Had the bottle been
properly
labeled with skull and cross-bones the mother would probably not have let it lie about.
Adams-Great-American-Fraud
43
Naturally tliese owners and exploiters of these mixtures claiui that the <<mall amount of cccain contained is harmless. For instance, the "Crown Cure," admitting 2I/2 per cent. , says:
"Of course, this is a very small and harmless amount. Cocain is now consideredtobe'themostvaluableadditiontomodernmedicine . . . it is the most perfect relief known. "
Birney's Catarrh Cure runs as high as 4 per cent, and can produce testi- monials vouching for its harmlessness. Here is a Birney '"testimonial" to the opposite effect, obtained "without solicitation or payment" (I have ventured to put it in the approA'ed form), which no sufferer from catarrh can afford to miss:
READ WHAT William Thompson, of Chicago, says of
BIRNEY'S CATARRH CURE.
"Three years ago Thompson "was a strong man. Kow he is without money, health, home, or friends. "
(Chicago Tribune. )
"I began taking Birney's Catarrh Cure (says Thompson) three years ago, and the longing for the drug has grown so potent that I suffer without it.
"I followed the directions at first, then I increased the quan- tity until I bought the stuff by the dozen bottles. "
A famous drink and drug cure in Illinois had, as a patient, not long ago, a14-year-oldboy,wiiowasaslavetotheBirneybrandofcocain. Hehad run his father $300 in debt, so heavy were his purchases of the poison.
Chicago long ago settled this cocain matter in the only logical way. The proprietor of a large downtown drug store noticed several years ago that at noon numbers of the shop girls from a great department store purchased certaincatarrhpow^dersoverhiscounter. Hehadhisclerkwarnthemthat the powders contained deleterious drugs. The girls continued to purchase in increasing numbers and quantity. He sent word to the superintendent of the store. "That accounts for the number of our girls that have gone wrong of late," was the superintendent's comment. The druggist, Mr. McConnell, had an analysis made by the Board of Health, w^hich showed that the powder most called for was nearly 4 per cent, cocain, whereon he threw it and similar powders out of stock. The girls went elsewiiere. Mr. McConnell traced them and started a general movement against this class of remedies, which resulted in an ordinance forbidding their sale. Birney's Catarrhal Powders, as I am informed, to meet the new conditions, brought out a powder without cocain, which had the briefest kind of a sale. For weeks thereafter the downtown stores were haunted by haggard yonng men and women, who begged for "the old powders; these new ones don't do any good. " As high as $1. 00 premium was paid for the 4 per cent, cocain species. To-daytheIllinoisdruggistwhosellscocaininthisformisliable toarrest. YetinNewYork,atthecornerofForty-secondstreetandBroad- way, I saw recently a show-window display of the Birney cure, and similar displays are not uncommon in other cities.
Regarding other forms of drugs there may be honest differences of opinion as to the limits of legitimacy in the trade. If mendacious advertis- ing were stopped^ and the actual ingredients of eyevy nostrum plainly pub-
? 44
lished and frankly explained, the patent medicine trade might reasonably claim to be a legitimate enterprise in many of its phases. But no label of opium or cocain,. though the warning skull and cross-bones cover the bottle, will excuse the sale of products that are never safeh" used except by expert advice. I believe that the Chicago method of dealing with the catarrh powders is the right method in cocain- and opium-bearing nostrums. Re- strict the drug by the same safeguards when sold under a lying pretence as when it flies its true colors. Then, and then only, will our laws prevent the shameful trade that stupefies helpless babies and makes criminals of our
young men and harlots of our young women.
? v. --PREYING ON THE INCURABLES.
Incurable disease is one of the strongholds of the patent medicine busi- ness. The ideal patron, viewed in the light of profitable business, is the victim of some slow and wasting ailmen in which recurrent hope inspires to repeated experiments with any '*cure'" that offers. In the columns of almost every newspaper you may find promises to cure tonsiiinption. Consumption is a disease absolutelj- incurable by any medicine, altliough an increasing
iCi. .
percentage of consumptives are saved by open air, diet and . methodical living. This is thoroughly and defi- nitely understood by all medical and scientific men, Xevertheless there are in the patent medicine world a set of harpies who, for their own business interests, deliberately foster in the mind of the unfortunate sufferer from tuberculosis the belief that he can be saved by the use of some absolutely fraudulent nos- trum. Many of these consumption cures contain drugs which hasten the progress of the disease, such as chloroform, opium, alcohol and hasheesli. Others are comparatively harmless in themselves, but by their fervent promises of rescue they delude the sufl'erer into misplacing his reliance, and forfeiting his only chance by neglecting those rigidly careful habits of life Avhich alone can conquer the ''white plague. " One and all, the men who advertise medi- cines to cure consumption deliberately traffic in human life.
Certain members of the Proprietary Association of America (the patent medicine '? combine'") with whom I have talked have urged on me the claim that there are firms in the nostrum business that are above criticism, and have mentioned H. E. Bucklen & Co. , of Chicago, who manufacture a certain salve. The Bucklen salve did not particularly interest me. But when I came to taKe up the subject of consumption cures I ran unexpectedly on an interesting trail. In the country and small city newspapers there is now being advertised lavishly "Dr. King's New Discovery for Consumption. " It is proclaimed to be the "only sure cure for consumption. " Further announcement ismadethat"itstrikesterrortothedoctors. " Asit is a morphin and chloroform mixture, "Dr. King's
\^ ^
^:^^^^^---- - - -^ -
An example of legitimate adver- tising in the con- sumption field.
. ^
New Discovery for Consumption" is well calculated to strike terror to the doctors or to any other class or profession, except, perhaps, the undertakers. It is a pretty diabolical concoction to give to anyone, and particularly to a consumptive. The chloroform temporarily allays the cough, thereby check- ing Nature's effort to throw off the dead matter from the lungs. The opium drugs the patient into a deceived cheerfulness. The combination is admirably designed to shorten the life of any consumptive who takes it steadilv. Of course, there is nothing on the label of the bottle to warn the
\
46
FREE of COSTl
The Tme Bemedy at last Biseovered! IT STRIKES TERROR TO THE DOCTORS.
' 1,, ---
? -- GREATESTDISC0YERY519gCECTURY.
--
'
Discovery for Consomptioni
The Only Sure Oure for Consumption in the World.
<<'>>--
gjijEKnE}------------'-
'
*
(^ A-tLma, Bronthiii^ lucipitnt Ci Hiniojrhag-c '>( tbf Ltii [,? , D<\ Sht rtri! ^of Bfe. a! i,i'ha->>. -;i,t. ;.
ia} by
And a'i UStea^es of *b<- Thro a,
'
OB. KINC'S ISJEW
Dr. King's New Discovery for Consumption.
D IjY not >> moine that ttfi inudioiu \ipi.
pt-Mer1-5prf) i i 1
POSITIVE GUARANTEE. ! ! nbt-mfiiiletft-tt! -II t <%rx mi! )^ J t u<<-HiJ>c>tfiiecontenis^ftfei<< bott'e f<< ', >> f %>u jiOT n-turn rf ti t, ' ^ti. t,-- iv-o Uiuds of t iciruihuac ha%mg fttut-ia>>> ) 1^t>I f. u t ithe<J'eII rii fur iicu i ir>ctm ' 1 ' -yrn 1. r ' , <<i11ri>> iJd\( i iU^e)nJ^t,<<*rl(. a
ST^,f {n'. fuJiiri 1 rtj11 1 -> a! tnoirc) ^OD '. ^(t)clns c\er i^t U ! S itu oin^. d 1 > "e Ar
^ryw oiu, 'iatoitij. ' taiij'k if th^v i. a< uot ^jt t it j
lor n >rtir U Do nt I unticr *j y c rcuti<<? ii]cei Ut tJ
WortM'- prep i<<ition<< cliumm^ to be as j. ord, as its equul d t tj ? n t. Atk fof <<<<1>R Kj^o'bNewDi'5covtJ>>yFoaCo}>siMmov,"andfj>enoother.
JmioTiiiTii^^
SEWARS OF COUNTEftretTS AND if>>IITATiO^$. B6sur<<<<h>> >^ame "OH. Kt<<G S S? EW PiSCQVERY" fa on evety batt! >>.
SOLD ALL OVER THE WOULD!
H, E. BUOKLEN k CO. , Props. mimn, el, mn mm$m mmk
A TYPICAL FRAUD.
The claims are baseless, the guarantee ridiculous and the remedy harmful.
>. , }
,-wii Voice,
--
Cottt
r -eini ii vjiae
? VERDiCT
/ ''' ? 8a Inquest 'Mo.
3civ ^/ru .
I^<<Ui^a<<COfijeiT**% p. aicut,^"-1-4. 1 4 r Bros-rUtjiry r<<>>c'. . . ^^ '
''. J AX^
>> t tta1
>- ^ dri^s fee
47
purchaser. That M'oiild decrease the profits. The makers of this beneficent preparation are H. E. Biicklen & Co. , of Chicago.
Chloroform and Prussic Acid.
Another "cure" whicli, for excellent reasons of its own, does not print its formula, is "Shiloh's Consumption Cure," made at Leroy, X. Y. , by S. C. Wells & Co. Were it to publish abroad the fact that it contains, among other ingredients, chloroform and prussic acid, the public would probably
VERDICT OF DEATH FROM BULL'S COUGH SYRUP One logical result of unlabeled poisons.
exhibit some caution in taking it. Under our present lax system there is no AA'arning on the bottle that the liquid contains one of the most deadly of poisons. The makers write me: "After you have taken the medicine for awhile, if you are not firmly convinced that you are very much better we want you to go to your druggist and get back all the money that you have paid for Shiloh. " But if I were a consumptive, after I had taken "Shiloh" for awhile I should be less interested in recovering niv moiiov than in get-
:
? 48
ting back my wasted cliance of life. Would S. C. Wells & Co. guarantee that?
Morphin is the important ingredient of Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup. Never- theless, the United States Postoffice Department obligingly transmits me a dose of this poison through the mails, from A. C. Meyer & Co. , of Baltimore, the makers. The firm writes me, in response to m}^ letter of inquiry:
"We do not claim that Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup will cure an established case of oonsvunption. If you have gotten this impression you most likely have misunderstood what we claim. . . . We can, however, sa^^ that Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup has cured cases said to have been consumption in its earliest stages. "
Quite conservative, this. But A. C. Meyer & Co. evidently don't follow their own advertising very closely, for around my sample bottle (by cour- tesy of the Postoffice Department) is a booklet, and from that booklet I quote
"There is no case of hoarseness, cough, asthma, bronchitis . . . or consumption that can not he cured siwedily by the proper use of Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup. "
If this is not a claim that Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup "will cure an estab- lished case of consumption," what is it? Tbe inference from Meyer & Co. 's cautious letter is that they realize their responsibility for a cruel and dangerous fraud and are beginning to feel an uneasiness about it, wbich may be shame or may be only fear. One logical effect of permitting medi- cines containing a dangerous quantity of poison to be sold without the poison label is shown in the coroner's verdict reproduced on pa'ge 47. In the account of the Keck baby's death from the Dr. Bull opium mixture, which the Cincinnati papers published, there was no mention of the name of the cough syrup. Asked about this, the newspapers gave various explanations. Two of them disclosed that they had no information on the point. This is contrary to the statement of the physician in the case, and implies a reportorial laxity which is difficult to credit. One ascribed the omission to a settled policy and one to the fear of libel. When the coroner's verdict was given out, how^ever, the name of the nostrum got into plain print. On the whole, the Cincinnati papers showed themselves gratifyingly inde- pendent.
Another case of poisoning from this same remedy occurred in Morocco, Ind. , the victim being a 2-year-old child. . The doctor reports:
"In an hour, when first seen, symptoms of opium poisoning were present. In about twelve hours the child had several convulsions, and spasms fol- lowed for another twelve hours at intervals. It then sank into a coma and died in the seventy-two hours with'cardiac failure. The case? was clearly one of death from overdose of the remedy. "
The baby had SAvallowed a large amount of the "medicine" from a bottle left within its reach.
Had the bottle been properly labeled with skull and cross-bones the mother would probably not have let it lie about.
Caution seems to have become a suddenly acquired policy of this class of medicines, in so far as their correspondence goes. Unfortunately, it does notextendtotheiradvertising. Theresultisaratherpainfuldiscrepancy. G. G. Green runs hotels in California and manufactures quack medicines in Woodbury, N. J. , one of these being "Boschee's German Syrup," a "con- sumptioncure. " Mr. Greenwritesme(perrubberstamp):
"Consumption can sometimes be cured, but not always. Some cases are beyond cure. However, Ave suggest that you secure a trial bottle of German Syrup for 25 cents," etc.
On the bottle I read: "Certain cure for all diseases of the throat and lungs. " Consumption is a disease of the lungs; sometimes of the throat.
49
If it "can sometimes be cured, but not always," then the German Syrup is not a "certain cure for all diseases of the throat and lungs," and somebody, as the ill-fated Reingelder put it, "haf lied in brint" on Mr. Green's bottle, Avhich must be very painful to Mr. Green, Mr. Green's remedy contains morphin and some hydrocyanic acid. Therefore consumption will be much less often curable where Boschee's German Syrup is used than where it is not.
Absolutely False Claims.
A curious mixture of the cautious, semi-ethical method and the blatant claim-all patent medicine is offered in the Ozomulsion Company. Ozomul- sion does not, like the "cures" mentioned above, contain active poisons. It is one of the numerous cod-liver oil preparations, and its advertising, in the medical journals at first and now^ in the lay press, is that of a cure for consumption. I visited the offices of the Ozomulsion Company recently and found them duly furnished with a regular physician, who was employed, so he informed me, in a purely ethical capacity. There was also present dur-
ing the interview the president of the Ozomulsion Company, Mr. A. Frank Kichardson, former advertising agent, former deviser of the advertising of Swamp-Root, former proprietor of Kranitonic, and present proprietor of Slocuni's Consumption Cure^ which is the "wicked partner" of Ozomulsion. For convenience, I will put the conversation in court report form, and, in- deed, it partook somewhat of the nature of a cross-examination
Q. --Dr. Smith, will Ozomulsion cure consumption?
A. --Ozomulsion builds up the tissues, imparts vigor, aids the natural re- sistance of the body, etc. (Goes into a long exploitation in the manner and style made familiar by patent medicine pamphlets. )
Q. --But will it cure consumption?
A. --Well, without saying that it is a specific, etc. (Passes to an in- structive, entertaining, and valuable disquisition on the symptoms and nature of tuberculosis. )
Q. --Yes, but will Ozomulsion cure consumption?
A. --We don't claim that it wall cure consumption.
Q. --Does not this advertisement state that Ozomulsion will cure con-
Bumption? (Showingadvertisement. ) A. --It seems so.
Q. --Will Ozomulsion cure consumption? A. --In the early stages of the disease
Q. {interrupting) --Does the advertisement make any qualifications as to the stage of the disease?
4---^'ot that I find.
Q. --Have you ever seen that advertisement before?
A. --Not to my knowledge.
Q. --Who wrote it?
A. {by President Richardson) --I done that ad. myself.
Q. --Mr. Richardson, will Ozomulsion cure consumption?
A. --Sure; w^e got testimonials to prove it.
Q. --Have you ever investigated any of these testimonials ?
Q. {to Dr. Smith)--Dr. Smith, in view of the direct statement of your
advertising, do you believe that Ozomulsion will cure consumption? A. --Well, I believe in a great many cases it will.
Health for Five Dollars.
That is as far as Dr. Smith would go. I wonder what he would have said as to the Dr. T. A. Slocum side of the business. Dr. Slocum puts out a ? "Special Cure Offer" that will snatch you from the jaws of death, on the
--:
? ? .
"which," says the certificate, "will, in a majority of cases, effect a perma- nent cure of the malady from which the invalid is now suffering. " What- everailsyou--that'swhatDr. T. A. Slocumcures. For$10yougetalmost twice the amount, plus the guarantee. Surely there is little left on earth, unless Dr. Slocum should issue a $15 oft'er, to include funeral expenses and a tombstone.
The Slocum Consumption Cure proper consists of a gay-hued substance known as "Psychine. " Psychine is about 16 per cent, alcohol, and has a dash of strychnin to give the patient his money's worth. Its alluring color is derived from cochineal. It is "an infallible and unfailing remedy for consumption. " Ozomulsion is also a sure cure, if the literature is to be believed. To cure one's self twice of the same disease savors of reckless extravagance, but as "a perfect and permanent cure will be the inevitable consequence. " perhaps it's worth the money. It would not do to charge Dr. T. A. Slocum Avith fraud, because he is, I suppose, as dead as Lydia E. Pinkham: but Mr. A. Frank Richardson is very much alive, and I trust it will be no surprise to hiinj-e--sb^ iiai'4j:;75ta^l that his Ozomulsion makes claims that it can noti*<f^(C)t)^^liM-^ii)F^N^hin is considerably worse, that his special cure o^J^i a bit of shamenfi'^fljJ^kery, and that his whole Slocum Consumption/? |We is a fake and a fraiy! ^ ludicrous that its con- tinued existence is a/lfWliaiitikC|Diwnj<<it>>nv\nii huTiiai credulousness.
Since the early '0(Vs, ancMpei'iraps^berdre. ^hei^ Ijas constantly been in the public prints one orVfl^jther benefactor of the'T^man race who wishes to lie stow on suffering nr^^inct flee of cha^e, a^^medy which has snatched liim from the brink of tli^ia2g:e,H^A^pOa^f^ Mr. W. A. Noyes, of Roches- ter. X. Y. To any one who wrile^ IWIn'lie sends gratis a prescription which will surely cure consumption. But take this prescription to your druggist
and you will fail to get it filled, for the simple reason that the ingenious Mr. Xoyes has employed a pharmaceutical nomenclature peculiarly his own. If you wish to try the "Cannabis Sativa Remedy" (which is a mixture of hasheesh and other drugs) you must purchase it direct from the adver- tiser at a price which assures him an abnormal profit. As Mr. Noyes writes me proposing to give special treatment for my (supposed) case, de- pending on a diagnosis of sixty-seven questions, I fail to see why he is not liable for practicing medicine without a license.
Piso Grows Cautious.
Piso's Consumption Cure, extensively advertised a year or two ago, is apparently withdrawing from the field, so far as consumption goes, and the Piso people are now more modestly promising to cure coughs and colds. Old analyses give as the contents of Piso's Cure for Consumption, alcohol, chloroform, opium and cannabis indica (hasheesh). In reply to an inquiry as to whether their remedy contains morphin and cannabis indica, the Piso Company replies: "Since the year 1872 Piso's Cure has contained no mor- phin or anything derived from opium. " The question as to cannabis indica i. s not answered. Analysis shows that the "cure" contains chloroform, alcohol and apparently cannabis indica. It is therefore, another of the
50
blanket plan, for $5, and guarantees the cure (or more medicine) for $10. His scheme is so noble and broad-minded that I can not refrain from detail-
ing it.
For $5 you get
1 large bottle of Psychine,
1 large bottle of Ozomulsion,
1 large bottle of Coltsfoote Expectorant, 1 large tube of Ozojell,
3 boxes of Lazy Liver Pills,
3 Hot X-E<Ty Porous Plasters,
? '
;|
"://;:
p^
^
51
remedies which can not jjossibly cure consumption, but, on the contrary, tend by their poisonous and debilitating drugs to undermine the victim's stamina.
Peruna. liquozone, Duffy's Malt Whiskey, Pierce's Golden ^Medical Dis- covery and the other "blanket" cures include tuberculosis in their lists, claiming great numbers of well-authenticated cures. From the imposing- book pul)lislied by the R. V. Pierce Company, of Buffalo, I took a number of testimonials for investigation; not a large number, for I found the con- sumption testimonial rather scarce. From fifteen letters I got results in nine cases. Seven of the letters were returned to me marked '"unclaimed," of Avhich one was marked "Xame not in the dictory. " another "Xo such postoffice in the state"' and a third "Deceased,"' The eighth man wrote that the Golden ]Medical Discovery had cured his cough and blood-spitting, add- ing: '"It is the best lung medisan I ever used for lung trubble. " The last man said he took twenty-five bottles and was cured! Two out of nine seems to me a sus|)ieious]y small percentage of traceable recoveries. Much stres> has Ix'cn laid l)y the Proprietary Association of America through its
n
-m^.
^ Upon %eceipt of Five Dollars {$5MG\ i . . . . . . . . ^
WHOLESALE CURING ON THE BLANKET PLAN.
A blanket cure from the "laboratory of Dr. T. A. Slocum. "
press committee on the suit brought by R. V. Pierce against the Ladies' Home Journal, the implication being (although the suit has not yet been tried) that a reckless libeler of a noble and worthy business has been suitably punished. In the full appreciation of Dr. Pierce's attitude in the matter of libel, I wish to state that in so far as its chiim of curing con- simiption is concerned his Golden ^Medical Discovery is an unqualified fraud.
One might suppose that the quacks would stop short of trying to deceive the medical profession in this matter, yet the "constmiption cure" may be found disporting itself in the pages of the medical journals. For instance, I find this advertisement in several professional magazines:
*'M,cArthur's Syrup of Hypophosphites has proved itself, time and time again, to be positively beneficial in this condition (tuberculosis) in the hands of prominent ol>sorvei'>, clinicians and. what is more, pvacticiiig i)hysicians, hundreds of ^\? llom have written their aduiiring encuiniuiiis in
? 62
its belialf, and it is the enthusiastic conviction of many that its effect is truly specific. " Which, translated into lay terms, means that the syrup will cure consumption. I find also in the medical press "a sure cure for dropsy," fortified with a picture worthy of Swamp-Root or Lydia Pinkham. Both of these are frauds in attempting to foster the idea that they will cure the disease, and they are none the less fraudulent for being advertised to the medical profession instead of to the laity.
Is there, then, no legitimate advertising of preparations useful in diseases such as tuberculosis? Very little, and that little mostly in the medical journals, exploiting products which tend to build up and strengthen the patient. There has recently appeared, however, one advertisement in the la}'^ press which seems to me a legitimate attempt to push a nostrum. It is reproduced at the beginning of this article. Notice, first, the frank state- ment that there is no specific for consumption; second, that there is no attempt to deceive the public into the belief that the emulsion will be help- ful in all cases. Whether or not Scott's Emulsion is superior to other cod- liver oils is beside the present question. If all patent medicine "copy" were written in the same spirit of honesty as this, I should have been able to omit from this series all consideration of fraud, and devote my entire attentiontothefarlessinvolvedanddifficultmatterofpoison. Unhappily, all of the Scott's Emulsion advertising is not up to this standard. In another newspaper I have seen an excerpt in which the Scott & Bowne Company come perilously near making, if they do not actually make, the claim that their emulsion is a cure, and furthermore make themselves ridiculous by challenging comparison with another emulsion, suggesting a chemical test and ofi'ering, if their nostrum comes out second best, to give to the institution making the experiment a supply of their oil free for a year. This is like the German druggist who invented a heart-cure and offered two cases to any one who could prove that it was injurious!
Consumption is not the only incurable . disease in which there are good pickingsforthebirdsofprey. InarecentissueoftheNewYorkSunday American-Journal I find three cancer cures, one dropsy cure, one "heart- disease soon cured," three epilepsy cures and a "case of paralysis cured. " Cancer yields to but one agency--the knife. Epilepsy is either the result of pressure on the brain or some obscure cerelaral disease; medicine can never cure it. , Heart disease is of many kinds, and a drug that may be helpful in relieving symptoms in one case might be fatal in another. The same is true of dropsy. Medical science knows no "cure" for paralysis. As space lacks to consider individually the nature of each nostrum sepa- rately, I list briefly, for the protection of those w^ho read, a number of the more conspicuous swindles of this kind now being foisted on the public:
Rupert Wells' Radiatized Fluid, for cancer. Miles' Heart Disease Cure.
Miles' Grand Dropsy Cure.
Dr. Tucker's Epilepsy Cure.
Dr. Grant's Epilepsy Cure. W. H. May's Epilepsy Cure.
Naturally tliese owners and exploiters of these mixtures claiui that the <<mall amount of cccain contained is harmless. For instance, the "Crown Cure," admitting 2I/2 per cent. , says:
"Of course, this is a very small and harmless amount. Cocain is now consideredtobe'themostvaluableadditiontomodernmedicine . . . it is the most perfect relief known. "
Birney's Catarrh Cure runs as high as 4 per cent, and can produce testi- monials vouching for its harmlessness. Here is a Birney '"testimonial" to the opposite effect, obtained "without solicitation or payment" (I have ventured to put it in the approA'ed form), which no sufferer from catarrh can afford to miss:
READ WHAT William Thompson, of Chicago, says of
BIRNEY'S CATARRH CURE.
"Three years ago Thompson "was a strong man. Kow he is without money, health, home, or friends. "
(Chicago Tribune. )
"I began taking Birney's Catarrh Cure (says Thompson) three years ago, and the longing for the drug has grown so potent that I suffer without it.
"I followed the directions at first, then I increased the quan- tity until I bought the stuff by the dozen bottles. "
A famous drink and drug cure in Illinois had, as a patient, not long ago, a14-year-oldboy,wiiowasaslavetotheBirneybrandofcocain. Hehad run his father $300 in debt, so heavy were his purchases of the poison.
Chicago long ago settled this cocain matter in the only logical way. The proprietor of a large downtown drug store noticed several years ago that at noon numbers of the shop girls from a great department store purchased certaincatarrhpow^dersoverhiscounter. Hehadhisclerkwarnthemthat the powders contained deleterious drugs. The girls continued to purchase in increasing numbers and quantity. He sent word to the superintendent of the store. "That accounts for the number of our girls that have gone wrong of late," was the superintendent's comment. The druggist, Mr. McConnell, had an analysis made by the Board of Health, w^hich showed that the powder most called for was nearly 4 per cent, cocain, whereon he threw it and similar powders out of stock. The girls went elsewiiere. Mr. McConnell traced them and started a general movement against this class of remedies, which resulted in an ordinance forbidding their sale. Birney's Catarrhal Powders, as I am informed, to meet the new conditions, brought out a powder without cocain, which had the briefest kind of a sale. For weeks thereafter the downtown stores were haunted by haggard yonng men and women, who begged for "the old powders; these new ones don't do any good. " As high as $1. 00 premium was paid for the 4 per cent, cocain species. To-daytheIllinoisdruggistwhosellscocaininthisformisliable toarrest. YetinNewYork,atthecornerofForty-secondstreetandBroad- way, I saw recently a show-window display of the Birney cure, and similar displays are not uncommon in other cities.
Regarding other forms of drugs there may be honest differences of opinion as to the limits of legitimacy in the trade. If mendacious advertis- ing were stopped^ and the actual ingredients of eyevy nostrum plainly pub-
? 44
lished and frankly explained, the patent medicine trade might reasonably claim to be a legitimate enterprise in many of its phases. But no label of opium or cocain,. though the warning skull and cross-bones cover the bottle, will excuse the sale of products that are never safeh" used except by expert advice. I believe that the Chicago method of dealing with the catarrh powders is the right method in cocain- and opium-bearing nostrums. Re- strict the drug by the same safeguards when sold under a lying pretence as when it flies its true colors. Then, and then only, will our laws prevent the shameful trade that stupefies helpless babies and makes criminals of our
young men and harlots of our young women.
? v. --PREYING ON THE INCURABLES.
Incurable disease is one of the strongholds of the patent medicine busi- ness. The ideal patron, viewed in the light of profitable business, is the victim of some slow and wasting ailmen in which recurrent hope inspires to repeated experiments with any '*cure'" that offers. In the columns of almost every newspaper you may find promises to cure tonsiiinption. Consumption is a disease absolutelj- incurable by any medicine, altliough an increasing
iCi. .
percentage of consumptives are saved by open air, diet and . methodical living. This is thoroughly and defi- nitely understood by all medical and scientific men, Xevertheless there are in the patent medicine world a set of harpies who, for their own business interests, deliberately foster in the mind of the unfortunate sufferer from tuberculosis the belief that he can be saved by the use of some absolutely fraudulent nos- trum. Many of these consumption cures contain drugs which hasten the progress of the disease, such as chloroform, opium, alcohol and hasheesli. Others are comparatively harmless in themselves, but by their fervent promises of rescue they delude the sufl'erer into misplacing his reliance, and forfeiting his only chance by neglecting those rigidly careful habits of life Avhich alone can conquer the ''white plague. " One and all, the men who advertise medi- cines to cure consumption deliberately traffic in human life.
Certain members of the Proprietary Association of America (the patent medicine '? combine'") with whom I have talked have urged on me the claim that there are firms in the nostrum business that are above criticism, and have mentioned H. E. Bucklen & Co. , of Chicago, who manufacture a certain salve. The Bucklen salve did not particularly interest me. But when I came to taKe up the subject of consumption cures I ran unexpectedly on an interesting trail. In the country and small city newspapers there is now being advertised lavishly "Dr. King's New Discovery for Consumption. " It is proclaimed to be the "only sure cure for consumption. " Further announcement ismadethat"itstrikesterrortothedoctors. " Asit is a morphin and chloroform mixture, "Dr. King's
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An example of legitimate adver- tising in the con- sumption field.
. ^
New Discovery for Consumption" is well calculated to strike terror to the doctors or to any other class or profession, except, perhaps, the undertakers. It is a pretty diabolical concoction to give to anyone, and particularly to a consumptive. The chloroform temporarily allays the cough, thereby check- ing Nature's effort to throw off the dead matter from the lungs. The opium drugs the patient into a deceived cheerfulness. The combination is admirably designed to shorten the life of any consumptive who takes it steadilv. Of course, there is nothing on the label of the bottle to warn the
\
46
FREE of COSTl
The Tme Bemedy at last Biseovered! IT STRIKES TERROR TO THE DOCTORS.
' 1,, ---
? -- GREATESTDISC0YERY519gCECTURY.
--
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Discovery for Consomptioni
The Only Sure Oure for Consumption in the World.
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And a'i UStea^es of *b<- Thro a,
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OB. KINC'S ISJEW
Dr. King's New Discovery for Consumption.
D IjY not >> moine that ttfi inudioiu \ipi.
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POSITIVE GUARANTEE. ! ! nbt-mfiiiletft-tt! -II t <%rx mi! )^ J t u<<-HiJ>c>tfiiecontenis^ftfei<< bott'e f<< ', >> f %>u jiOT n-turn rf ti t, ' ^ti. t,-- iv-o Uiuds of t iciruihuac ha%mg fttut-ia>>> ) 1^t>I f. u t ithe<J'eII rii fur iicu i ir>ctm ' 1 ' -yrn 1. r ' , <<i11ri>> iJd\( i iU^e)nJ^t,<<*rl(. a
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WortM'- prep i<<ition<< cliumm^ to be as j. ord, as its equul d t tj ? n t. Atk fof <<<<1>R Kj^o'bNewDi'5covtJ>>yFoaCo}>siMmov,"andfj>enoother.
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SEWARS OF COUNTEftretTS AND if>>IITATiO^$. B6sur<<<<h>> >^ame "OH. Kt<<G S S? EW PiSCQVERY" fa on evety batt! >>.
SOLD ALL OVER THE WOULD!
H, E. BUOKLEN k CO. , Props. mimn, el, mn mm$m mmk
A TYPICAL FRAUD.
The claims are baseless, the guarantee ridiculous and the remedy harmful.
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47
purchaser. That M'oiild decrease the profits. The makers of this beneficent preparation are H. E. Biicklen & Co. , of Chicago.
Chloroform and Prussic Acid.
Another "cure" whicli, for excellent reasons of its own, does not print its formula, is "Shiloh's Consumption Cure," made at Leroy, X. Y. , by S. C. Wells & Co. Were it to publish abroad the fact that it contains, among other ingredients, chloroform and prussic acid, the public would probably
VERDICT OF DEATH FROM BULL'S COUGH SYRUP One logical result of unlabeled poisons.
exhibit some caution in taking it. Under our present lax system there is no AA'arning on the bottle that the liquid contains one of the most deadly of poisons. The makers write me: "After you have taken the medicine for awhile, if you are not firmly convinced that you are very much better we want you to go to your druggist and get back all the money that you have paid for Shiloh. " But if I were a consumptive, after I had taken "Shiloh" for awhile I should be less interested in recovering niv moiiov than in get-
:
? 48
ting back my wasted cliance of life. Would S. C. Wells & Co. guarantee that?
Morphin is the important ingredient of Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup. Never- theless, the United States Postoffice Department obligingly transmits me a dose of this poison through the mails, from A. C. Meyer & Co. , of Baltimore, the makers. The firm writes me, in response to m}^ letter of inquiry:
"We do not claim that Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup will cure an established case of oonsvunption. If you have gotten this impression you most likely have misunderstood what we claim. . . . We can, however, sa^^ that Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup has cured cases said to have been consumption in its earliest stages. "
Quite conservative, this. But A. C. Meyer & Co. evidently don't follow their own advertising very closely, for around my sample bottle (by cour- tesy of the Postoffice Department) is a booklet, and from that booklet I quote
"There is no case of hoarseness, cough, asthma, bronchitis . . . or consumption that can not he cured siwedily by the proper use of Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup. "
If this is not a claim that Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup "will cure an estab- lished case of consumption," what is it? Tbe inference from Meyer & Co. 's cautious letter is that they realize their responsibility for a cruel and dangerous fraud and are beginning to feel an uneasiness about it, wbich may be shame or may be only fear. One logical effect of permitting medi- cines containing a dangerous quantity of poison to be sold without the poison label is shown in the coroner's verdict reproduced on pa'ge 47. In the account of the Keck baby's death from the Dr. Bull opium mixture, which the Cincinnati papers published, there was no mention of the name of the cough syrup. Asked about this, the newspapers gave various explanations. Two of them disclosed that they had no information on the point. This is contrary to the statement of the physician in the case, and implies a reportorial laxity which is difficult to credit. One ascribed the omission to a settled policy and one to the fear of libel. When the coroner's verdict was given out, how^ever, the name of the nostrum got into plain print. On the whole, the Cincinnati papers showed themselves gratifyingly inde- pendent.
Another case of poisoning from this same remedy occurred in Morocco, Ind. , the victim being a 2-year-old child. . The doctor reports:
"In an hour, when first seen, symptoms of opium poisoning were present. In about twelve hours the child had several convulsions, and spasms fol- lowed for another twelve hours at intervals. It then sank into a coma and died in the seventy-two hours with'cardiac failure. The case? was clearly one of death from overdose of the remedy. "
The baby had SAvallowed a large amount of the "medicine" from a bottle left within its reach.
Had the bottle been properly labeled with skull and cross-bones the mother would probably not have let it lie about.
Caution seems to have become a suddenly acquired policy of this class of medicines, in so far as their correspondence goes. Unfortunately, it does notextendtotheiradvertising. Theresultisaratherpainfuldiscrepancy. G. G. Green runs hotels in California and manufactures quack medicines in Woodbury, N. J. , one of these being "Boschee's German Syrup," a "con- sumptioncure. " Mr. Greenwritesme(perrubberstamp):
"Consumption can sometimes be cured, but not always. Some cases are beyond cure. However, Ave suggest that you secure a trial bottle of German Syrup for 25 cents," etc.
On the bottle I read: "Certain cure for all diseases of the throat and lungs. " Consumption is a disease of the lungs; sometimes of the throat.
49
If it "can sometimes be cured, but not always," then the German Syrup is not a "certain cure for all diseases of the throat and lungs," and somebody, as the ill-fated Reingelder put it, "haf lied in brint" on Mr. Green's bottle, Avhich must be very painful to Mr. Green, Mr. Green's remedy contains morphin and some hydrocyanic acid. Therefore consumption will be much less often curable where Boschee's German Syrup is used than where it is not.
Absolutely False Claims.
A curious mixture of the cautious, semi-ethical method and the blatant claim-all patent medicine is offered in the Ozomulsion Company. Ozomul- sion does not, like the "cures" mentioned above, contain active poisons. It is one of the numerous cod-liver oil preparations, and its advertising, in the medical journals at first and now^ in the lay press, is that of a cure for consumption. I visited the offices of the Ozomulsion Company recently and found them duly furnished with a regular physician, who was employed, so he informed me, in a purely ethical capacity. There was also present dur-
ing the interview the president of the Ozomulsion Company, Mr. A. Frank Kichardson, former advertising agent, former deviser of the advertising of Swamp-Root, former proprietor of Kranitonic, and present proprietor of Slocuni's Consumption Cure^ which is the "wicked partner" of Ozomulsion. For convenience, I will put the conversation in court report form, and, in- deed, it partook somewhat of the nature of a cross-examination
Q. --Dr. Smith, will Ozomulsion cure consumption?
A. --Ozomulsion builds up the tissues, imparts vigor, aids the natural re- sistance of the body, etc. (Goes into a long exploitation in the manner and style made familiar by patent medicine pamphlets. )
Q. --But will it cure consumption?
A. --Well, without saying that it is a specific, etc. (Passes to an in- structive, entertaining, and valuable disquisition on the symptoms and nature of tuberculosis. )
Q. --Yes, but will Ozomulsion cure consumption?
A. --We don't claim that it wall cure consumption.
Q. --Does not this advertisement state that Ozomulsion will cure con-
Bumption? (Showingadvertisement. ) A. --It seems so.
Q. --Will Ozomulsion cure consumption? A. --In the early stages of the disease
Q. {interrupting) --Does the advertisement make any qualifications as to the stage of the disease?
4---^'ot that I find.
Q. --Have you ever seen that advertisement before?
A. --Not to my knowledge.
Q. --Who wrote it?
A. {by President Richardson) --I done that ad. myself.
Q. --Mr. Richardson, will Ozomulsion cure consumption?
A. --Sure; w^e got testimonials to prove it.
Q. --Have you ever investigated any of these testimonials ?
Q. {to Dr. Smith)--Dr. Smith, in view of the direct statement of your
advertising, do you believe that Ozomulsion will cure consumption? A. --Well, I believe in a great many cases it will.
Health for Five Dollars.
That is as far as Dr. Smith would go. I wonder what he would have said as to the Dr. T. A. Slocum side of the business. Dr. Slocum puts out a ? "Special Cure Offer" that will snatch you from the jaws of death, on the
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"which," says the certificate, "will, in a majority of cases, effect a perma- nent cure of the malady from which the invalid is now suffering. " What- everailsyou--that'swhatDr. T. A. Slocumcures. For$10yougetalmost twice the amount, plus the guarantee. Surely there is little left on earth, unless Dr. Slocum should issue a $15 oft'er, to include funeral expenses and a tombstone.
The Slocum Consumption Cure proper consists of a gay-hued substance known as "Psychine. " Psychine is about 16 per cent, alcohol, and has a dash of strychnin to give the patient his money's worth. Its alluring color is derived from cochineal. It is "an infallible and unfailing remedy for consumption. " Ozomulsion is also a sure cure, if the literature is to be believed. To cure one's self twice of the same disease savors of reckless extravagance, but as "a perfect and permanent cure will be the inevitable consequence. " perhaps it's worth the money. It would not do to charge Dr. T. A. Slocum Avith fraud, because he is, I suppose, as dead as Lydia E. Pinkham: but Mr. A. Frank Richardson is very much alive, and I trust it will be no surprise to hiinj-e--sb^ iiai'4j:;75ta^l that his Ozomulsion makes claims that it can noti*<f^(C)t)^^liM-^ii)F^N^hin is considerably worse, that his special cure o^J^i a bit of shamenfi'^fljJ^kery, and that his whole Slocum Consumption/? |We is a fake and a fraiy! ^ ludicrous that its con- tinued existence is a/lfWliaiitikC|Diwnj<<it>>nv\nii huTiiai credulousness.
Since the early '0(Vs, ancMpei'iraps^berdre. ^hei^ Ijas constantly been in the public prints one orVfl^jther benefactor of the'T^man race who wishes to lie stow on suffering nr^^inct flee of cha^e, a^^medy which has snatched liim from the brink of tli^ia2g:e,H^A^pOa^f^ Mr. W. A. Noyes, of Roches- ter. X. Y. To any one who wrile^ IWIn'lie sends gratis a prescription which will surely cure consumption. But take this prescription to your druggist
and you will fail to get it filled, for the simple reason that the ingenious Mr. Xoyes has employed a pharmaceutical nomenclature peculiarly his own. If you wish to try the "Cannabis Sativa Remedy" (which is a mixture of hasheesh and other drugs) you must purchase it direct from the adver- tiser at a price which assures him an abnormal profit. As Mr. Noyes writes me proposing to give special treatment for my (supposed) case, de- pending on a diagnosis of sixty-seven questions, I fail to see why he is not liable for practicing medicine without a license.
Piso Grows Cautious.
Piso's Consumption Cure, extensively advertised a year or two ago, is apparently withdrawing from the field, so far as consumption goes, and the Piso people are now more modestly promising to cure coughs and colds. Old analyses give as the contents of Piso's Cure for Consumption, alcohol, chloroform, opium and cannabis indica (hasheesh). In reply to an inquiry as to whether their remedy contains morphin and cannabis indica, the Piso Company replies: "Since the year 1872 Piso's Cure has contained no mor- phin or anything derived from opium. " The question as to cannabis indica i. s not answered. Analysis shows that the "cure" contains chloroform, alcohol and apparently cannabis indica. It is therefore, another of the
50
blanket plan, for $5, and guarantees the cure (or more medicine) for $10. His scheme is so noble and broad-minded that I can not refrain from detail-
ing it.
For $5 you get
1 large bottle of Psychine,
1 large bottle of Ozomulsion,
1 large bottle of Coltsfoote Expectorant, 1 large tube of Ozojell,
3 boxes of Lazy Liver Pills,
3 Hot X-E<Ty Porous Plasters,
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remedies which can not jjossibly cure consumption, but, on the contrary, tend by their poisonous and debilitating drugs to undermine the victim's stamina.
Peruna. liquozone, Duffy's Malt Whiskey, Pierce's Golden ^Medical Dis- covery and the other "blanket" cures include tuberculosis in their lists, claiming great numbers of well-authenticated cures. From the imposing- book pul)lislied by the R. V. Pierce Company, of Buffalo, I took a number of testimonials for investigation; not a large number, for I found the con- sumption testimonial rather scarce. From fifteen letters I got results in nine cases. Seven of the letters were returned to me marked '"unclaimed," of Avhich one was marked "Xame not in the dictory. " another "Xo such postoffice in the state"' and a third "Deceased,"' The eighth man wrote that the Golden ]Medical Discovery had cured his cough and blood-spitting, add- ing: '"It is the best lung medisan I ever used for lung trubble. " The last man said he took twenty-five bottles and was cured! Two out of nine seems to me a sus|)ieious]y small percentage of traceable recoveries. Much stres> has Ix'cn laid l)y the Proprietary Association of America through its
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^ Upon %eceipt of Five Dollars {$5MG\ i . . . . . . . . ^
WHOLESALE CURING ON THE BLANKET PLAN.
A blanket cure from the "laboratory of Dr. T. A. Slocum. "
press committee on the suit brought by R. V. Pierce against the Ladies' Home Journal, the implication being (although the suit has not yet been tried) that a reckless libeler of a noble and worthy business has been suitably punished. In the full appreciation of Dr. Pierce's attitude in the matter of libel, I wish to state that in so far as its chiim of curing con- simiption is concerned his Golden ^Medical Discovery is an unqualified fraud.
One might suppose that the quacks would stop short of trying to deceive the medical profession in this matter, yet the "constmiption cure" may be found disporting itself in the pages of the medical journals. For instance, I find this advertisement in several professional magazines:
*'M,cArthur's Syrup of Hypophosphites has proved itself, time and time again, to be positively beneficial in this condition (tuberculosis) in the hands of prominent ol>sorvei'>, clinicians and. what is more, pvacticiiig i)hysicians, hundreds of ^\? llom have written their aduiiring encuiniuiiis in
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its belialf, and it is the enthusiastic conviction of many that its effect is truly specific. " Which, translated into lay terms, means that the syrup will cure consumption. I find also in the medical press "a sure cure for dropsy," fortified with a picture worthy of Swamp-Root or Lydia Pinkham. Both of these are frauds in attempting to foster the idea that they will cure the disease, and they are none the less fraudulent for being advertised to the medical profession instead of to the laity.
Is there, then, no legitimate advertising of preparations useful in diseases such as tuberculosis? Very little, and that little mostly in the medical journals, exploiting products which tend to build up and strengthen the patient. There has recently appeared, however, one advertisement in the la}'^ press which seems to me a legitimate attempt to push a nostrum. It is reproduced at the beginning of this article. Notice, first, the frank state- ment that there is no specific for consumption; second, that there is no attempt to deceive the public into the belief that the emulsion will be help- ful in all cases. Whether or not Scott's Emulsion is superior to other cod- liver oils is beside the present question. If all patent medicine "copy" were written in the same spirit of honesty as this, I should have been able to omit from this series all consideration of fraud, and devote my entire attentiontothefarlessinvolvedanddifficultmatterofpoison. Unhappily, all of the Scott's Emulsion advertising is not up to this standard. In another newspaper I have seen an excerpt in which the Scott & Bowne Company come perilously near making, if they do not actually make, the claim that their emulsion is a cure, and furthermore make themselves ridiculous by challenging comparison with another emulsion, suggesting a chemical test and ofi'ering, if their nostrum comes out second best, to give to the institution making the experiment a supply of their oil free for a year. This is like the German druggist who invented a heart-cure and offered two cases to any one who could prove that it was injurious!
Consumption is not the only incurable . disease in which there are good pickingsforthebirdsofprey. InarecentissueoftheNewYorkSunday American-Journal I find three cancer cures, one dropsy cure, one "heart- disease soon cured," three epilepsy cures and a "case of paralysis cured. " Cancer yields to but one agency--the knife. Epilepsy is either the result of pressure on the brain or some obscure cerelaral disease; medicine can never cure it. , Heart disease is of many kinds, and a drug that may be helpful in relieving symptoms in one case might be fatal in another. The same is true of dropsy. Medical science knows no "cure" for paralysis. As space lacks to consider individually the nature of each nostrum sepa- rately, I list briefly, for the protection of those w^ho read, a number of the more conspicuous swindles of this kind now being foisted on the public:
Rupert Wells' Radiatized Fluid, for cancer. Miles' Heart Disease Cure.
Miles' Grand Dropsy Cure.
Dr. Tucker's Epilepsy Cure.
Dr. Grant's Epilepsy Cure. W. H. May's Epilepsy Cure.
