While I generally agree with the gist of the piece, it disregards one major part - how DO you go about soliciting accounts in an ETHICAL manner?

No matter how you look at it, accounts are going to be solicited. This is how those with the accounts got them in the first place. While ideally everyone in the field should work toward the betterment of the field, we ultimately all work to pay our own bills. Those out there that are independent abstractors are not going to consider if a colleague is feeding his family if their own family is going hungry.

Ultimately, it ties into the premise that your work will speak for itself in many regards. This is the true test of ethics among independent abstractors. When abstractors undercut competition by agreeing to do work for far less than what everyone else is doing the work - THAT is the ethical issue that needs to be addressed, as it takes away the competition that should exist through only the quality of the work...