Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-11-05
The Three Doctors.

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Smith, Brown and Jones were class
mates in the medical department of
Michigan University. They graduated
at the head of their class, and had
been great friends throughout the
portion of time which it takes to trans
form q raw country lad into a physi-
cfan. Their professors predicted a
great career for them, and the bows
left the university with high hopes for
the future in q great and noble profes-
sion. During their last day at college
they had q consultation together as to
where they would locate. The faintest
hearted of them thought that perhaps
the best thing they could do was to
strike out for the wild West. 60 TO
Washington Territory, or Dakota, or
Montana, and grow up with the coun-
try. But the braver of the three car
ried the day. He held that there was
no use waiting SO long, and practically
edling themselve. for a competence.
"Who," he said, Twill be the great
physician of New York ten years from
new?' Nobody could tell. :. 1t is
somebody who is TODAY struggling
along, probably barely making a living
The city is the place for US. boys. We
may have a year or two of hard grub
bing, but | tell you the city is the spot
in which to grow. When you have
made country practice, what does it
amount 20! 1t means hard work every
day. in the year. Driving through bad
roads for miles in the country and col
lecting mighty little for it. / know
what q country doctors life is because
was raised in the country. Now,
whatever city we select we can be, If
we hang on, in the midst of q big
practice ten years from now. 1t is
something worth striving for. We
may not get along as well at first a. We
would in q country place or village
where there was no doctor, but we are
sure TO get more in the end, and to
enjoy then all the advantages of civili-
zation."
So the boys agreed TO start together
in some big city, and Chicago was the
place chosen. Smith located in poor
but thickly populated part Of the city,
Brown got a spot in ali aristocratic
portion of the town, and Jones located
in q street where there were about fifty
doctors, because he believed that where
there were so many he would possibly
stumble on the business of some wh,
already were having more thai the,
could do.
For awhile the boys kept up thei
courage. They kne Y that they under
stood the profession, and probably un
derstood il much better than some o
the rich old fogies who were ten o
twenty years behind the times, ano
who had splendid practices. AT tn
end of year the boys, who were nov
rather sad-eyed young men, met to
gether to compare notes.
Smith had had any amount of prac
tice. He had been kept on the gt
nearly night and day. At first he likec
II because it gave him real experience
which a man could never get in tn,
rooms of the clinic, or the wards O.
the hospital. He had been very success
full and was extremely well liked by
the people whom he had located
among. But, alas! when it came &c
collecting there was a different story
to tell. Men who would not think OF
cheating their grocer or their butcher
never paid doctors bill, while many
others cheated not only butcher and
baker, but everybody else that would
give them credit. Practice had been
plentiful but cash was mighty scarce,
and poor Smith had often been with
out the five cents to get himself a sand
| vich-
Brown very dolefully reported that
he had not even had the practice. He
had lived there day by day In his aris-
tocratic neighborhood and had never
had call. The elegant equipages OF
| successful doctors had passed him snc
! repassed him, and had called mex
door, and next block, and next street
but no calls came for Brown. Life
had only been possible for him by
borrowing from some friends and get.
| ting supplies from home.
Jones said he had had few calls thai
were intended for other doctors, oil
sometimes when the doctor next door
was away an emergency case came tc
him, but he had not been able TO keep
his head above water, and the end of
the year showed no improvement Ii
business, and found him poorer than
when he had started out. What was
to be done? That was the question.
Smith said ne was going 10 hang OIL
for another six months, if possible,
and then, if things didn't look better,
he was going to go west. Brown
didn't know whether he could hang or
any longer or not, and Jones was fre.
TO confess that he had made up hii
| mind to strike for Texas.