Life, 1902-11-27 · page 17 of 26
Life — November 27, 1902 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes unethical medical practices of the era. The doctor's diary reveals cynicism about patient care: he prescribes unnecessary treatments, hopes patients develop complications (ensuring repeat visits), admits uncertainty about serum effectiveness, and performs surgery based on a coin toss rather than medical need. He charges wealthy patients more and deliberately misleads them with false diagnoses. The satire exposes how doctors prioritize profit over health—vaccinating children expecting complications, treating minor coughs as tuberculosis, and performing unnecessary operations. The final irony: when a patient ignores his advice and their child thrives, he's outraged because it threatens his prestige and income model. The accompanying illustration about "triplets" and the "courting investigation" cartoon appear unrelated filler. This was a common critique of American medicine's commercialization during this period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Diary of a Doctor. ONDAY: This Mena to be T\ a big week. Started in well. Weather me” very fa- B vorable. Damp and muggy. Mra. Smythe tele- phoned yester- day. Nothing particular the matter with her, but thinks she has something. I can go there once a day for at least a week. I must see Bal- lington to-day. Looks like appendicitis. Hope so. He has done so well in Wall Street, Means a thousand sure. Turspay: This smallpox scare has helped me out greatly. I vaccinated four- teen swell children yesterday at three dol- lars each. This is pretty good. Besides, they are all likely to have complications. Fellow came in this morning with cough. Tuberculosis, sure! I'll tell him he has A MATTER OF SHAPE. now 18 1 pone? slight bronchial trouble and jolly him along for six months. Wepsespay: Two cases of diphtheria yesterday. Filled ‘em up with serum. Wonder if that serum is any good? Some- times I think it is and sometimes I think it isn’t, Had a row yesterday with old man Clinker. Wanted to know what I was giv- ing him. Said he was old enough to know. How foolish! Look for busy and lucrative day to-morrow, Tuunspay: Have been in consul- tation all the moming. Two of us wanted to operate and two didn’t. Tossed up and my side won, Patient likely to get weil, which is a good thing, as he has money to burn. I shall send young Padder to a special- ist. He tells me his resources are ex- hausted. Fripay: The Spriggins’s got ahead of me yesterday. They began giving their baby plain milk and water that hadn't been boiled, also baked pota- toes, all directly contrary to medical science, and I'll be hanged if the kid isn't thriving on it! This will never do. My prestige is at stake. Sarurpay: I bave just been going over my accounts, Never did such a business before. Why, if this keeps up, I shall in fature be able to decline all baby cases and devote myself entirely to unnecessary opera- tions. FLERE TS area tidal wave on the sea of matrimony. COURTING INVESTIGATION comicbooks.com