HEALTH PROBLEMS IN COUNTRY DISTRICTS. 403 



sick one when alive is freely expended on a case of suspicious 

 death. The medico-legal questions are considered of much more 

 importance than the granting of help during life. From the 

 humanitarian point of view it is really of much more value to 

 help a citizen to regain health and strength rather than to 

 expend time, money, energy, and skill in trying to ascertain the 

 cause of death. I have no wish to belittle the efforts made to 

 protect human life from violence and ill-treatment, but merely 

 to point out that there is another side to the question. If the 

 victims had a choice they might be j)ardoned for preferring a 

 sharp blow over the head to end things without delay, rather than 

 months of pain, weakness, and distress as a precedent to death 

 " from natural causes," which would be accepted as quite all right 

 from the policeman on patrol, who had to make inquiries. In 

 dealing with matters medico-legal and recuperative assistance, 

 may I quote the words spoken of old, " These ought ye to have 

 done and not to leave the others undone." 



The suggestions now to be made are not necessarily original, 

 but so long as conditions remain unimproved, the same ground 

 has to be covered over and over again, in the hope that some day 

 it will reach the right ears, and the inertia of old-time habits will 

 be overcome. 



The case must be considered from two points of view — 

 that of the patient and that of the doctor. The mileage, combined 

 with the roughness of the roads, is one of the greatest reasons 

 for the high medical fees charged to country ]-)atients. Almost 

 any fee will be considered a high one from the point of view of 

 the patient, while from the point of view of the doctor, it is 

 miserably unremunerative, when the fatigue, upkeep o'" vehicles, 

 and time involved is considered. The first proposal is this : The 

 patient should pay an ordinary medical fee, and the Government 

 should be responsible for mileage at a reasonable rate. The fee 

 paid should be larger than would be charged if the patients were 

 brought to the doctor's consulting room. I consider this of very 

 great importance, because after all we are dealing with humans, 

 not angels, and it is human nature to save themselves trouble if 

 it cost them nothing. For the same reason a fee must be forth- 

 coming, otherwise the doctor would be called to all parts of the 

 district for any kind of trivial ailment. The mileage is another 

 matter. It is impossible for the small farmer or bywoner to pay 

 a reasonable mileage. If the Government gtiarantees the mifeage 

 to the doctor, then it either can be paid in full by the Government, 

 or in part, or collected altogether from the farmer, if he is in a 

 position to pay ; but the doctor should not be put in the position 

 of having to collect it. alternatively of refusing to go or of going 

 with no hope of recovering the fee. Both these last alternatives 

 are wrong. The doctor does quite enough charity in responding 

 to calls at all hours of the day and night, and in all conditions of 

 weather, without having to worry about collecting fees or losing 

 them altogether. This would put everyone on the same footing, 



