came in contact has developed in his associates a type of friendship that has a very close rela- tion to affection. The students and alumni of this institu- tion are brought together here to-night by the spirit of loyalty it has inspired in them. We take unspeakable pleasure in paying our respects to that personality. Its light can never depart from our campus. May its bearer live long in the enjoyment of those gifts he has so skillfully used, and may this token of our esteem and gratitude convey to him the thoughts that he has so many times expressed to us in deeds. REMARKS OF P. A. FISH, TOASTMASTER If words of mine could add to the luster of the achieve- ments of our Director, most cheerfully would they be uttered ; but all, who know him, know that ' ' deeds make the man ' ' , and that he is still the peer of many a younger man, where work is concerned. ' ' Laborare est orare ' ' — to labor is to pray. Dr. L,aw's life has been a continuous prayer. We, who enjoy his friend- ship, know that his genius is not merely inspiration but perspiration, and that is the kind that endures. Gladstone, because of his work, was designated as the grand old man of the English parliament ; by the same token, Dr. L,aw is the grand old man of the American Veterinary profession. RKSPONSK BY DR. LAW Extract from letter of Dr. D. E. Salmon, Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C. I regret exceedingly that I am unable to accept your kind invitation to attend your banquet and to respond to a toast. I have much pleasure, however, in assuring you of my high appreciation of Dr. Law's work for the development of veterinary instruction at Cornell University, in aid of Federal and State legislation for the control of animal diseases, and in the diffusion of modern ideas concerning animal diseases and their treatment. 20 — 21 — Dr. Law came to the United States when a comparatively young man, and his principal work and achievements have been in the United States. It is impossible to estimate the influence which he has had in shaping American thought along veterinary channels and in aiding work for the con- trol of animal diseases, but this influence has been tre- mendous and will be enduring. I commend your efforts to demonstrate the appreciation of the alumni and undergraduates in Professor Law's work and to put this appreciation in concrete form, by the pre- sentation of a loving cup. Letter from Dr. Roscoe R. Bell, Editor of the American Veterinary Review and Professor of Materia Medica i?i the New York- American Veterinary College. I am in receipt of your very cordial invitation of the 1 8th inst. to be present at your annual college banquet on February 15th, and I assure you that I should esteem it a great privilege to be with you on that evening and to be permitted to say a few words to your guests, particularly as the occasion is commemorative of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the great veterinary school at which you and your associates have the great good fortune to seek your professional training. Especially should I love to mingle with you while you are doing homage to your dis- tinguished Director, for I fully appreciate the splendid work which he has and is accomplishing for the cause of higher education for the American veterinarian. Professor Law, already weighted with laurels which he has so deservedly won in his long and active career, does -not rest upon them, but is just as hard a student and as indefatigable a worker as he was before most of us were born, and in this respect — 22 stands almost alone among those who were his colleagues a generation ago. I propose that you drink with me to the health of Pro- fessor Law, and couple with it the hope of the veterinary profession of the American Continent, that he may long live to enjoy the fruits of his great work for the cause we all have so close to our hearts. I need scarcely say to those of you who know me that only my entire preoccupation could keep me in Brooklyn on the 15th ; but I hope you will convey to the banqueters, and to your honored guest, my sincere wish for a pleasant and profitable evening. AN APPRECIATION OF PROFESSOR LAW LEONARD PEARSON Dean of the Veterinary Department, University of Pennsylvania, and State Veterinarian, Philadelphia, Pa. I regret exceedingly that it is impossible for me to arrange to be with you on the 15th inst., to add my testi- mony to the worth of our esteemed teacher and friend and to help to honor this man to whom so much honor is due. My personal acquaintance with Dr. Law began twenty- one years ago when I entered the University in 1884. At that time there were no conveniences as you enjoy today ; Dr. Law worked under great disadvantages, such as would have discouraged most men, but he gave us his best thought and efforts and inspired us with high ideals. In the Summer of 1887 it was my good fortune to work under him in Chicago, where he had been sent by the Government to exterminate lung plague, and I continue to look back upon that time as one of the most profitable of my experience. —23— Dr. Law has been a pioneer, he has had to endnre the privations and disadvantages of the pioneer ; happily he has been more fortunate than many pioneers in that he may witness some of the results of his work and sacrifice. Always a leader, he has practiced, he has delved in research, he has lectured, he has written and he has formed public opinion and guided public action in many critical periods. His firm stand upon the extermination of lung plague has saved the nation untold millions. He has organized the best Veterinary School in this country and has written the best treatise on Veterinary Medicine in the English language. When a distinguished veterinarian from Germany re- cently said : ' ' Dr. Law is the leading man in his profession in this country and most of the veterinary advances may be traced directly or indirectly to him " , all who heard gave ready assent. We who have listened to his instruction are thankful for the great privilege and are proud of it, but we are far from being the only members of our profession who owe him a debt of gratitude ; his works will speak for him to future generations and his influence will be felt wherever his students, and their students, go. I am glad to have this opportunity to express my thanks to Dr. Law for all that he has been and is to me. Extract from letter of J. H. McNeil, Dean of the Veterinary Department, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. It is well and fitting that the tenth anniversary of the founding of the New York State Veterinary College should be celebrated in such a signal manner, and do honor to Dr. James Law, a name familiar to us all, and whose whole life —24— has been spent in active work for the advancement of the veterinarian and his many interests. " Law's Veterinary Medicine " will remain for years as a standard of excellence, representing all that could be gleaned from foreign literature and the extensive practice of several decades. Telegram from Dr. A. M. Farrington, Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington, D. C. Please extend to Professor Law my sincere and heartiest congratulations. May he live long and prosper ; may your banquet be an unqualified success. Extract from letter of Carl W. Gay, Assistant Professor of Animal Husbandry , Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. I note with pleasure the step your Society is taking in celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of the New York State Veterinary College, as a surprise ovation to Dr. Law. Nothing would please me more than to be able to participate in the celebration. This being im- possible, I can hardly forbear offering a little personal trib- ute, for it is a matter on which I feel very deeply. I truly feel that no man, outside of my own family, has meant more to me than has Dr. Law, and the high esteem, yes, almost reverence, shown him by everyone who has been associated with him is the strongest evidence of his sterling character, as well as the high professional ability of the man. The New York State Veterinary College stands as a splendid monument to his efforts, and the real significance —25— of this institution, as concerned with the veterinary profes- sion, is made more striking by contact with veterinarians the country over. There have been times when personal ambition and politics have threatened those associations which are supposed to stand for all that is best in our pro- fession. It was at such times that Dr. L,aw showed his power in a manner not seen in the classroom. In the face of almost unanimous opposition, but by a force irresistible, because prompted by a keen sense of justice and right, he would turn the trend of affairs, bringing order out of chaos, victory from defeat. It is to the character and personality of the man, more even than to his great professional ability, that we, as graduates, owe most. I believe that Dr. L,aw enjoys a position unique in itself, and not attained by any other member of the veterinary profession in this country.