Cures By Contract

"Thia idea of sitting in ono'a offlco ia vrell enough fortho old practitionera," naid a yonng St. Louis physician, formerly a journalist, tö a reporter of The Post-Dispatch the other day, "but I found I was liïely to starre at it, so I got out this cara," said ho, produring Iris professional paetoboard, ono sido of whioh boro his name and addreas, while the othcr conveyed tho following intelligonee: " Tamily practico contracted for at tho rate of $4 por year fór cach person, payable onefonrth at firat viait, when dato of contract boginB, ono-fourth in eix ïnonths, oné-fourth in nine months, remaining one-fourth at end of year. tra.' " "How dooB tho cure by contract eystem work?" the reporter asltod. "Business io juut booming. I lmvo 150 families who havo protnieod to make contract! with do whenevcr they rcquiro n cloctor. They average fivo in a family, eo there's 93,000 a year to begin witu. and my practico ia constantly gruwing. Of these 15U families thirtythree havo already mado contracta, so that there is abont S700 already assured in black and white." "Suppose you are ouly called iu once to see "Then we draw up a contract for $20 and I tako tho caso in hand. It may involvo only two or three visita, and I may not havo to treat another membor o: the faruily during the remainder of the year; still thoy pay their $5 every three months." ';Soft thing for the doctor, eh?" "We both tako our chances. Now there'u ono family of threo that I mado a contract with four months ago, and I've been in that house pretty nearly every day sinco. Tho boy has had tho measles and scarlet f over; tho old man got taken down with tho rheumatism threo days after tho contract was made, and tho woman has had a complaint requiring constant attention. I figured up the other day that I had already put in about $10 worth of work in that family in fonr months, and the yearly contract is for only $12." "Theao are extremo cases. How does the average run?" "Tho contract svstem is a very fair ouc. Four dollars a head is not an exorbitant snm for the head of a family to pay to insure medical attendance, and he certainly should not Rrnmblo if tho year passes without any of hia family getting sick. It would no. pay a doctor to do business on this basis, but it helps a yonng man to practice which he would not obtain otherwise." "Isn't it rather vinprofessional?" "What do I care? The medical society threatened to expel me tho other day, but Í heard of it, and attonded the meeting which waB to take my case in hand, and quoted the case of Dr. , ono of tho loading physicians in tho city, who had a contract to attend the Christian Brothers school at so much a head, and told them they would have to attend to him if they undertoqk to expel me. That put an end to their kick, and we aro now on as friendly terras as ever." "Are any other doctors adopting the contract plan?" "Several of them are considering very serioualy, and I believe they will adopt it. Soon as they flnd out how it pays they will cavo in. At the drug store where my preacriptions ara put up they teil me that I am doing twice as much business as both the othor doctors who practice in the neighborhood. It's a big thing for one, and, if I hadn't spent three months in the newspapor business, I would never have had the conndence to undertake it. "