+Cheap Salvarsan.+—­Before a general campaign for the successful treatment of syphilis can be made a fact, salvarsan must become, as has already been pointed out, a public and not a private asset.  It must be available to all who need it at the lowest possible cost[17]—­practically that of manufacture—­and must be supplied by the state when necessary.  The granting of patent rights which make possible the present exploitation for gain of such vital agents in the protection of the public health is a mistake which we should lose no time in remedying.  While salvarsan does not mean the cure of syphilis, it does mean a large part of its control as an infectious disease.  When it can be given only to the person who can muster from five to twenty-five dollars for each dose which he receives, it is evident that its usefulness is likely to be seriously restricted.

[17] The price of salvarsan before the war was $3.50 per full dose for the drug alone.  It can be profitably marketed at less than $1.00 per dose.  The patent rights have been temporarily suspended during the war, and their renewal by Congress should not be permitted.

+Reduction of the Expense of Efficient Treatment.+—­Free treatment for those who cannot afford to pay is a necessary part of the successful operation of any scheme for the control of sexual disease.  But for those who can and are willing to pay a moderate amount for what they receive, there should be pay clinics which will bridge the gap between the rough and ready quality and the unpleasant associations of a free dispensary, and the expensive luxuries of a specialist’s office.  This is a field which is almost virgin in this country, and which deserves public support.  There is no reason why, for a reasonable fee, the patient with syphilis should not secure all the benefits of hospital care, the personal attention of specially trained men, an intelligent supervision of his case, and the benefit of cooeperation between a hospital service in charge of experts and the home doctor who must care for him during a considerable part of the course of his disease.  Provision of this sort makes treatment both more attractive and more available to large numbers of people whose pride keeps them away from the public provision for charity cases, and whose limited means leave them at the mercy either of quackery or of well-meaning but entirely inexperienced physicians.

+Value of Expert Services.+—­The factor of expert judgment in the care and recognition of syphilis is an important one, and a progressive public policy will not neglect to provide for it.  The state, municipal or hospital laboratory which professes to do Wassermann tests should not be in charge of some poorly paid amateur or of a technician largely concerned with other matters, or its findings will be worthless.  Every clinic and hospital should also attach to its staff an expert consultant on syphilis on whom it can draw for advice in doubtful cases and