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Shall the Index Medicus be Discontinued?
—Five years' publication of the Index Medicus has proved conclusively:That the mere cost of production (per annum) is not less than $5,000.
That the maximum return from subscriptions at $6 per annum has not exceeded $3,600.
That the increase of subscriptions during the past two years has been merely nominal.
That the limited circulation permits no material return from advertisements.
As the publisher agrees with the editors that—in justice to themselves as well as to those whose generosity has already been severely taxed—the Index Medicus must no longer be dependent on voluntary contributions, the undertaking must either be abandoned or at once be placed on the business footing of an equally shared support.Since there are scarcely 600 subscribers to whom the Index Medicus is, or seems to be, a necessity, the question to be determined is whether there remains a sufficient number