Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1914-01-17
A DOCTORS STORY
The Problem That Grew Out of
a Queer Night Call.
A STUDY IN MEDICAL ETHICS.
1t Was Case In Which Mystery and
Suspicion Were Mixed, and II Awoke
the Question of a Physicians Right
to Violate Pledge of Secrecy.

preted the ethics of his profession an,
acted on it.
Il was reused one night" he said
"by n telephone call An unfamilia
voice asked me if | could attend ,
man who had been injured answer
ed that | could IL the case was ur
gent but before | could ask who wa.
calling the speaker answered:
All right, doctor; I'll call at your
house in ten minutes with a carriage.
Almost before | had time to dress
the doorbell rang. | unlocked the
door, and a man wearing a long ulster
a dark hat and a pair of colored glass
es entered.
Doctor he said, before we start
want to make a request This case
as l told you, Is urgent. But before
we start | must have your assurance
that you will treat this visit as a
confidential mission can't say any
more, except to add that you're run
ming no risk of any kind in help
ing me-
There was nothing about the mans
appearance that seemed suspicious.
He was quiet and self possessed.
There wasn't trace of nervousness
about him, and he was well dressed.
! thought there was no reason for re-
fusing to make the agreement.
II took my hat, and we started. The
carriage was a closed one. We got in;
the man turned on small electric
light and then drew the blinds over
the windows.
Doctor he said, I'm going to ask
you to take this trip without knowing
where you're going. I'll assure you
it's all right. want you to blindfold
yourself before we leave the carriage
until we get inside the house
well, didn't like the look of this.
but was in and didn't like to back
out. BY the time the carriage stop
ped didn't have the least idea what
part of the town we were in, he had
made so many turns. put on the
blindfOld, as my visitor requested, and
We went into a house.
Upstairs | found my patient. He
had been shot twice. Revolver bullets
they were. The wounds weren't dan
gerous, but they were painful because
they had not been treated earlier.
Il dressed them. told the woman
who was there what sort of care the
patient ought to have and then told
them that I'd have to see the man at
least two or three times more before
| could answer for his safe recovery.
"The man with the dark glasses
quietly assented to this. but insisted
that he should bring me at night, as
he had that time. | agreed
1.-THE next morning the papers told of
a robbery In which a householder had
been wounded after shooting one of
the burglars, who succeeded in escap-
ing. All the facts of the case indi
Gated that my patient of the night be-
fore was the burglar who had been
shot. The householder recovered |
quickly.
"The question stared at me: Did the
ethics of the medical profession allow
me to go to the police and tell them
what | knew, or did my promise bind
me- to secrecy? | thought it over all
lay and finally decided that | had no
light to say anything about the mat
.er | made three more trips in the
same manner. All this time | watch
I'd the papers. but no trace was found
If the burglars When | made my
asst visit told the man who had first
'alled me that my fee would be $50.
he took from a large roll some bills
md handed them to me without
word He drove me home, and that
vas the last ! ever saw of either Of
hem.
''That was good many years ago,
nut I've often wondered whether did
light in not violating that mans con.
dence"
II don't think you did" said a mem
er of the group ''The medical pro-
cSSIob IiO llSht W u tIilD-
nal. Women and children should be
iven the greatest protection we can
i've them but no word given Grim .
lal Is binding"
But suppose it had turned out that
le man was not the burglar in ques-
on? | believe he was. but 1t might
ave been otherwise :
THAT'S true said third. 1T was
i right to keep your promise so long t
you had no actual knowledge that |
lie man was criminal Where you 4
ade your mistake was in making
ich ridiculous agreement in the first a
ace" b
"And let man, dangerously injur- q
|, suffer- asked the first speaker.
when | first agreed to Sc G
ecy the case had no particularly sus- v
cious appearance. ! could cite D
ven different circumstances In which j
serious accident might happen and e
hich the persons connected with NJ
ould, with a perfect right. 90 to "
eat lengths TO keep secret. SO could II
Their Of you" G
Which of the three vas right?-New "
)rk Telegraph. Fl