To the Editor of the '"Nonr-Cinxa Dany News"
'Sm—According to recent news appearing in the Chinese press, some leading Chinese physicians at Shang-hal have addressed a circular letter the Chinese dispensaries, asking that, beginning from January' 1, 1940, the' unworthy practice of "pres criptions rebate" should be stopped and that whatever amount which was, previously added to the cost. of prescriptions and went to enrich the Physicians should "not be so added any more at the expense of the patients, To anyone who is not accustomed to the ways of this world, such a revelation from the physicians may come as q real shock. fo think that the eminent physician to whom you go for treatment should get from you not only his legitimate professional fee, but also some secret profit out of the prescription which you All at the dispensaries "You are already' unfortunate in suffering from slek~ ness. What treachery to impose on you the further hardship of squeeze Tt seems the dispensaries and the physicians are ce-operating to cheat you. Ate they not criminals in the cal senso of the word?
Alas, the world is far from perfect. Davie and corrupt ways still abound to the shame of all of us. We see terrible wars raging in China and Europe, showing unmistakably that salishness and injustice and hypocrisy still reign everywhere, in spite of the professed belief by the statesmen of all nations in peace, truth and freedom. If we are Feally sincere, we shall' seo that, in more ways than one, we too are. sinners and criminals. The dispensaries and physicians are to blame: but let us not blame them alone. Who are we that we dare to cast the first stone?
We must rather call the outspoken physicians brave, honest men who fear God and are. sincere in pentanee, As T understand it, the unworthy practice began with certain Aispensaries who sought to gain more prescription business by enlisting the support of the physicians, The al pens aries were the original tempters the physicians fell. victims to. that, temptation, 'The corrupt environ ment once built up, it is most dif cult for any individual physician or any Individual dispensary to combat it, nay, even to stand aloof from it Once you fall a prey to evil, too often you become its reluctant' slave, for you are afraid that any revelation of that vil will discredit. you and ruin you It takes very high moral courage not to hide that evil within you, - but to reveal it to the world,' facing otiticism and condemnation in. so doing. By revealing the evil, you go a long way, in uprooting it, for the force of evil is overwhelmingly strong only when it Is hidden in the darkness.
Congratulations are duc therefore to the honest physicians who are not, afraid to reveal their own evil practice. 1 understand some of these physicians used to obtain annually hundreds or oven thousands of dollars from the prescriptions rebate. For the sake of moral principle and justice, they now renounce all tha! Lordid' Income, T hope the dispensaries will ce-operate by giving up! idea bribing others, be they physicians for purchasing agents. from. hospitals for other public institutions. We must condemn equally the one who bribes and the one who accepts the bribery. An honest business man. should seek profit by fair means; he should never resort to the notorious practice of bribing others, Shanghai, Jan, 8
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.