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Ethical  Pharmaceutical  Practice \ 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1905. 
struments  will  be  modern,  of  the  most  approved  type,  and  ample. 
Great  care  will  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  assistants  and  attend- 
ants; there  will  be  several  classes,  but  each  class  will  hold  its 
competent  and  trustworthy  personelle.  He  is  known  to  be  compe- 
tent, practised,  well  situated  and  properly  equipped.  From  whence 
will  his  patients  come?  We  all  know,  from  two  sources;  the  one 
helping  the  other.  But  if  it  happens  he  decides  to  do  general 
practice  in  connection  with  surgery,  there  will  be  but  one ;  he  may 
expect  to  depend  upon  his  own  efforts  and  his  own  cases  for  success. 
It  may  not  discredit  him  to  do  general  work  ;  but  will  he  ever  be- 
come a  leading  or  quite  so  proficient  surgeon  ?  Should  he  indulge 
in  misleading  practices,  pretend  to  possess  unusual  and  secret  means 
or  knowledge,  he  will  soon  lose  caste  and  be  quickly  relegated  to 
his  rank.  He  will  be  allowed  to  furnish  material  incidental  to  his 
practice,  and  although  it  may  not  be  directly  charged  for,  it  will 
enter  as  a  charge  with  services,  "  operating  room,  $10  "  it  reads,  or 
"  including  charges  for  dressings,  ligatures,  ether."  He  may  with 
propriety  sterilize  dressings,  prepare  ligatures,  examine  anesthetics. 
Indeed,  he  may  have  a  hospital  or  sanitorium  of  his  own,  and 
charge  for  the  board  of  his  patients.  All  this  he  could  do  with 
perfect  propriety.  He  could  own  a  farm,  make  an  occasional 
deal  in  real  estate  or  take  "a  dip"  in  wheat  without  sacrificing  his 
professional  standing.  But  what  would  be  thought  of  him  if  he  were 
to  run  an  ice  cream  and  confectionery  saloon,  with  cigar  stand  and 
pool  room  attachments,  in  connection  with  his  sanitorium  ?  What 
would  be  thought  of  him  if,  when  a  patient  is  sent  to  him  by  a  gen- 
eral practitioner  for  surgical  treatment,  he  is  willing  and  anxious  to 
treat  him  for  all  other  ailments  and  at  all  times,  which  willingness 
he  expresses  through  conspicuous  cards  generously  distributed 
around  his  waiting  room.  And,  infinitely  worse,  if  he  should  pre- 
scribe for  a  price  any  old  advertised  appliance,  bath  or  treatment, 
about  which  he  knew  nothing,  or  which  his  very  attainments  told 
him  were  worthless.  Oh,  brothers,  the  cases  are  sadly  parallel !  We 
need  not  cut  out  side-lines  if  in  carrying  these  our  self-respect  and 
personal  dignity  do  not  suffer  and  the  attention  they  require  does 
not  too  greatly  interfere  with  the  more  serious  demands  of  our  prac- 
tice. We  may  invite,  if  we  will,  the  heavy,  sickening  odor  of  the 
burning  Havana  or  the  annihilating  fumes  of  the  scorched  "  Sweet 
Caporal,"  both  very  hard  to  bear  by  the  delicate  young  woman 
