Page:LewisMeriam-TheProblemOfIndianAdministration.djvu/267

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
240
Problem of Indian Administration

Until recently the physicians embraced in this classification have generally been selected on the lowest bid.[1] Such a system tends to bring in the old practitioner who is not a marked success. The very meagre remuneration offered tends to purchase the minimum amount of service to the Indian. With but few exceptions the service rendered by these physicians has been similar to that of the typical full-time agency physician. One marked exception should be noted in a contract physician who has been in the Indian Service for seventeen years. He produced remarkably complete records of his work with the Indians throughout that time. If a busy private practitioner can accomplish this with a scattered Indian population as well as a white clientele, there seems to be no reason why a full-time physician on a reservation or at a school cannot do as much.

At Haskell, Sherman, and Chemawa, all boarding schools of approximately 1000 pupils each, a part-time service was found. These physicians spent on an average of about one full day a week at the schools, In all instances, they complied with the letter of the contract. All children were examined twice yearly, but in one case at least it was observed to be at the rate of over seventy an hour. The physicians’ duties further include visits to hospital cases and attention to acute illnesses. This work is generally dispatched with speed. Sometimes the physician remains less than fifteen minutes. The majority of children in boarding schools are in a questionable state of health and require infinitely more attention than they are securing.[2]

A sentiment is fairly general in the Indian country in favor of a contract with a regular practicing physician. It is based chiefly on the fact that a man capable of making a success of a private practice is more aggressive and will demand a greater respect from the Indian. There is an element of truth here, but as has been stated, the successful practitioner is not always chosen. If a prosperous practitioner be selected, he may be so busy with his own cases that he cannot devote the necessary amount of time to the

  1. ↑ The Indian Office has always had the power to reject the lowest bid and accept the higher one, and this course was followed in case the superintendent recommended such action.
  2. ↑ The Indian Office states that these schools are to be supplied with fulltime physicians this coming school year.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.