Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-02-27
COUNTY PHYSICIAN MATTER.
Commissio oner Brice Answers the COmml
nicatlon of "W. 9. G."


who was elected county physician. L as
sume, from the intense interest he mani
tests in the county's helpless wards, that
he is hilanthropist whose name and
fame will grow brighter as time rolls on.
I assume that with tender and LOVING
hands, and open pock he admins
ters to the wants and necessities OF the
poor and needy in his community, and
his philanthropic and his benevolent
deeds outrival those Of John Howard or
Florence Nightingale. If this be true, ana
"W. S. G." is solely interested in the well
fare of the county paupers and prisoners,
and honestly bell ewes that they Will SUI
fer on account of the action Of the commls-
sioners in the selection of physician, MS
communi cation is and was natural ana
eminently right and proper. will, there
fore, q round, unvarnished tale deliver OF
that "dark and suspicious" proceeding
on the part of the county Solons, alias the
county commissioners.
County Supervisor Culp verbally non-
fed the local physicians to put in bids FOR
the county practice and include the medi-
cine in their bids. On the appointed day,
the 26th day of January, ultimo, four bids,
| in sealed envelopes were handed to the
supervisor and opened by me in the pres
ence of the board. DR.. J. F. Lindsay, (the
then county physician) after giving an in
teresting account of his work during the
preceding year, put in the following bid:
81 will be- pleased to accept the appoint
ment of county physician on the same
terms as BEFORE" (Sl.5O per VISIT.
DR.. M. j. Walkers bid was:
"Jail, 81 per visit County Home, $l.25
per visit, you furnish the medlclne.
will do the practice at the following rate
and fill my own prescriptions; Jali,
sl.25 per visit; County Home' sl'0o per
visit"
DIR. J. R. Bratton's bid was:
"Visit and prescription, Jail, 81; visit
and prescription, infirmary, $l.5O."
DIR. w. G.. Whites bid was:
"Will furnish all needed and necessary
medicine for said parties inmates OF jail
and poorhouse) when called In to see
them, and will charge for said medica!
81 .25 visit for the poorhouse IA visit to
inclnde all who need attention and fur
nish medicine free to them ally when
hannen to be called in. Now, In case
there is any surgical work or any obstet-
rical cases to attend, why, OF course, 1t
would cost something extra but assume
the charges will be reasonable. Should
the supervisor furnish the medicine, Will
do the practice at 81 per visit Tor ooth
institutions"
At first blush, DR.. w. 6. Whites bid ap-
peared to be the lowest; but he was the sole
and only bidder who said anything about
extra charges, and, that little salvation
clause'' in his bid about surgical opsra-
tions and obstetrical cases, caused consid-
erabIe discussion. The board knew that
the poorhouse was filled up with worn
out, broken down humanity. The board
also knew that in certain sister county,
q little clause in their county physician's
hid about surgical operations to be extra,
had cost that sister county several hum
dred dollars. DR.. White was summoned
before the board to explain this clause,
and said that be was willing to leave 1t to
q hoard of arbitrators to say what the
surgical work done was worth, and that
he would do no work that was not neces-
sarv 70 be done. The board again dis
cussed the matter as to who was the low
est bidder, and reached the conclusion
that the lowest bidder was man who
came in at the close Of the year with
the smallest bill That there was no
difference whatever between 200 visits
to the jail and poorhouse at Sl.OO
a visit, and 100 visits to the same institu-
tions at $500 visit. The accounts OF the
various county physicians for the past six
wears were reviewed. They did not tella
tale of "angels visits few and far between;"
but, on the contrary, when those dusty
accounts, rich with the spoils of filthy
lucre, were unrolled, they showed visits
as numerous rs the leaves of Vallombro-
ga. Verify, the Solons were perplexed.
O, for "W. s. G." in this vast wilder
ness of doubt! The more visits the more
pay. When physician was called IN 10
see an inmate of these institutions, he
was his own Judge when and how often
he would visit the patient. The bidding
physicians were high-toned, honorable
gentlemen; but poor human nature is
weak. When it comes to the county's
paving for any work done, be it for lit
tie bridge or a lawyers fee, "gouge" is
the word. Those marble-hearted Solons
also recalled the fact that the state of South
Carolina, in the conduct of her penal and
charitable institutions, elected and ap-
pointed her physicians, not by the visit,
but by the year. Taking all these facts
into consideration, the aforesaid Solons.
rejected all bids and sent out to the local
physicians the following notice:
"YoRKvILLE, S. c., January 26th, 1897.
DR.. ... / am instructed by the board OF
county commissioners to inform you that
your bid, along with the others submit
ted, were all duly considered by the
board; but none were considered satisfac-
torily explicit. After mature delibera-
ton, the board decided to call for bids
again and award the contract for medical
attention to the inmates OF the county
home and prisoners in county Jail to the
lowest bidder by the year, for two years.
That is to say, we want you to say in
dollars and cents what you will charge to
give medical attention to the inmates OF
the two institutions above mentioned and
furnish your own medicine for one year.