Sus,—I cannot see what it is, exactly, of which "
M.D." complains. If he wants division of function, surely only a State service can give it him. If he wants laissez faire, he should remember that much of the quality of this system (indeed the main recommendation for its con- tinuance) lies in the gentlemanly disposition to put service before salary or self-satisfaction among those engaged in the professions.
My father was a parish priest doing work for spiritual welfare com- parable with that of the G.P. in the sphere of bodily health. I never heard him complain (he would have thought it very wrong to do so), that eight out of ten people who came to consult him, came not for spiritual comfort or advice, but for much the same sort of certificate as " M.D." complains of. And even for actual things like bed rests and air cushions. He did his duty simply and died a poor man, as did also my grandfather who, as a doctor, served all and sundry in a Lincoln- shire village and never even remembered to send out his bills until reminded of them by the near destitution of his own family.
But then, I expect I'm old-fashioned despite being a socialist, an in- ternationalist, and only 42 years old! But it's a curious world we live in now, and no mistake! It's neither one thing nor the other. If, as I think, we want a society planned for communuity consumption where efficiency replaces the goodwill, now so difficult to find, so be it. If unplanned, then the privileged people must give unstinted service without thought of self. In this, as in much- else in this troubled world, you cannot have it both ways.—I am, Sir, yours, &c.,
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