Life — May 4, 1893 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Chorus of Doctors" — Medical Satire This satirical illustration depicts a group of formally-dressed gentlemen (identifiable as doctors by period context) gathered in a circle, greeting Spring with exaggerated enthusiasm. The text reads: "Greeting and welcome, Oh gentle Spring! / With thanks for the business you always bring." The satire targets physicians' financial self-interest: Spring traditionally brought increased illness (seasonal ailments, allergic conditions), which meant more patients and thus more lucrative business for doctors. The cartoon cynically suggests that doctors welcome Spring not for its natural beauty or renewal, but purely for the medical cases it generates—implying that practitioners cared more about profit than patient welfare. This reflects broader Progressive-era skepticism toward medical professionalism and commercialism.