dominating impulse in drawing men to the study of medicine. The type of man in medicine and his fundamental ideals have not altered. He still retains the instincts that would lead him to general practice and if he does not enter general practice the reason is that he does not believe it is the most effective way to use his life. As he surveys the world about him and the opportunities before him, he finds that the specialist appears to occupy a position in the profession and in the community at large which is more dignified and more respected than that of the general practitioner. Professionally and socially the specialist is often looked up to as on a higher plane, and it is certainly neither unnatural nor discreditable for the young man to desire the career which carries with it the sincere regard of his fellows. It is this factor, rather than the wish for a life of ease or for increased income that so often prompts him to say, “I do not want to be merely a general practitioner.” It is the shift of emphasis on the relative value of the general practitioner and the specialist. Now it is probably true that the medical profession is to some extent responsible for the development of a point of view which exalts the specialist above the general practitioner. Certain trends in medical practice have tended to accentuate it, and many medical teachers and leaders, in their efforts to stimulate research and to promote progress, have laid so much stress on the importance of intensive study that students, often without any particular qualifications, have been directed toward specialized practice. But, granted the truth of this, the brunt of the responsibility for the present-day attitude toward the general practitioner depends upon the general public. It is not the manufacturer who eventually decides the value of his product, nor can any profession determine its own worth to the community. In the last analysis, the price of any article, or the significance of any calling, must depend on its importance to the world at large, and by the same token, the continued existence of the general practitioner will depend on his value to the general public, or, more accurately perhaps, on what the public _thinks_ the general practitioner is worth to it. The supply will depend on the demand.