Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-10-12
Looker-On In Iona

Hampton, Oct. IA good many
ton of some one appealing to
gard 10 the conditions of an Iowa
hotel. There is a general expressed APP
probation If the case needs such ac-
ton and regret if ITS spite work. Some
weeks ago a reader of the Ell r. sug-
gested that some one ought TO report
to the state board of health the con-
! dition of a doctors office. that lives in
that burg. Naturally This critic had
his eyes open when we got around ito
the office. In the first place the room
evidently had not been swept for weeks.
There was dust and dirt everywhere.
There We're soiled towels in the corner
evidently used in some surgical opera
tion. And the doctors surgical instru
mentS were sight to behold" Three
pairs of forceps We're in plain sight with
| dried blood and rust covering them
since last used. He had a medicine case.
a regular little drug store where he
.does his own prescribing, puts up his
medicines. for patients. A dozen or
more uncorked half full bottles were in
I
/ was half unroled, and some of it that
had been used in some operation was
there in close proximity to the unused
roll. There was a jar of some kind of
| intment open and covered with the dust
that had gathered Was the doctor
dead? No. nor sleeping. Simply it's
just the way he has of doing things
And listen, the other doctor up at the
end of the street says this careless
doctor has during the past year lost
three cases of blood poisoning, this
after the careless doctor had prescribed
and operated on the patient. Sounds
probable. When the state board Of
health gets the hotels all Strengthened
out, why not have these doctors look
UP their "brethren.''
Here and there all over Iowa are
towns affected with dry rot. And in
these good times too. The process is
slow but sure First the town is over
done, overstocked and overbuilt
Doomed in word Then comes the
discovery which everybody knew be-
fore, that the building of this town
did not increase the population of the
adjoining ten square miles, not over
e
man. merchant and grocer soon found
out his trade must be taken away from
some other nearby town To do this
cut prices were made. Reduced little
or no profit resulted. Then came a
change in the business men. Invaria bly,
the new men We're ignorant of business
methods did not keep up with the
| times, with the result of failure. Then
came the empty stores. And today there
are a thousand unoccupied stores in
Iowa. Buildings that cost $4,000 can be
bought for $500. One block of three
stores in one. town cost the builder
sl3 800. Tney were traded for Dakota
land and put in at $500. Meanwhile
, the good towns are getting better the
big towns larger. but many little towns
growing worse and poorer And here's
another thing worth noticing. In the
vicinity of these dry rot" towns, does
the trade with the mail order houses OF
Chicago increase? Postmasters ON the
i-quiet will tell how many more money
orders are bought than five years ago
: And these observing postmasters tel
another interesting story On rura
, routes where the smallest number Of
daily papers are taken out, there arc
the largest number of orders sent tt
the mail order houses. In other words
the men that read a daily paper
whether Chicago or state daily, FOL
some unexplained reason, fail to take
advantage of the great bargains Of
! fered by the eastern mail order houses
They do not save money that way.
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