The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-12-10
COUNTY DOCTOR
AN EXPENSIVE
LUXURY
Morrison Method of Coin
ing Dollars Appears to
Be Doomed.

There is problem in county
economy for the new board of com
missioners to solve and the proper
solution means big saving to tax
payers of money that is practically
given away. The fee collected by
consent of TIE present board is
out of all proportion to the value
of service actually rendered. The
case is that of the county physician
For a real good thing" DR.. w.
F. Morrison probably has the best
snap in the gift of public officials.
The doctor is paid salary of 500
per month and in addition is given
81 per mile one way to all calls on
behalf of the county that he has
occasion to inspect. The addition
is better than the salary, as the
doctor has just been allowed 1891
for 25 trips made during November,
making a total compensation from
the county for the month of s491.
In addition to his services for
the county the doctor looks after a
private practice while out in the
rural districts and picks up many
an easy fee in this way that swells
the grand total of his growing in
come.
During the month the doctor
made three trips to Medical Lake,
for which he charged the county
SIT per trip, while the fare there
is only 60 cents for the round trip.
The doctor had occasion, it seems,
to visit Latah twice during the
month, for which he drew s42 per
trip from the county.
Forty-two dollars per day travel
ing expenses, and never went be-
yond the confines of Spokane
county!
The doctor appends the usual
signed statement at the bottom of
his bill, in which he certifies that
his account lis just, true and cor
rect, and no greater than charged
individuals for like quality of labor,
and that the fees charged conform
to the market price"
The doctors bill relates entirely
to contagious diseases, quaranttn-
ing and disinfecting such cases as
are reported. He does not give the
name of the family visited or the
date of the visit, simply saying.
"Quarantining smallpox, Latan,
$42."
The quarantining amounts to
lacking up a contagious disease
card, something an ordinary deputy
could attend to. as the attending
private physician notifies the
county office of such cases. The
disinfecting amounts to tearing
down the Garland very little else.
County physician fumigations are
something of joke among the
medical fraternity.
Yet the doctor collects his 81 per
mile for all such services. Natur-
ally the poor man is kept on the
jump most of the time. OF course
that means 81 every three minutes
or so and 10 minutes to tack up the
card and give what few directions
may be needed. If the family de-
sires any of the county physicians
professional services, the fee the
family pays the doctor therefor is
added to the per mile rakeoff. In
a case seven miles from town DR..
Morrison collected 81 from the
county for lacking up his card, $40
for administering a shot of anti
toxin and 81 for lifting the quaran-
tine. He reaped s24 altogether for
that few minutes of labor. And so
it goes all over this great county,
while the people pay the bill III
taxes and in private donations
where the doctor puts on any
extras.
Physicians OF druggists in any of
the smaller towns could do the
quarantine work for a tenth of the
cost, but the county doctor gets it
all. And the operation Keeps him
SO busy that he hasn't time to send
a sick man to the poor farm. In
one case the sick man committed
suicide because he could see no
other means Of relief.
The conduct of the office OF
county physician has created more
adverse talk than any other ap-
pointive office under the control of
the board of county commissioners.
Even men who occupy berths at
the courthouse, who are usually
pretty reticent as to the official ac-
lions of their follow servants of the
county, do not hesitate to talk of
the charges of the county physi-
clan. 1t is given out that one OF
the first changes to be made by the
new county commissioners will be
In the county health officer.
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