Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-28
CHINESE SYSTEM A FAILURE

New Orleans Times -Democrat: "The
! Chinese system of paying their physl-
clans while the patient keeps well-0nd
shutting off the salary when he gets sick,
always struck me as being singularly
sensible" sail one Of the tenants OF a
big office building yesterday. you see.
it gives a doctor every incentive to
an unavoidable illness as brief as posi-
BILE, while GU method of paying while
we are disabled offers just the opposite
inducemert. Of course, I don't mean7to
saw that amy reputable practltoner
would deliberately keep a patient faro up
for the sake Of his fee, u the tempea
ton is certainly mighty strong. ana iast
New Years, after settling a whopplng
hig hill for tn preceding quarter, / made
m nv mind to give the Chinese method
a trial-iust as an interesting expert
ment. I was afraid to make the propo-
sition to my regular physician, who is
a very stiff-neeked old-tiIner, and would
probably have Drained me with a stetho-
! scope under the impression that L was
impugning his honor, so l hunted up q
very earnest. able young doctor whom I
! knew to be struggling hard to get a foot
hold, and laid the scheme before him.
Tn in delicate health I said, and your
| profession generally gets a good deal OF
my money from one years end to an
other, besides penning me up in bed and
preventing m e from attending to BUSH
i ness. Now Ill give you $12.5O a month
as long as you keep me well. If I get sick
your pay stops until I'm we'll again. He
thought a moment and accepted"
"Well, how did it turn out " asked ONE
of a group of listeners.
I'm just coming to that" replied the
| speaker. For a week or SO it worked all
i ..s-LA IL ~,1~-~ ia -
twice to look me over casually, and / had
a pleasant feeling that some one vas
vitality intere sted in seeing that I kept
well. Then came the first unpleasant ex-
perience. We had a rainy day n I was
hurrying UP Canal street toward the
office when a mar suddenly bounced on
me and drag ged me into a hallway. 1T
was the doctor.
"'Good he vens!' he fairly yelled,
where are your rubbers?' &
IT don't KIN ow,' I stammered, startled
half out of my wits.
"'Then Civ me the money to buy a
pair with at once he said. or you'll be
down with pneumonia Inc I'll lose a
whole months wages
"He was SO fierce that I shelled out and
missed sever al important engagements
while I waite d. A few nights afterward
I was quietly eating a rum omelette In, a
restaurant when who should rush I'm
but that con Ounded doctor.
Rum omelette! he gasped, turning
pale as death Why, man alive! do YOU
want to take the bread right out of my
MOUTH -
And with that he grabbed the ONE
lette and ordered me some tea and toast,
your digestive organs are very sensi-
tive he said. and am attack Of gastritis
would mean eight or ten dollars out of
my pocket. I'm a poor man. said he.
and l can't afford to take any such
chances. It wouldn't be Just to INV tam
ily.'
i ate the tea and toast, which I abom-
mate. m began to wonder whether the
Chinese syste m was quite as much of a
cinch as 1t SO med at long range. Well.
l won't bore you with all the details. but
l give you my word that for the next two
weeks suffered martyrdom. That in
fernal doctor was continually bobbinx up
at unexpected places. determined to keen
me well or perish in the attempt. At last
he passed the limit.
Il was at the theater with a marty ~
friends, and by some horrible fafaIitv ~
was sitting in the next row. He kent
snlIufne about uneasily. and finally, right
IN the midst OF the performance. he
'eahed over nd whispered hoarsely: