[Page 1] 

181 Sturt Street, 

Adelaide. 

South Australia. 

24-3-1949 

Mr Chifley, 

Prime Minister, of Australia. 

Canberra. 

Dear Sir, 

I telegraphed you my congratulations, and good wishes on your strong stand in regard to the Free Medicine Scheme. I was delighted to have your gracious telegram in reply. It has given me fresh life, and fresh hope to read of the passage of the amended legislation to the legislation already in operation, and I offer you my congratulations and good wishes in regard to the ultimate result of the whole scheme. 

I have a profound admiration for your strength in this matter, and consider you are the first and  

[Page] 2. 

only statesman to stand up effectively to the B.M.A. [British Medical Association] and the Doctors in general. 

Such an attitude towards them, for the good of the community at large, was long overdue. 

In my files, and in thousands of letters I have, I have evidence to satisfy any one [sic] as to the treatment that many patients receive. They pay away their life’s savings and, often, are worse after, the operations, & treatment. Then they come to me, and I have thousands of acknowledgements of my cure of them when Doctors have failed, & taken heavily of the money the patients could ill-afford to pay. 

I do not make any charges. I am out to do good, & help every body [sic] without thought of reward [addition inserted in darker ink] as an instrument of Mighty Allah [end addition]. If a patient likes to make some contribution after, well that helps me to help some one [sic] else. 

[Page] 3. 

I want to give you all the help I can in this matter, & in your work. I do not require any thing [sic] from any-body. Since knowing how you are dealing with this matter, – to all my hundreds of patients who come, I tell them all:– "Vote for Mr Chifley when the Elections come, and return his Government to power". 

[The following paragraph has been marked in pencil with underlines and a bracket in the left margin.] 

If you have an officer who could come and inspect the result of my life’s work for those the Doctors could not, & did not, cure, and the thousands of testimonials I have, and the petitions I had presented to me signed by thousands of grateful Australians when the authorities tried to stop me from practising, I would pay that officer’s travelling and hotel expenses to come, & do so. I do not want it to be any expense to you. 

[Page] 4. 

I will be happy to assist [section torn, missing word possibly “in”] any way I can. 

I wish you success, long life, & good health, and a return to power for another three years when the elections come. 

Yours faithfully, 

Mahomet Allum [signature] 

[In brackets:] (Mahomet Allum.) 

P.S. [Postscript] I have in my rooms, framed, greetings from A.G. Ogilvie Premier of Tasmania, E. Dwyer Gray, R. Cosgrove, and five other Tasmanian Ministers of State. Mr Dwyer-Gray personally visited me, & suggested I go back to Hobart with him & practise in Tasmania. 

I cannot leave South Australia at present. Lady Hore-Ruthven when her husband was Govr. [Governor] of S.A. [South Australia] used to call on me twice weekly: she suggested I should go to England & pay a visit to the King of England; I decided I could not go as I must remain in S. A. to help the poor & needy.