The daily sentinel., 1912-03-11
Associated Press.

| London, March 11.-For an act
| that passed through Parliament with
out division, that is without any
member registering a vote against it.
| the National Insurance Scheme
against sickness and disablement has
set up a record for the extent of the
controversy that has ragged around
Il.
The friendly societies, which have
insurance benefits of their own for
members, started the trouble. They
feared that the bill, by forcing their
members to contribute to the gov
ernment scheme, would induce them
to leave the societies. This was set
tied by approved societies being al
lowed to administer the act as it dealt
with their members.
Then came the opposition of mis-
tresses and servants, who, besides OBJ
jecting to contributing their &c
weekly each for the insurance of the
servant, raised a cry against the
necessity of sticking the necessary
stamps in a book.
Opposition also came from large
employers of labor, chiefly in the
cotton districts of Lancashire, who
held that the extra tax would deprive
them of their profits.
Other classes have taken up the
cry against the bill, the Socialists
among them, as they wanted sys-
tenn to which the workmen would not
nave to contribute, the state and
employer paying the whole of the
amount required
The most serious and sustained op-
position to the bill, however, has
been that of the medical men. 21,OOO
of whom have signed a declaration
that they will not accept service un-
the act. The chief objection of the
doctors is that no adequate remuner-
alton for the medical men could be
obtained under the act: that ii would
In fact amount to about 81 yearly
for each patient. This is only cal
culation, as the act states that the
remuneration of doctors who place
their names on the lists OF those
agreeing to attend patients under
the act shall be matter of arrange
ment between the local insurance
committees and the doctor The med
ical men, however. point out that the
committees consist of perhaps so
members, only three of whom would
be medical men; so that the chances
of adequate remuneration are the re-
motest.
The medical men also object to the
control by friendly societies, chiefly
because they believe well-to-do peo-
pie would creep into friendly societies
and get medical attendance at the
same rate as the laborers. Then there
IS objection to what is known here
as the contract system. This already
prevails in certain districts, chiefly
among the miners, who contribute to
fund out of which a medical man
attends those contributing for a fixed
salary.
Those doctors who, in the face OF
the decision of the great majority of
their profession have agreed to act
under the bill are being decried as
"blacklegs," and the campaign is be-
ing carried on much as would a strike
of trade unionists.
The government has started
counter campaign to bring home to
every household in the land that it
was to a radical government that
they owed what they believe to be
the blessings of a great measure OF
great healing Organization. Mr..
Lloyd George opened his campaign at
n meeting in the London opera house
when he replied to the criticisms OF
the medical profession. He contend
ed that the doctors We're no longer
under the control of the friendly So
cieties and as to remuneration the
bill set up an Independent authority
en- which the doctors would be repre-
sented and which would frame the
terms. The insurance committees
could not arrange the terms for pay