The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-04-18
DR.. ATCHERLY
HAS A KICK
Kamuela, South Kofala,
Hawaii, T. H.

( April 18th, 1904
The Editor Pacific Commercial Adver-
3 tiser
Sir-In self-defense may ask you
to allow me TO make public the means
lby which the same Legislature that last
June raised my salary to rs dollars, as
Government physician, were induced to
lower it to ten dollars month, and at
the same time to reduce that of other
physicians.
l have it on the authority of certain
members of the House, one of them
the Speaker, that the following story
about me, told by Governor Carter,
produced the desired result, as well it
might This was the story: That
Lpoor native boy came to me for medi-
cine, for his wife, who was seriously i'll
at Hamallua (IIilo district), and that
| refused to give the medicine till he
paid for If, although my pay at that
time was $I25, and that of the patients
husband only SEQ. This statement
seemed, to those members who knew me,
utterly incredible, and they asked for
time to communicate with me, which
was refused Now the true account of
this will show that the poor boy" the
patients husband, was a Swedish farm
er and team owner, certainly not poor
or INDECENT. That he sent his Japan |
csc with note for the medicine, in |
stead of coming himself That my sal |
airy at the time was so dollars and not |
i
that month given up hauling and gone |
to work for the ranch at 70 dollars to-
gether with house rent free, free food, |
etc. That | was altogether unaware of |
this change. / had treated this family /
for some time having visited them at |
heir home IN HamaIua. six miles out |
of my district He occupied this house |
with land and owned horses, mules,
wagons, etc, with which latter he work |
ed on the Government reads, hauling
materials, and receiving $25 a day (see
books of S. Kohala Road Board) |
sum more than three times my own pay
of so dollars month. He was under
treatment himself, for severe injury,I
just before his removal, and had not
paid his bill, although he was able to
do so; consequently when on April goth,
1903, he sent his japanese for more
for his wife, l told the Jap
that / objected to continually treating
people of another district for nothing,
and left him waiting, while I went TO
the nearby store. In the meantime he
laid a complaint at the ranch Office, and
Mr.. Alfred Carter spoke to me about
It; | gave the Jap the medicine, and he
paid a dollar for it. In such a district
as this without plantations physician
at so dollars month must get fees from
those who can afford it or he could not
exist. 1t seems that he had Just quit |
the hauling business and gone to work :
for the ranch at 70 dollars, but even
then his income with free house rent [
and food was equivalent to more than :
my so dollars, prices here being higher
than IN Honolulu. 1t is likely that Mr.. | [
Alfred Carter knew nothing of this pa
rents real circumstances, still it would | T
have been more just had Governor Car E
.er investigated matters before discred-
ting me in the House To be con- | {
1emned, without hearing, for charging
/ man IN better circumstances than my
self, fee for medical services. Whenl +
ny own pay was not half enough to sup
bort family in such a place in Wal II
nea, IS the cruelest injustice And If ! !.
he physician here cannot exist on 20
dollars, to expect him TO live on ten !,
lollars month and then never to de-
nand fee, on pain of further reduc-
ION, IS an utter absurdity. l am sir,
Yours truly,
JOHN ATCHERLEY,
4. K. c. D, etc, Govt. Physician to
South Kohala, Hawaii.