In Praise of Country Doctors Like Gilbert McLeod, March 19, 1925

Country Doctors as Benefactors

The passing of the old type of country doctors is one of the pries we are paying for entering into an intensely commercialized era, in which nearly all “service” is labeled conspicuously with dollar marks. The following tribute to the country doctor from the Raleigh Times is a masterpiece:

“Death is a tragedy that sickens all of us, we can’t get used to it. It visits all of us alike, those of high and low degree. But there is that about the passing of our friend, the physician, which hits us a little harder than death usually does. Here is a man who has stood at the bedside of many, watching them die; he has stood by the bedside when babies of whom he keeps no count came into the world; he has listened sympathetically to countless stories of family distress, and never got a cent for his services. The typical country doctor is one of the world’s choicest spirits. Usually little is said of him. He is no famous specialist who operates and charges thousands; he issues no bulletins abut his humble patients; he says little or nothing; but he does a very real work in the world, becomes a member of every family he visits, loves and is loved as few men understand endearments, and we can imagine no more hearty greeting than that which he receives when he reaches the gates of heaven and hears, ‘Well done thou good and faithful servant; enter upon the joys of the Lord.’ If service to humanity is the measure of our worth, surely the country doctor outranks us all.”

In connection with the above general tribute we reproduce the following from the Vass Pilot referring to the passing of Dr. Gilbert McLeod of Carthage, Moore county: “He was unequivocally a man who lived to serve others, as the country doctor has always been. That he lived to serve is evidenced by the fact that he, like all other country doctors, forgot his collections, for it has been known that Dr. McLeod’s benefactions in this respect could have been enormous. If a man could pay and did pay it was acceptable. If an ailing human creature could not pay or did not pay it made no difference in the service. Dr. McLeod’s religion was that the sick bed was never the place to consider the fee or the likelihood of bad bills.”

From page 5 of The Mooresville Enterprise, March 19, 1925

newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064798/1925-03-19/ed-1/seq-5/