The Sentinel=record., 1916-12-24
DR. ]. 4. ROBERTSON
 MAKES STATEMENT

ID tue lupllc anu My tTlCuna,
 As most Of you are aware my name was stricken from the list of register eu physicians in this city, most of you
 know that l am not among the mem
 hers of the profession who first in- angurated the system of drumming. for it was started years before l came
 here.
 Now this system aa 1 understand H. is q network, so to speak that has
 wound itself around the hotels and
 doctors of Hot Springs. It was, or
 is, so systematized that practically
 every doctor in the city has been
 compelled to drum or else get no bus
 hess,
 II matters not now popular the doctor is, his patients are switched
 to some othes doctor, ii he does not split the fee with the hotel man. or drummer as the case may be. I think
 am safe in saying hat every doc tor or m st of them have at some
 time drummed during their stay n Hot Springs Some have been forced
 to dc SC to make a living
 The patient may not realize that ne l Iis icing drummed but he is, never Aeless It is done SO that his sus- ipicions are not in the least aroused. ] have had patients me by former patients, and was compelled t9 pay
 the hote. man part Of the fee in order
 10 keep him from switching him to some doctor who would pay him | l Ihaye had patients sent me by former
 patients, or friends, and they were
 switched to other doctors on pre-
 tence that | Was not here any longer. l or out or the city. then after being
 here a few days they would find me
 anc tell me what had been done What I did, and have done in tbu way ol drumming, others have done. and as ] saw my business slipping away from me l was forced into drum iming to protect my business and ms patients. In the last few years it had | grown so bad that a drummer didn't
 hesitate to cal you up, and tell you
 ne had patient recommended tQ you
 lut il you did not pay him something
 he would take the patient elsewhere. Of course no name was given SO the doctor in order to set the patient
 would yield l have always helped
 to fight drumming by giving money
 when called upon
 The last campaign against drum.
 ming was started while l was away
 on my vacation, and l thought for q while it would be like previous at tempts 10 crush the evil; time and
 money spent for nothing After l re
 turned home and observed for awhile
 the plans of the anti-drumming com mittee for getting at the bottom of 1 the proposition. l decided the first op- i Iportunity had presented itself to the doctors of Hot Springs for emaueipa- ltion from the drumming evil. there lfore volunteered to tell everything 1 knew to the superintendent of the res- oIvaten and to the grand jury then lin session Dr. W. F. Cox, my partner did the same thiIg In this statement We implicated every one with whom i've had ever done any business. and ] how and why We did it. We were sincere in this matter and 1T every doctor in Hot Spring had done like wise, reserviug uo facts ur iayorites, | and stuck 70 it, the drumming p,opo- Islteu would hoye been settled ctecl- | Iuady once and for all | do no. feel Hike ] have committed any crime be- cause l have never eratted or over charged anyone. bu, save on the con twry always striycn hard 10 send every patient away a booster for my self. and Hot springs
 | have never knowingly accepted a lpa.ieut recommended 10 auothcr dcc-
 to- have never knowingly allowed my patients to influelce patients to leave other doctors
 believe my past professional record here as elsewhere. win compare fayorably with any doctor in Hot ! Springs, especially so far as ethics ia
 concerned. Tor ethics in Hot Springs
 is not what il should be-
 Wish 10 SdA lndt nave uOt pht on the white robe of innocence, in the
 last few weeks, in order to escape the lmaelstrom, but l came forward and did all in my power to rescue the pr fessiou from the clutches of the drum ming evil. knowing full well that it would injure my professional stand ] ing and reputation.
 1 Although I have done very htle drumming in the past year what ]
 have dong, was d1ne For my part I am through with it. 'et ccme what may
 Apr0pOs
 'The Pot once called the Kettle black,