The chronicle=news., 1914-08-22

|of hospitals for people in moderate
circumstances is the thing that most
Impressed the members of the Clini-
cal Congress of Surgeons of North
America who just met in London. All
of London's wonderful hospitals,
where the visitors have been watch
ing operations by the great British
surgeons, are charity hospitals. Peo-
pie who cannot afford to pay are bar
red, and must either go to the in
adequately equipped private nursing
homes or be operated upon in their
Residences.
DR.. Franklin H. Martin of Chicago,
general secretary Of the congress, felt
this condition keenly, as he had a
touch of appendicitis during his visit
Ito London and then learned that the
hospitals he had been admiring
would not have received him had he
been forced to go under the knife.
"This method of conducting hos
pitfalls amaZes US from North Amer
ica." said DR.. Martin. "Palatial
buildings, occupying acres of the
most valuable land in the capital Of
the world. are devoted solely to nom
paying patients. excluding from their
advantages the patient Of moderate
means and made prohibitive to pa
tients of wealth. This works injus-
tice both ways. With their large en-
dowments, these hospitals can afford
the most elaborate equipment of op-
Grating rooms and laboratory dag
nostic facilities. Yet patients of
means are compelled to go to the
imperfectly equipped private hospit-
ais or to nursing homes with their
makeshift arrangements. This must
in turn have pauperizing effect on
people OF small means who enter the
hospitals as charity patients when
they would gladly pay a small sum.
| THE injustice worked on the pay.
ing patient may be serious, as nurs-
ing and private homes can not afford
expensive apparatus such as the lat
est X-ray machines and the like"
DIR. Martin has only praise for the
British surgeons. He believes them
to be fundamentally better equipped
for their profession than the Ameri-
can. Ey this means preliminary
training and the necessity of each
English surgeon being fellow OF
the Royal College OF Surgeons. which
standardizes requirements.
"The average English surgeon is
more deliberate in the technical per-
formance Of his work than the aver
age American or Frenchman." DR..
Martin declared.
London. Aug. 22.-Whether a ply
sician should adopt the CHEEKY man
ner OF bygone days or wear q look
Of business-like solemnity. Il the con-
troversy raised In the London press
by Lord Roeebery. who In 4 speech
at EPSON college said he would rath-
er thousand times be treated by a
third rate doctor with genial features
than first rate man of repellant
countenance.
"The old fashioned type, who en-
tered rubbing his hands. poked the
patient in the ribs and started to
tell him jokes" replies one physician.
would have hard time holding his
practice these days.
Another writer answers that the
doctor liked by the best modern pa
tient is the one who listens grave
ly and ends by saying, II know ex-
actly what the trouble is" The
main reason why the grave doctor is
liked is because lie is a good listener.
and patients love to do the talking
when 1t comes to their troubles.
NEARLY every one prefers the doc
tor with the churlish manner. provid-
ing he has good record OF cures"
concludes the writer. Ito the sunny
duffer who is as likely to kill you as
not"
!, London, Aug. 22.-The call to the
colors for the continental reservists
had immediate effect on London res
taurants. hotels and boarding houses.
London became almost waiterless.
The old-fashioned English waiter
is all but extinct. His passing has
been deeply regretted by the older
generation OF English. because Of his
intelligent service, which he regard
cd as one of the fine arts, and his
respectful demeanor. But he could
not Withstand the competition Of the
: cheaper-living foreigner.
While French and Italian serv-
ants have been attracted to London
by the better pay. large part OF the
Germans have come over for the sole
purpose OF learning English. Even
street car conductors and taxi drivers
in most OF the German cities are COM
PEELED to know English, and the
knowledge OF foreign languages is
an asset for any type Of German
wage Garner.
London business houses also are
filled with German clerks, who work
for little or nothing in order to learn
English and master English bust
ness methods. Their leaving has