One of the first spooks with which the young practitioner will be confronted is the bugbear of Ethics—don’t overlook the big E. It will be in front of him on graduation day, his preceptor will dangle it before his eyes as he hands him his papers, and it will be continually bobbing up after he has hung out his shingle. Now ethics in its place is a good thing. It is especially essential in the medical profession in which, without a due regard for the proprieties, many men would be tempted to go astray. And this temptation is by no means slight at times. But there is such a thing as overdoing the ethical proposition. It becomes monotonously annoying for a man to have his every movement watched and judged from the ethical standpoint by a lot of self-constituted censors. The average physician, in his bearing toward his younger brother does not ask himself the old question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Not at all. On the contrary the worst of it is he assumes an opposite attitude and by his actions asserts “I am my brother’s keeper.” 44In a way these men assume the right to dog and spy upon the movements of other physicians on the plea that they are doing it for the benefit of the profession—to see that the great Code of Ethics is not violated. What they are really after, nine times out of ten, is to make sure that the young, progressive practitioner who has the tact and ability to build up a good-paying practice does not encroach upon their preserves. This is bad enough, but there is a worse side. In nearly every instance those who howl the loudest about violations of the code, are gross offenders themselves. This is a bold assertion, but the proof will be furnished later on. One of the things specially cited as an unpardonable violation of ethics is the courting of newspaper and similar publicity. “My dear boy,” one of these old-time offenders will say, “you must not allow your name to appear so frequently in print. It is undignified and unethical. Our profession is one of mighty dignity and responsibility, and you owe it to yourself and your brother physicians to avoid anything which tends to lower or debase it. I know it is only human to seek notoriety of this kind, and that it is valuable so far as the mere getting of money goes, but we must be actuated by higher, nobler motives.” It is practically a certainty—with rare exception—that the man who gives this advice, is bending every energy, and using every possible means to secure the same kind of publicity. He knows that fame and wealth come from keeping one’s name constantly before the public. In every large city we will find physicians of wealth and 45fame, of whose every movement the newspapers seem to have information in advance. How do they get it? Let us analyze the conditions.