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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIX. No. 996 



towards physical, mental and moral better- 

 ment. One of his patients is a large manu- 

 facturer employing many unskilled labor- 

 ers. Dr. Smith has often pointed out to 

 this man that the efficiency of his working 

 force would be multiplied many times were 

 the men paid better wages, the work done 

 in rooms better lighted and ventilated, and 

 in general with a little more humaneness 

 shown them. Another is at the head of a 

 large mercantile house which employs 

 clerks at the lowest possible wages and 

 makes the conditions of life well nigh un- 

 endurable. A wealthy woman gives largely 

 to church and charity from her revenues 

 which come from the rental of houses in 

 the red light district. Another of the doc- 

 tor's patrons is a grocer who sells "egg 

 substitutes" and similar products "all 

 guaranteed under the pure food law." 

 We will not continue the list of the doctor's 

 patrons and it must not be inferred that all 

 are bad, for this is not true. The majority 

 are honest, conscientious people, as is the 

 case in all communities. Our country has 

 a population of nearly one hundred mil- 

 lions. Millions of these are decent, re- 

 spectable citizens, not altogether wise, but 

 for the most part well intentioned. Thou- 

 sands are brutal in their instincts, criminal 

 in their pursuits, and breeders of their kind. 

 We claim to be civilized, but there are those 

 among us who would be stoned to death 

 were they to attempt to live in a tribe of 

 savages. But I must stop these parentheti- 

 cal excursions and get back to Dr. Smith 

 and his dteam. On a certain day in Novem- 

 ber of the present year he had been unusu- 

 ally busy, even for one whose working hours 

 frequently double the legal limit. During 

 his office hours he had seen several cases 

 which gave him grave concern. There was 

 William Thompson, the son of his old 

 classmate and college chum, now Judge 

 Thompson. William finished at the old 



university and is now an embryo lawyer 

 promising to follow in the footsteps of his 

 honored and honorable father, but William 

 belonged to a fast fraternity at college and 

 came to Dr. Smith this morning with cop- 

 per-colored spots over his body and a local 

 sore. The doctor easily diagnosed the case 

 and pointed out to William that he was a 

 walking culture flask of spirochetes, a con- 

 stant source of danger to all who should 

 come in contact with him, and that years of 

 treatment would be necessary to render 

 him sound again. On the lip of a girl, the 

 daughter of another old friend, the doctor 

 had found a chancre caused by a kiss from 

 her iiance, a supposedly upright man 

 prominent in church and social circles. He 

 had seen a case of gonorrhea in a girl baby 

 contracted from her mother, the wife of a 

 laboring man. A case of gonorrheal oph- 

 thalmia in a young man whose only sin was 

 that he had used the same towel used by an 

 older brother next demanded his attention. 

 Several cases of advanced tuberculosis 

 among those who had been told by less 

 conscientious physicians that the cough was 

 only a bronchial trouble made Dr. Smith 

 lament the standard of skill and honor 

 among some of his professional brethren. 

 Rapid loss in weight in an old friend who 

 had been too busy to consult him earlier 

 was diagnosed as neglected diabetes. In 

 another instance dimness of vision and fre- 

 quent headaches persisting for months had 

 not sufficed to send an active business man 

 to the physician. This proved to be an 

 advanced case of Bright 's disease, which 

 should have been recognized two years 

 earlier. Urinary, ophthalmoscopic and 

 blood pressure tests demonstrated the seri- 

 ousness of the present condition. A breast 

 tumor on the wife of an old and respected 

 friend showed extensive involvement of the 

 axillary glands and the operation demand- 

 ed promised only temporary relief, while 



