The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-08-09

nair anu stature Bring Returns of Gold
Medical Men

ing heJufnS OIL Gold tn
Medical Men.
'Oh. for a shaggy, tawnv be.ra
and six inches more of staturer,
1lghed a diminutive medical practi.
TONER, as he paced along beside tall
portly, full-bearded neighbor yester.
day. vainly endeavoring to regulate
his strides to those of his TOWERING
companion. 'Such a beard as yours
would mean great money to me-" he
continued. land each of your surplus
inches would be worth its weioht in
gold Oh! that the wind might blow
through my whiskers!' and the NJ u
Tell amusing and meditatively stroked
the scattering bristles that formed .
scanty fringe about his chubby chin
He had pract ced medicine for .
dozen years or more. and was. in the
Judgment OF his peers, a reliable and
skillful physician. He had won MANY
prizes while a medical student and
had received high encomiums from old
and wise heads. But he was in an.
pearance such very youth that peo-
pie were afraid to trust their hod;Iv
ailments to his hands, and as wear af-
ter year dragged by and his bovisb..
ness contlnu d to repel more than his
single attracted, he yearned to adopt
false beard, dye his hair gray Or
walk on stills.
''poes beard actually increase n
doctors usefulness" he said. repeating
his companions query "Why. there
Is no such priceless jewel When peo-
pie summon a physician they don't
want to place their lives in bows
hands. They want a man of wears
and evident experience and their
Judgment of these things is most su-.
perficial. was once reused in ths
dead of night to attend a case of pneu-.
monla. but was sent skurrying home
ward almost as soon as | reached the
patients chamber. because, rs she ex-
pressed it, she had thought I WAS -
great big man with beard. stepped
out with dignity. and "a great big man
with beard stepped in. He. didn't
know beans from belladOnna. but that
made no difference. He had landed
the good woman in better world be-
fore the day was far spent There
have been similar occurrences in nv
office. Persons step in and ask for DR..
SO-and-SO. and when | walk into the
room twirling my boys mustache they
suddenly change their minds and de-
eide that their health is excellent.
''Paucity of inches or of whiskers
does not necessarily imply scantness
OF brain. There are Immune rable proofs
OF this; but the laity is slow to catch
the idea. A young medical graduate.
fresh from the lecture and dissectino
room. is apt to be much more
careful OF his patients than an old
practitioner who has fallen into a rat
and relegated his books to the library's,
dusty shelves. And yet it is an hercu-.
lean task for even the cleverest young.
medicO to attract enough patronage
for his support. A fair average week
ly income for the first year out of COL
lege is $40 Or $50. The man who
makes $3.50 is doing remarkably WELL
and is regarded among his cOnfrere-.
as very Cr9sus. Eight or ten years,
must pass before a young doctor cam
acquire decently rrmunerative prar-
tice. This period is shortened ifa
man has whiskers as recommends
ton. but it is miserably protracted ii
the bristles refuse to grow. 1t is raj
only the poor or ignorant who have
this prejudice against beardIess
youths. Among the wealthy it is often
times much accent ated If they en-
ploy young physician they must
needs call in a handful of differing
doctors to make assurance of cure,
doubly sure. BY this means the pa
tent naturally grows worse. Too
many doctors spoil the broth and the
youngest one tumbles into it head
foremost. Garfield might have been
alive to-day if he had been tended by
one single-purposed country doctor,
instead of a squad of inharmoniOus
wiseacres. "-Philadelphia Record