Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1896-06-05
DEFENSE OF DOCTORS.
They are Ever Faithful-A No
BILE Class of Men.

"The doctors never forget to
charge, and nine tenths of them
have become rich off of the poor
people, and cure or no cure, the
pay is all the same; and not only
so, some of them cannot go to
see suffering flesh after night, let
them live or die. People seldom
send for a doctor unless they
need him and he should go, if
possible. Our physicians expect
pay and they should have it, and
there ought to be a law enacted
that doctors should be required
to attend calls at all hours or
their license taken from them
and not be allowed to trif1e with
dear human life as they often do"
The foregoing is taken from
correspondence to the Stanley
Enterprise of last week and is
portion of an article, some parts
of which are meritorious, but for
downright "tommyrot,' ignor>
ance and prejudice we will put
that little jingle of words against
the world. Did the writer
weigh his words3 Did he have
any idea of what he was saying?
We don't know what manner of
man he is, but the paragraph re-
ferred to sounds very much like
the rafting talk of one of those
fellows who had rather talk than
listen, though Shakespeare were
the speaker and human nature
his theme. We say this advised
ly, for had the gentleman stopped
for a moment and considered he
would have seen the error of his
statement.
No class of men do more char
ity work than do physicians.
They undergo privations, hard
ships and annoyances unknown
to those outside the profession.
Where is the physician in this
country who has become rich off
of the poor people2 Where is the
physician in this section who is
rich off of anybody? The ply
stefan does more charity work
than all other classes com bined.
Often he gets out of bed on
cold night and rides for miles to
see a patient who he knows is
too poor to pay and from whom
he never expects to receive a
cent.
The doctor is blamed with
things beyond his or human con-
troll, and if the patient RECEIVERS
oftenti1nes the friends and rela-
tives with long faces and I'M
grateful hearts and in mockery
of thanksgiving, say; His re-
covery was a wonderful display
of divine power" but, if the pa
tent dies, those aforesaid rela-
tives are mighty quick to say,
"Well, the doctor might have
done better, it seems to me.
And thus uuthanked, unpaid,
worn out with a hard life OF toll
the faithful doctor trudges home
one day and never goes to see
another patient He stretches
his wearied, prematurely worn
out form on his couch and isl
never called to drag his weary
frame up and away over rough
roads, through winters cold or
summers heat, for he makes
surrender to that grim power hel
has fought SO long and goes down
in that oblivious gloom where
all the PROSTATE ranks of men
crowd without fellowship. |
His administrator finds thou
sands of dollars On his books I'M
collected and uncollectable and
not enough Of this worlds goods
left to keep the wolf from the
door Of his surviving family.
No, sir; you are entirely off
when you say that "nine-tenths
of the doctors get rich off of the
poor people," The average phys
sician's riches consist not in this
worlds goods but are of deeds
of mercy he has done, and they
shall not be forgotten. The
poor, the fatherless, the widow,
and the OutcastS Of earth shall
rise up and call him blessed,
whom you, in your ignorance or
your prejudice, condemn as be-
ing grasping and a robber of the
Door.