The L'Anse sentinel., 1919-02-21

SAA'Ah5 az SohiP az " CiOCh III Tue
forenoon. The cold on these days
ranged from 80 to 40 below zero. AZ
ter administering to these cases and
making them comfortable, the return
trip was made at l p. m, arriving at
Champion at 5 p. m, and at L'Anse
by train at z p. m. After resting n
few hours, the same procedure was
performed at IL p. m. that evening.
Suppose lawyer had spent thousands
of dollars on his education and other
wise fitted himself to the legal pro
fession = how much would he have
charged for this? Mr.. Kerr Of Calu-
met made three visits to L'Anse as our
lawyer in the $8,000.00 allowance and
he charged US $542.O0 without even
having to drive mile in the cold and
misery. How much would he have
charged if he had had to stand hard
ships for months, with sleigh drives
ranging from fourteen to hundreds of
miles, temperatures ranging from 20
to 40 degrees below zero, and where
thousands Of miles were covered. A
lawyers duties are no more onerous
than Doctors, neither do they re-
quire longer institutional training
or more funds to acquire it, or more
study to fit him for his duties.
The cases of small pox at Kewee-
nav Bay Assinins, Baraga, L'Anse
village and vicinity came under the
same consideration-Whole days run
ming into weeks and months, were
spent in stamping out the malady.
The cases at Kewenaw Bay required a
round trip each day of % miles, those
at Assinins ID miles. Baraga 8 miles.
Pequaming 18 miles, etc. At Assinins
the cases lasted from September of
one year to January the next. West
phal in his defamatory article sub
jected only the cases around L'Anse
ETC., where he accuses me of over
charging. Why did he not continue
and show the actual work done, the
weather conditions, the miles travel
ed, the time spent, also livery hire of
over s1,OOo.OO, S1,6oO.0O worth of
drugs, and other items included in our
bill, then he would be justified to spit
his venom; but no, he would not do so
because his integrity is too small, his
ingenuity is only for spite and spite
alone, his open-heartedness has been
soiled and be-smutted and undoubted-
ly intensified by his dictators of his
paper. But this condition and cir
cumstances will be vividly elucidated
and rectified in succeeding issues, not
only with exposes of bible classes and
other dealings, but with facts worth
reading, and as Westphal's TRADE con-
tinues I will accommodate not only
Westphal but his friend and all. An
eye for an eye and tooth for a
tooth.
Consider small pox from the stand
point of charges in Houghton county,
where the doctors charged $500 per
visit to those afflicted with the malady.
DR.. Jones of Houghton, with other
physicians, emphatically declared that
they'd be d-d if they would at
tend a single case of small pox for
less than $25.00 per visit, and they
made good. DR.. Mas of Franklin re-
ceived $25.00 per day for his small pox
case; this did not hinder him from at
tending other cases at the same time.
After due consideration, the law
yers, Rees & Robinson, agreed that the
county owed by brother, DR.. J. o. Won
Zellen, and myself, $8,000.OO, and that
it was a just claim. This splits of
thre-quarters of our original bill, leav-
ing one-quarter to be paid to us, and
in order to save legal wrangle we ac-
cepted in good grace. This allow
ance makes the charges to patients in
LAnse nearly the same as an ordin-
ary call, while r. s. Buckland of Bar
aga, at the rate he was paid, received
$1,000 per visit, in houses where many
were confined, running the total into
$1,000 or more per day. This was
paid without the doctors in L'Anse
raising voice in protest.
To Westphal ten dollar bill might
look like an outstretched elephant
skin, but not so with Rees & Robinson
Their actions are as true and upright
as any conscientious doctors would
be. Brides and concessions do not
concern them. They go their way i'm
perturbed as to criticism, because they
know what they are about, fulfilling
their honorable relations with their
clients.
(The above is brief presentation OF
facts of work accomplished during the
epidemic Of 1901-02. In later issue
a more detailed elaboration will be
published by DR.. John o. Won Zellen
and myself.)