It is a fact that the judgment of a sick person is not reliable. For this reason a physician never tries to treat himself when sick, nor will a physician treat any member of his family for much the same reason. His sentiment overrules his judgment and he cannot depend upon his decisions. An individual who is not well may be influenced by an irresponsible person, or by a clever, subtly worded advertisement, to use remedies that are not only dangerous in themselves, but which are wholly unsuited to the condition for which they are taken.

Quite a common characteristic of sick people is unreasonableness. They become irritable and discouraged, and not being able to rely upon their own judgment they fail to render to themselves the degree of justice that is essential to peace of mind and a favorable convalescence. They may place themselves in the care of a reputable and thoroughly qualified physician, but if they do not observe distinct evidences of improvement within a very brief period they lose faith in him and change their doctor. They may do this a number of times, until finally they reach the conclusion that the entire medical profession is a fraud. They are then the legitimate victims of the patent medicine shark or the fake-curist. Probably ninety-nine per cent. of the victims of these parasites are obtained in this way. The statement often seen in testimonials to the effect, that "the best doctors failed to cure me," is not true in any instance. The truth is, that the individual failed to give the doctors the opportunity to cure him, and the reason he did not give them the chance was because they treated him as a man and as a human being, which he proved not to be. Had the first doctor he consulted adopted the tactics of the quack he would have cured him in a much shorter time. Instead of doing that, he told him the exact truth and charged him an ordinary office fee, while the quack told him lies and charged him a large sum of money to cure him. The latter gentleman, knowing the tendency to vacillate which these individuals have, ensured himself the time necessary to a cure by compelling him to pay the entire sum in advance, which is their universal custom. The patient, therefore, could not afford to change his doctor this time, and as time was all that was necessary to his cure, the wily and oily quack gets all the credit for effecting a cure, which "the best doctors could not accomplish." It is a simple game, and the explanation is just as simple, but there are those who will not see, and there are those who cannot be told.

It is not simple justice, however, to blame these individuals altogether. We must keep in mind the irresolute judgment which is to a certain extent a product of the ill-health with which the patient suffers and the consequent easy tendency to be persuaded one way or another. The way in which these people are influenced is always the wrong way for the following reason. No person with any judgment or common sense or justice or sympathy would be fool enough or inhuman enough to give advice to a suffering sick man or woman as to what he or she should do or take. These individuals do not lack advice, however. There is always the pestering idiot around who knows exactly what should be done, and who does not hesitate to enter where an angel would fear to tread.

In the columns of almost every newspaper one may find promises of health, wealth and happiness for a dollar a bottle. Even consumption has been vaunted as an easily curable disease by a hundred different nostrums, though the truth is that it is incurable by any known drug. Men who advertise these remedies are deliberately trafficking in human life, and they are thoroughly well aware of it. It is difficult to conceive of the type of manhood who would advertise a remedy as "The only sure cure for consumption in the world;" this was extensively done by the concern that put a certain "New Discovery for Consumption" on the market. Further announcement was made that "it strikes terror to the doctors," and that it was "the greatest discovery of the century." Every such assertion is a lie. It was found to be a mixture of morphine and chloroform. It is a wicked concoction to give to any human being in good health. To a consumptive it is admirably designed to shorten the life of anyone who will take it steadily in the hope of a cure. It certainly struck terror in the hearts of the doctors after its composition was known and when it was remembered to whom it was to be given.

"Consumption Cure" was found to contain one of the most deadly of known poisons,—prussic acid. In a booklet which was sent out by the proprietors of a certain cough syrup the following contemptible assertion is made: "There is no case of hoarseness, cough, asthma, bronchitis, or consumption that cannot be cured speedily by the proper use of this cough syrup." Such a cruel and dangerously fraudulent statement is absolutely inexplicable to any honest mind. Dr. ——'s —— pills for pale people, were advertised to cure paralysis. They were found to be made of green vitriol, starch and sugar.

Those who bought these nostrums not only wasted their money, but they threw away any chance of relief they have, by failing to adopt the proper treatment until it was too late.

In directing the attention of mothers to the evil of the patent medicine business it is my earnest hope that they will give to the subject something more than a mere passing interest. To an intelligent individual no lengthy argument,—other than the recital of such facts as are given in this article,—is necessary to prove that it is an evil which is deserving of the most serious consideration.

The business is one that appeals only to the ignorant. This is a plain and probably a harsh assertion, nevertheless it is absolutely the simple truth. The language and the reasoning of the nostrum vender are not designed to appeal to the trained, educated mind, or to an individual possessing innate common sense. Even though the average person is unacquainted with the constituents of a remedy that apparently enjoys a large success, the absurd claims made for it should safeguard them against its use. Few would have purchased ordinary water at $1.00 a bottle had they known what they were buying. But an individual with any reasoning ability or ordinary common sense, should have been sceptical regarding the merits of any remedy that was claimed to "cure," among other diseases, consumption, cancer, rheumatism, malaria, gallstones, asthma, blood poison, dandruff, and all contagious diseases. It would be impossible to conceive a more mendacious and absurd claim, and it would be impossible to concoct a more impertinently foolish assumption than to assume that such a claim would receive the consideration of a sane mind.

Unfortunately, however, we are compelled to recognize that there are some curious people in the world, people whose reasoning methods are inexplicable, whose conclusions are not based upon any system of ethics or of logic. They believe what they choose to believe, irrespective of the quality of the testimony which may be advanced to refute their belief. The following incident illustrates this peculiar perversity: A woman patient of mine suffered from an obstinate and harassing cough. Though her general health was rather poor, her lungs were not affected. The cough persisted in spite of all efforts of specialists to alleviate it. The nervous condition of the patient, and an unusually long spell of inclement March weather, were directly responsible for the intractable character of the ailment. I advised her to visit Florida. This advice was given because her parents were then residing in that State. She did go to Florida and her husband informed me a few weeks later that she was entirely free from the cough and was enjoying good health. A number of months later, shortly after her return home, I was called to attend her husband. During the conversation incident to the call, she asked if I "knew what cured her awful cough." Somewhat amazed, I replied, "Certainly, Florida." She answered, with positive emphasis, "No, sir, Florida did not." I then asked her to please explain the mystery and was regaled with the following interesting information:

A few days after she reached Florida she met a woman—one of those irresponsible individuals who meander through life giving free advice upon subjects which they know nothing about, who talk eruptively and voluminously because talking is an easily acquired habit. This particular missionary of evil immediately confided to her the secret of her life, how she was made a well woman and cured wholly of all physical ills. She told her there was a man in Kansas who had discovered a liquid, which, if dropped into the eye twice daily, would cure any disease afflicting any member of the human family. This exuberant spider induced her victim to enter her parlor where she convinced her at her leisure that she was preaching the gospel. The result was that our friend sent to Kansas for the "Elixir of Life." Meantime the climate of Florida was doing its work. But just at this psychological moment the "elixir" arrived. Two drops of the precious liquid were, with due solemnity and deliberation, instilled into her eye and in a few days her cough began to mend. It would have been waste of time to have asked if she really believed the drops to be responsible for her cure. She spoke with the enthusiastic conviction of a disciple of a worthier cause. I inquired if she possessed any literature explaining the method of cure, and she presented me with the printed matter which is sent with the bottle. I told her I would look it over and tell her what I thought of it later.

The Message of Facts, which was the title of the newspaper, (it was printed like a newspaper and of the size of an ordinary paper), contained complete information regarding the "wonderful remedy" and its discoverer. He assumed the title of Professor and candidly admitted that he had been arrested a number of times for practicing medicine without a license. He asserted that the reason of his numerous arrests was because the medical profession in the State of Kansas, being jealous of his success instigated a course of insistent persecution against him. He further asserted that he offered to sell his discovery to the State, but the State refused to purchase it, consequently he had to go on practicing to earn a living. With reference to his method of treatment he stated:

"Despite the fact that medical men are too unfair and too prejudiced to accord Professor —— the credit he has justly earned, there is no getting away from the plain truth, that the great scientist has originated a method of conquering human ills that has completely revolutionized the long-cherished theories of the medical schools."

And further, "... being the discoverer of my system and the only man in the world practicing it, and having all cures and no cases of injury as my record shows ..."

Note that, in the first quotation, he asserts that his methods have revolutionized the old-time theories. This would surely imply that the medical schools, having been compelled to note his successful ways, were compelled likewise to change their theories and teach his way of curing disease. Despite this strong and robust assertion he states, in the second quotation, that he is the only man in the world practicing his methods. Evidently he did not revolutionize to any very great extent.

He claimed to be able to cure any human ill, and particularly emphasized his ability to cure consumption, Bright's disease, diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, stomach troubles, nervous prostration, blindness, female diseases, paralysis, heart and kidney diseases.

He, of course, does not state the nature of his remedy. It consists of a liquid which is dropped into the eye, and the procedure is the same, no matter what disease afflicts the patient. It is not essential to write at length his explanation of the way in which this "marvelous discovery" effects its cures. Suffice it to say, that it is a tissue of anatomical and physiological misrepresentation. He admittedly is uneducated and possesses absolutely no knowledge of even elementary medicine. His explanation is, therefore, to a medical mind, a ludicrous and an absurd attempt to tell what he does not understand. Of course, his explanation is not supposed to fall into the hands of a physician, and to a lay person, who understands as little as he does, it sounds all right. We must again fall back on the foolish claims he makes and on the basis of common sense we fail to understand how anyone can believe such stuff. Yet the woman who firmly believes that her cough was cured by this man has enthusiastically recommended the nostrum to a number of other women who have various ailments, all of whom are using it under her experienced instructions.

This is a very good illustration of how these impostors and charlatans succeed. This woman was approached at the psychological moment and was influenced to buy. It did not necessarily have to be these drops. It might just as well have been any other patent medicine, or any fake cure. It would have worked just the same for the reason that it was the climate of Florida that did the work. It is absurd to devote time even to consider the probability of the drops having aided in the cure. This man's whole scheme is a fake, pure and simple. No part of it has any merit. In other words, his remedy is no remedy at all, it is simply the mildest, ordinary eye wash, which may be bought in any drug store for ten cents. He charges $5.00, but think of the story he writes, think of the promises he gives and the claims he makes, and the paper he prints,—these all cost money and time and labor, and you must pay for them. And I know a woman who is putting these drops in her eye twice daily in the hope of correcting a displaced womb. Could the brain of the most facile weaver of romance conceive a more utterly absurd and pitiful condition of affairs than that an adult human being should be guilty of doing what an intelligent ant would not do under any circumstances?

When the "professor" claims that he refuses to "give up" his secret unless the State of Kansas adequately remunerates him for it, which, of course, it rightly refuses to do—he demonstrates how absolutely devoid of horse sense he is. No man with a "cure" for consumption—without mentioning the many other equally remunerative "cures" which this wizard owns, and which may be appended to the consumption "cure" just as the side-shows journey in the wake of the big circus—need waste his precious time dickering with the unappreciative State of Kansas. If his "cure" is anywhere near twenty-four carat gold he can own the State of Kansas and he may add another one to it for good measure. Any man capable of doing one-thousandth part of what this wily "professor" claims to be able to do, would make so much money that it would embarrass him all the rest of his life. One of his claims is that he can cure epilepsy. If he could cure epilepsy he wouldn't be allowed to stay twenty-four hours in the State of Kansas. Every civilized country on the face of the earth would bid for his services as an economic necessity because as an investment he would be cheap at any price.



CHAPTER XXXI

THE PATENT MEDICINE EVIL—Continued

The —— Consumption Cure—Personals to Consumptives—Nature's Creation—Female Weakness Cures—Various Compounds and Malt Whiskies.

FRAUDULENT TESTIMONIALS

It would indeed seem to be an act of supererogation to compile further evidence of the infamy of this entire business: what additional proof is necessary?

A certain Dr. H. of ——, Mich., published widely the following advertisement:

"Gains 17 Pounds After Every One Gave Her Up.

"Miss I—— S—— had a terrible case of consumption, together with catarrh and bronchitis. With this terrible complication, given up to die, she took the H—— treatment. She is now cured."

Dear Doctor: I have been gaining rapidly. Have gained 17 pounds; weigh 150 pounds now and am getting quite strong, too. I wish you could see me. You would be surprised. I look just fine. Everybody says they never thought I would get well. I can't thank you enough for it. I am feeling just fine, so I will close.

Yours truly,

Miss I—— S——.

The above testimonial reads quite convincing and doubtless was the means of influencing many other unfortunate victims to put themselves under the "professional" care of Dr. H——. Investigation, however, revealed the fact that this optimistic young lady died shortly after giving the testimonial and that her death was, according to the transcript of her certificate of death issued by the State of Wisconsin, due to "consumption." The testimonial therefore cannot possibly have any value under the circumstances. Unfortunately, however, this doctor does not publish the death certificate with the testimonial, which latter he continued to use after her death.

After an exhaustive inquiry into the personality and business of the above mentioned M. D., the Journal of the American Medical Association said:

First. The H—— consumption cure is chiefly owned and controlled by men whose only qualification for treating disease is that they are business men financially interested in other medical fakes.

Second. The claims made in the advertisements, either directly or by implication, that these "remedies" will "cure" consumption are cruel and heartless falsehoods.

Third. The methods employed to capture victims, by means of speciously worded circular letters disguised as personal communications, are an imposition, if not an actual fraud, on the ignorant and credulous.

Fourth. The drugs sent out by this concern as a "trial treatment" are worthless as a cure for consumption.

Fifth. In printing endorsements of himself, which this M.D. received from ministers of the gospel, he grossly abused the confidence of men who did not know the use to which their letters were to be put.

Sixth. The testimonials from physicians which he publishes have been shown to emanate in some cases from men who themselves are employed in exploiting medical fakes.

Seventh. The claim he makes of being a graduate of Edinburgh University has been shown to be as false as the claims made for the nostrum he exploits.

Can a much more disgraceful business than the various "consumption cure" humbugs be imagined? Founded on fraud, maintained by deceit, perpetuated by falsehood—the sick are exploited to pay dividends on corporate quackery. How much longer will this outrage on the unfortunate victims of the White Plague be tolerated? If not for humanitarian reasons, then for its own protection, at least, society should demand that such cruel frauds be suppressed. Their existence is a menace to public health and a disgrace to modern civilization.

Many fraudulent nostrums are advertised as blind advertisements in the "Personal" columns of the daily press. The following recently appeared in the "Personal" columns of papers all over the country:

PERSONAL—TO CONSUMPTIVES: I possess information which cost me a fortune, and feel that I should let every consumptive know about my experience. Mrs. R., Ohio.

To those who answered this advertisement was sent a letter written on pale blue stationery, such as is used for social correspondence, with the initials —. R. embossed, monogram style, in gilt on the paper and envelope, signed "Mrs. —. R." It is asserted in this letter that the writer has cured herself "in defiance of the world's scientists," by the discovery of "a combination of certain roots and herbs." As a consequence of having made this discovery, and after spending a fortune in the quest of a cure according to the advertisement, we are informed that "I am now devoting my life to saving others." According to further information, her effort is apparently successful, because she "finds it impossible to attend personally to the multitude of inquiries with which she is favored." She finds it necessary, therefore, "to refer your letter to my secretary, Mr. C——, from whom you will no doubt hear soon." The secretary is very evidently on the job, "for in the next mail there is delivered a letter from the —— Company, signed H. W. C——, Sec'y."

We can estimate the degree of Mrs. R.'s solicitude for the welfare of the race when we learn that the same concern was engaged in exploiting a syphilis "cure" in Chicago a few years ago. In all probability the cure is the same for both diseases. It is difficult to tell of which disease it was that Mrs. R. cured herself.

Among the testimonials published by this concern in its booklet are quite a number in which the statement is made, frequently in glowing terms, that the writer has been "cured" of consumption by ——. A few of these were investigated and in every instance the writer died of consumption. This mixture is, in the strongest terms that can be used, a fake, a fraud, and is not a "cure" for consumption, as, of course, every intelligent person knows.

TO CONSUMPTIVES.

The undersigned having been restored to health by simple means, after suffering for several years with a severe lung affection, and that dread disease Consumption, is anxious to make known to his fellow sufferers the means of cure. To those who desire it, he will cheerfully send (free of charge), a copy of the prescription used, which they will find a sure cure for Consumption, Asthma, Catarrh, Bronchitis, and all throat and lung maladies. He hopes all sufferers will try his remedy, as it is invaluable. Those desiring the prescription which will cost them nothing, and may prove a blessing, will please address Rev. —— W., ——, N. Y.

A reply to this advertisement brought the information that the Rev. W—— contracted tuberculosis while in charge of a church in Maine, and after trying various treatments was finally cured by "a famous Dr. C——, of Paris, France." It was now his intention to "devote his life" to aid suffering humanity, in a spirit of thankfulness, by giving away, free of all charge, a copy of the famous prescription.

Investigation proved that the Rev. E. A. W—— did not exist, consequently he never had a church in Maine, nor did he contract tuberculosis, or consult Dr. C——, of Paris. The individual who conducted the business was really one C. A. A——, who, it is to be inferred, conceived the whole fake. The scheme was a simple one. When the prescription was received it was discovered that the ingredients were not known to the drug trade and it was necessary to send to Mr. A—— for a supply before it could be tested. The literature sent with the prescription was of such a character that the average ignorant sufferer from consumption, hoping against hope for a "cure," fell into the trap and sent the money for a trial shipment.

"FEMALE WEAKNESS" CURES

Dr. D——'s "—— Compound": This nostrum is sold to relieve the pain of child-birth. It is surely not necessary to state that it will not relieve the pains of child-birth, nor will any drug or drugs ever do so. The irresponsible group of quacks who claim to have solved the problem of "painless child-birth" through the use of various "compound's" hardly merit the consideration of ordinary individuals. It is almost impossible to believe that a man would print over his name such a puerile or fantastic story as the following. Dr. D—— asserts that the value of his compound is proved because a certain woman patient tells how, after losing her first child, she had a vision. A "white-robed angel" appeared, who, after speaking to her in beautiful language, said, "Go, sister, and seek freedom and peace in the use of —— Compound and in following the teachings of that book."

The book is entitled "Painless Child-Birth," it sells for $2.00 and it simply extols, in unnecessary flowery language, the merits of the compound.

If we heard such stories in every-day life we would smile credulously at our informant and doubt his sanity, but in a patent medicine advertisement we expect to read of miracles and we almost hope to be told of impossible happenings. The more glaringly false and silly they seem to be, the more they seem to exert their subtle hypnotic influence on anyone whose physical or mental temperament lends itself to the appeal.

This compound "speedily cures all derangements and irregularities of the menstrual function, congestion, inflammation, ulceration and displacement of the womb, and other things too numerous to mention." It is claimed that it is made of the purest and most carefully selected herbs which can be obtained. If, however, one picked up two handfuls of dried leaves in the woods and put them in a package, the average man could not distinguish between such rakings and "Dr. D——'s —— Compound" at $1.00 a package.

The Journal of the American Medical Association in commenting on this fake, states:

—— Compound is, in short, but one more of the innumerable cure-alls on the market in which discarded, unrecognized or useless drugs are pressed into service and invested with miraculous virtues. What shall be said of men who prey on pregnant women? Who create in the mind of the expectant mother the fear of untold agonies and then offer immunity to these supposititious tortures at the price of their worthless nostrums? Who, with the help of such publications as will accept their lying advertisements, do more to encourage abortion than even the professional abortionists themselves? There seems to be but one remedy: Speed the time when in their acceptance of advertising those publishers who fail to recognize decency as a moral obligation may be forced by public opinion to recognize its value as a business proposition.

The C. B. M. Remedy Company: In a small town in Indiana there is a "lady" who has been spending a fortune in giving medical treatment absolutely free to suffering women. The letters, literature, and advertisements by implication lead one to suppose that a woman is in charge of the business of this concern. The advertisements have a picture of a lady giving away packages of medicine. The business was conducted by one F. D. M. The name of his wife was simply used as an advertising asset; the idea, of course, being that a woman would be more willing to write to a business concern telling of her private illnesses if she understood that she was confiding in a woman than she would if under the impression that her letter would be read by a man. This is an old scheme which was employed by others for many years with great success.

M. himself is not a physician and is in no way qualified to give advice to these women who write in response to the advertisements detailing their symptoms and telling of their troubles. Investigation showed that the medicine was compounded by the clerks and stenographers in the employ of the company, and that all communications were answered by form letters. It did not matter what ailed the patient, the treatment was the same.

The claims made by this concern for their remedy, and they had only one, were along the usual line—everything they could think about which has a remote connection with the specialty in which they were interested—leucorrhea, ulceration, displacement or falling of the womb, profuse, scanty or painful periods, uterine or ovarian tumors or growths, and piles from any cause, no matter of how long standing; also pains in the back head and bowels, bearing down feelings, nervousness, creeping feeling up the spine, melancholy, desire to cry, hot flushes, weariness, uterine cancers in their earlier stages.

Analysis of the remedy showed it to be a combination of two weak, commonly used drugs, one a very mild antiseptic and the other a mild astringent. These were held together with cocoa butter into which a drop of carbolic acid may have been put. There is nothing unusual in the combination, nor has it any wonderful qualities which would justify the claims made in behalf of it. The remedy contains nothing which could under any circumstances effect the removal of cancers, fibroid growths, or polypi, or which is capable of radically relieving laceration of the womb due to child-birth.

The following is one of the specious appeals which this meretricious concern sent to the ailing women of America:

Mrs. M. receives more mail than any other woman in the state.

How would you like to receive so much mail that it would be necessary to use a grindstone in order to open the letters as fast as they come in. This is the way Mrs. C. B. M. opens her mail. She gets tons of mail, and to save time has the letters opened by a large grindstone, which occupies a conspicuous place in her office. No other person in Indiana receives so much mail as she.

Mrs. M.'s aid and advice is as free to you as God's sunshine or the air you breathe. She is always glad to lend her assistance to every suffering woman, and she is a generous, good woman, who has suffered herself as you suffer, and she wants to prove to you that her common sense home treatment will cure you just as surely as it cured her years ago in her humble cottage before riches and fame came to her.

If you are a sufferer from any female trouble, no matter what it is, send the coupon below to Mrs. C. B. M. at once.

I am a woman with all a woman's hopes and fears. I have known what it is to be sick in body and mind. Sick in a way that I couldn't bring myself to explain to a man, even though he were my physician, and I am thankful beyond the power of words to express that I have been given the power to extend to you, my sisters, the priceless boon of relief from the burden of pain and suffering.

I only pray that this little book may be the means of saving some woman from years of such agony as only a woman can know.

I dedicate this book to you.

WOMEN'S DISEASES

I doubt if you can realize the full meaning of these two little words. I, who come in contact with the pitiful wrecks of womanhood wrought by female complaints, know, as I hope you will never know, what shattered lives and broken hearts they cause.

Only a sensitive woman can realize how hard it is to bring one's self to undergo the ordeal of examination and treatment by a physician.

Every letter sent out by this concern was signed, "Mrs. C. B. M." All literature, every booklet, and every advertisement was ingeniously and seductively "built up" to convey by implication the impression that the business was conducted by a woman, and hence the inference followed in the minds of the simple, trusting victims, that they were writing their secrets, to be read by one of their own sex, and that this woman was professionally qualified and temperamentally capable of giving competent advice and adequate treatment.

Nothing was further from the truth. It was simply a trick, a fraudulent, venal imposition. Mrs. C. B. M. herself admitted that she had absolutely nothing to do with the conduct of the business, nor did her previous experience in any way fit her to give advice in such matters. Her husband established the business under the name of the —— Medicine Company, and continued under this name until after his marriage, when it was reorganized and incorporated in his wife's name. Benefiting by the experience of similar concerns, he then used his wife's name simply as a business asset. How capably and efficiently he utilized this opportunity is shown in the beguiling literature he sent out as the above quotation amply demonstrates.

Think of a man writing, "I am a woman with all a woman's hopes and fears,"—and then proceeding to play, with consummate skill, upon the sensibility and credulity of a sick and neurasthenic woman. It is a round-about way to reach the public pocketbook, but experience has taught these harpies that it is an eminently successful method. Mr. M. himself admitted that the gross receipts from the business were in excess of $100,000 a year, and that 200,000 people were taking treatment from this concern at one time.

Mention has been made of a certain famous compound—which has been characterized by a well-known authority on drug addictions as "a dangerous drug used largely by drinkers." For 23 years after the death of the woman founder, —— and ——, the owners of the concern, advertised, inviting women to "write to L. P. for advice in regard to their complaints, and being a woman"—though a dead one—"it was easy, for her ailing sisters to pour into her ears every detail of their suffering."

The advertisement as generally printed runs:

No physician in the world has had such a training, or has such an amount of information at hand to assist in the treatment of all kinds of female ills.

This, therefore, is the reason why Mrs. L—— P——, in her laboratory at ——, Mass., is able to do more for the ailing women of America than the family physician. Any woman, therefore, is responsible for her own suffering who will not take the trouble to write to Mrs. P—— for advice.

Does any woman need any further evidence of the fraudulent intent of such concerns? Keep in mind also that this particular remedy is exclusively recommended for "the diseases of women," and contains enough alcohol to render its users victims of the alcoholic habit.

MEDICINE CONCERN RUN BY WOMEN

Dr. D—— runs a mail order business in another town in Indiana. Her specialty is "diseases of women." The business is really owned by W. M. G——, a dealer in teas, coffees, etc. In the advertisements of the concern Dr. D—— emphasizes the fact that she is "a woman—a wife—a mother—a successful physician—a specialist on diseases of women." In many places in the literature of the company the "vast experience" of Dr. D—— is intentionally elaborated.

"Her vast experience as a physician is only one of the qualifications she possesses...."

"Her training and vast experience as a physician enables her to do more for suffering women than any woman can who is not a physician...."

"During several years of active life as a general practitioner she acquired a vast amount of valuable experience that very few ever possess...."

These three quotations emphatically assert that Dr. D. has had "vast" experience "as a general practitioner." Where did she get this experience as a general practitioner? Inasmuch as she graduated as a physician in 1907 and was licensed to practice in 1908, and as the "—— D—— Company" was chartered in 1908 and began active business then, we ask again, where did she get her "vast experience?"

The following letter, sent by Dr. D—— to one of her prospective patients, gives a general idea of how the "game" is worked. These letters are "form" letters, printed by the thousand, though they are intended to convey the impression that they are personal—the patient's name being inserted. It will be observed that Dr. D—— has acquired the specious and oily art of the quack, and the seductive diction of those who live by their wits:

Dear Friend: Since it is your misfortune to be afflicted, I am glad you wrote to me, because I sincerely believe that I can completely cure you if you take my treatment now. Realizing the serious nature of your condition, I at once arranged to give your case my prompt personal attention.

After years of success in curing practically every form of woman's ills, I am devoting my life to my sister women. Being a woman and a mother, I know your every ache and pain and sympathize with you as only a woman can. As a physician, as a specialist in diseases of women I know the causes of your trouble and the most scientific method of curing you quickly. Since you have in me a sympathetic friend as well as a physician I trust you will read carefully my plan for your complete recovery.

A careful diagnosis of your case shows you have Female Weakness.

I have mailed a copy of my book, "Diseases of Women and Home Medical Guide." Be sure to read a description of your condition on pages 25-47.

As requested I have mailed you a free trial of my successful treatment. It is bound to help you and you should take it at once according to my directions enclosed herewith. The free medicines will last you for three days and are suited to your condition, but you should not expect them to cure you. Some of the ingredients contained in the remedies you need are very costly and I cannot afford to give you enough of these medicines to completely cure you.

Your case seems to be of long standing and you really should have a Complete Course of Treatment at once if you are to be completely cured. As I want to do everything possible for you I have prepared a Special Course of Treatment for you and am sending it, postage paid, in the same package with the free remedies.

Please remember that the free remedies are yours to take at once without charge or obligation, but if you use the Special Treatment I shall expect you to send me $3 for it. You need not feel under obligation to me to accept the Special Course, but I know it is just what you need and need NOW, so I feel sure your good judgment will cause you to accept it at your earliest convenience. By sending now I save you some time and ...

Dr. G. M. B., of ——, Mo., advertises to cure deafness, catarrh, asthma and head noises. He offers to send two months' medicine free to prove his ability to cure. In reply to inquiry he practically informs every applicant that his case is so bad that there is no use of sending the two months' treatment. In order to effect a cure in "your case" it is necessary for you to take the regular treatment. He accepts the chance that the literature and the testimonials accompanying his letter will influence the victim to bite. Inasmuch as he admits that his income is about $5,000 per month and that he gets three hundred letters every day, it may be assumed that he knows his business.

It is not necessary to go into details regarding his methods. The following summary of his business was made by the district attorney who investigated it:

I find that the business is being conducted through the post office at ——, Mo., under the names of Dr. —— Remedy Company and Dr. J. M. B——, and is a scheme and device for obtaining money through the mails by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, and I therefore recommend that a fraud order be issued prohibiting the delivery of mail and the payment of money orders to such addresses.

A certain "pure" malt whiskey is advertised as:

"A reliable all-round household remedy."

"It should be in every family medicine chest."

"It is manufactured for the purpose of supplying the profession and public in general with a reliable tonic and stimulant."

"It is a recognized specific to enrich the blood and build body and muscle, and in the prevention and relief of coughs, colds and stomach troubles it has no equal."

Previous to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act it was advertised in the following terms:

BEST SPRING TONIC.

DOCTORS OF ALL SCHOOLS AGREE THAT THE BEST TONIC-STIMULANT TO BUILD UP THE SYSTEM, RUN DOWN AND WEAKENED BY THE LONG STRAIN OF WINTER, AND TO DRIVE OUT SPRING FEVER AND MALARIA IS ——'S MALT WHISKEY.

As a tonic and stimulant it is the greatest strength-giver known to science. It destroys disease germs and by its building and healing properties restores tissues in a gradual, healthy, natural manner. It is a wonderful specific in the treatment and cure of consumption, pneumonia, grippe, bronchitis, coughs, colds, malaria, low fevers, stomach troubles, and all wasting, weakened, diseased conditions, if taken in time.

It is recognized as the world's leading medicine everywhere.

By a decision of the Supreme Court of the State of New York this "pure" malt whiskey has been declared a liquor. It is simply a sweetened whisky. To advertise it as a CURE for consumption or as a cure for any disease was malicious, and should be punishable by a long term in prison. It would be possible to take every statement of the above advertisement and prove each one to be false.

This "pure" malt whiskey is a favorite "booze" of so-called temperance people. Since it is advertised as a medicine, they can get drunk from its use and still be "temperance" advocates. One of the favorite methods of advertising the product was to draw the public's attention to the fact that

CLERGYMEN ENDORSE MALT WHISKY

DISTINGUISHED DIVINES AND TEMPERANCE WORKERS WHO HAVE spent their lives in uplifting their fallen brethren and placing their feet upon the solid rock use and recommend ——'s pure malt whisky. Honored and respected preachers of the gospel and advocates of temperance, without regard to creed or prejudice, make frank and outspoken statements of what ——'s pure malt whisky has done for them.

Then follow the testimonials and the photographs of three aged and inert-looking preachers.

It made an impressive advertisement, as most nostrum "ads" are, because, unfortunately, the art of the liar is best expressed in the superlative degree. His word-pictures are therefore more lurid, more diversified, more romantic. But when they are investigated and the facts brought to light the advertisement falls to pieces. For example, compare the actual facts relative to the three "distinguished divines" with the fiction in the following advertisement:

The Rev.—— D——, over 82 years of age, practised medicine for many years, when he moved west. He became a minister and did preach for ten years in the State of Wyoming. He then retired from the pulpit and opened a marriage bureau. He received $10.00 when he gave his testimonial "to get his picture taken."

The Rev. —— H—— occupied the pulpit of the Church of Eternal Hope of B——, Pa. He retired to enter politics a number of years ago, and is now a deputy Internal Revenue collector. He is a spiritualist. He owned race horses and was a patron of the turf.

The Rev. McL—— lived in G——, Mich. There are 893 people in the township and it is not even on the railroad line. Mr. McL—— was allowed to resign from the fellowship after being called to trial for endorsing ——'s pure malt whisky.

If these three gentlemen were brought on the stage of any city vaudeville theater and introduced as distinguished divines it would be regarded as a joke—which it really is. If we relegate our "distinguished divines" to marriage bureaus, or the race track, or to the Internal Revenue service, or to preach to flocks in townships of less than one thousand and not on the railroad, the outlook for the ministerial profession is far from encouraging. To tell us that these men spent their lives "in uplifting their fallen brethren" is imposing upon the good nature of one's audience. It is simply one more evidence added to the long list already noted that one does not readily acquire the habit of expecting to read the truth in a patent medicine advertisement. Rather the reverse. We examine them in expectant curiosity to note their unique and devilish ability to tell picturesque falsehoods.

Certain famous pills are advertised extensively in Great Britain and in the United States. It is claimed by the manufacturers that they are "composed entirely of medicinal herbs" and that they will "cure" constipation, pains in the back, cold chills, bad legs, maladies of indiscretion, kidney and urinary disorders—and several other things.

These pills were analyzed by the British Medical Association's chemists, who reported that they consisted of ginger, soap, and aloes. Where the "medicinal herbs" were it was hard to say.

In large and lurid letters we are informed in the advertisements that these pills are "worth a guinea ($5.00) a box." The retail price is 27 cents a box. The British Medical Association's chemist states that the cost of these pills is one-quarter of a cent per box. Quite a fair margin of profit considering the high cost of living these days!



CHAPTER XXXII

THE PATENT MEDICINE EVIL—Continued

Patent Medicine Firms and Quacks Dispose of the Confidential Letters Sent to Them—Patent Medicine Concerns and Letter Brokers—The Patent Medicine Conspiracy Against the Freedom of the Press—How The Patent Medicine Trust Crushes Honest Effort.

HOW QUACKS DISPOSE OF THE CONFIDENTIAL LETTERS SENT TO THEM

When you write for information—which is usually the first step—in reply to an advertisement of this character, you receive in reply a letter, which addresses you in an intimate way, as, "Dear or Esteemed Friend." It informs you that "we are devoting our lives in the interest of suffering humanity," and requests you to waste no time in writing a full account of your symptoms and sickness; that such information will be sacredly regarded as confidential and filed away from the prying eyes of everyone except the "doctor" who reads it.

Every art is used to give the writer the impression that she is doing business with responsible and reputable people; that what she writes about her health, her affairs, and her person, are to be read by an experienced medical adviser and by no other. The truth, as we have shown, is that she writes her secrets to a man, who is not even a physician, who in turn passes the letter over to be answered by an office clerk.

When the fake doctor, or the patent medicine man, has exhausted his "jollying" tactics, his lies, and his promises, and he can no longer induce the victim to send more money, he sells the victim's letters to another quack in the same business. These harpies, knowing what ails the individual, begin sending her their specious and insinuating literature. The woman reads, becomes interested, and, having bitten before, concludes to try once again, and so the story goes—one after another trying to drain the life-blood of an ailing, irresponsible foolish woman.

The selling of letters has become a business, so much so that there are regularly established medical letter brokers from whom you can buy these letters by the thousands. In a single medical letter broker's office in New York City there are upwards of seven million of these confidential letters for sale to the highest bidders. This incidentally gives one a slight idea of the tremendous business this is, and of the hundreds of thousands of dupes and victims there have been.

The following extracts are taken from a well-known woman's journal, which at various times has been interested in this subject, and are of special interest in this connection:

One of the most disgusting and disgraceful features of the patent medicine business is the marketing of letters sent by patients to patent medicine firms. Correspondence is solicited by these firms under the seal of sacred confidence. When the concern is unable to do further business with a patient it disposes of the patient's correspondence to a letter broker, who, in turn, disposes of it to other patent medicine concerns at the rate of half a cent for each letter.

One of these brokers assured the writer that he could give me "choice lots" of "medical female letters." ... Let me now give you, from the printed lists of these letter brokers, some idea of the way in which these "sacred confidential" letters are hawked about the country. Here are a few samples, all that are really printable:

55,000 "Female Complaint Letters" is the sum total of one item, and the list gives the names of the "medicine company" or the "medical institute" to whom they were addressed. Here is a barter then, in 55,000 letters of a private nature, each one of which, the writer was told, and had a right to expect, would be regarded as "sacredly confidential" by the doctor or concern to whom she had been deluded into telling her private ailments. Yet here they are for half a cent each!

Another batch of some 47,000 letters addressed to five "doctors" and "institutes" is emphasized because they were written by women! A third batch is:

44,000 "Bust Developer Letters,"—letters which one man in a patent medicine concern told me were "the richest sort of reading you could get hold of."

A still further lot offers: 40,000 "Women's Regulator Letters,"—letters which in their context any woman can naturally imagine would be of the most delicate nature. Still, the fact remains, here they are for sale.

Is not this contemptible?

In the same article is exposed the inhuman greed of patent medicine concerns that turn into cold cash the letters of patients afflicted with the most vital diseases.

To quote again: "All these are made the subject of public barter. Here are offered for sale, for example: 7,000 Paralysis Letters; 9,000 Narcotic Letters; 52,000 Consumption Letters; 3,000 Cancer Letters, and even 65,000 Deaf Letters. Of diseases of the most private nature one is offered here nearly 100,000 letters,—letters the very classification of which makes a sensitive person shudder."

The deeper one delves below the surface of this business the nastier it gets. It is impossible to conceive of vipers and sharks being endowed with more contemptible and brutish qualities than those which characterize the vultures of the patent medicine and quack medical concerns.

THE PATENT MEDICINE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

It is estimated that the newspapers of the United States get about $100,000,000 per year from the advertisements of patent medicines and fake medical concerns.

There is an association composed of the manufacturers of patent medicines and the owners of advertising medical concerns. It was primarily formed for the single purpose of strictly looking after the "interests" of those concerned.

If we concede, as we must concede if we study the facts, the whole medical advertising business to be disreputable, dishonorable and unjust, in that it is detrimental to the health and welfare of the race, the only protection it could possibly need would be protection against any movement which had for its object the interest of the people who are its victims. This is exactly the key to the workings of the P. A. of America. When one begins to know something about the patent medicine evil, his sense of justice immediately asks why "something" has not been done to crush it. When the reader understands more about this octopus, he will learn that its tentacles are far-reaching and that it has a mysterious and efficient way of crushing in its incipiency any embryo movement directed against it. It would be a long story to give the facts in detail—they are all a matter of record—the easiest way to explain the procedure is to give an illustration of how the machinery is worked.

Let us suppose a Congressman conceives the idea of introducing a bill in Congress to compel newspapers to refuse advertising matter that is obviously false and that misrepresents facts, and cites, as an example, a patent medicine advertisement. The agent or lobbyist of the association in Washington immediately telegraphs the intent of the bill with the name of its author to the home office of the association. The gentleman in charge of the executive department of the home office looks up the facts regarding the political connections of the Congressman, wires to the papers published in his district suggesting to them the advisability of using their influence to change the Congressman's opinion. The newspapers do as they are bid (though there are a few who have refused to do this kind of work, but only a few); they may intimate to him that he is committing political suicide, or they may adopt other tactics. The result, however, is that the representative usually sees the point and permits his bill to die in committee. The quacks are not satisfied with this single effort to ensure the death of the bill. The matter is taken up with other Congressmen through their home papers; the whole machinery of the system is set in motion. Their attention is called to the bill. They are told that the public does not demand such legislation, and that, if this bill passes, it will deprive of many thousands of dollars for advertising the papers which are friendly toward the political future of the particular Congressman in question. The facts are thus brought to the attention of many Congressmen. They see the point also. It suggests to them that they will do well not to trample on this monster or they may suffer themselves. Thus are the people deprived of what might have been a great step forward in the fight for pure food and drugs and, incidentally, in the preservation of the public health.

One may pertinently ask why the newspapers lend themselves to such infamous and dishonorable dealings. The answer is that, inasmuch as they derive a very large part of their total income from patent medicine advertisements and as these advertisements are contracted for under certain conditions, it can readily be seen that they are made a party to crushing legislation which would interfere with the patent medicine business.

It is agreed in case any law or laws are enacted, either State or national, harmful to the interest of the —— Company, that this contract may be cancelled by them from date of such enactment, and the insertions made paid for pro rata with the contract price.

There is another feature of the contract that is of the utmost significance and importance to the mothers of the race. It is the only instance we know of which effectually muzzles the public press. This part of the contract reads as follows:

It is agreed that the —— Company may cancel this contract,... in case any matter otherwise detrimental to the —— Company's interest is permitted to appear in the reading columns or elsewhere in the paper.

This means that the newspapers bind themselves, under contract, not to print any matter in their reading columns which would be detrimental to the interests of the patent medicine manufacturers. Under the same stipulation they cannot even accept matter to be paid for, if it in any way reflects upon the patent medicine business. In other words, the sovereign people, whose servant the public press should be, is, under this contract, deprived of its rights of representation in the columns of the daily newspapers.

The grave significance of this condition of affairs will be adequately appreciated when it is remembered that every popular movement to right public wrongs must have the fullest publicity or the effort is doomed to failure. The patent medicine business has been shown to be a monstrously evil institution, yet every effort to enlist the public press in an effort to arouse the necessary degree of indignation which precedes every public demand for the righting of a wrong has failed, because, "it is agreed that the —— Company may cancel this contract in case any matter otherwise detrimental to the —— Company's interest is permitted to appear in the reading columns or elsewhere in the paper."

There is another feature of this ugly business which is of the deepest interest to women. The patent medicine territory is the whole country. It is a large, profitable field. A movement was once started by certain reputable New York physicians, who were deeply interested in this question, to discover a means to aid the class who buy patent medicines and support the fake medical concerns. It was thought that if an advertising propaganda was instituted, offering to give legitimate and adequate medical advice, at the lowest possible cost, there would be many who would avail themselves of the opportunity. The following advertisement was prepared and given out for publication, with the result that it could not be advantageously placed:

RELIABLE MEDICAL ADVICE.

Government investigation of the PATENT MEDICINE BUSINESS and of the advertised MEDICAL CURE CONCERNS, has demonstrated that they are worthless and dangerous; that they are money making schemes only, and that they acquire business by misrepresentation, by falsehood, and by fraudulent testimonials. Most of these concerns are owned by men with no medical education or experience.

These are facts attested to by the highest authorities in the United States, and apply to every advertised remedy and to every system of advertised treatment in the newspapers to-day with no exception that has come to our knowledge.

A BUREAU OF PHYSICIANS, each in good standing and in active private practice, has been established in NEW YORK CITY, to extend advice to those requiring medical assistance.

The object of the bureau is to prevent patients from placing themselves in the hands of incompetent, expensive and fraudulent schemers. The character of the advice furnished will be exactly the same as if you visited the office of any up-to-date reputable city consultant. We will simply direct what should be done in each instance to effect relief of the diseased conditions.

The charges will be the ordinary fees charged by reputable physicians anywhere for similar services, and will in no instance be unreasonable or excessive.

We invite the correspondence of those in need of honest advice. Ask for information which will be sent free of charge.

Here was a tremendously lucrative field in which there was every possibility of doing a large amount of genuine good, which, however, could not be reached by men whose only object was to benefit the people, because the public press did not dare publish anything detrimental to "the combine." If this isn't monopoly, what is it?

This is not the only instance of this kind that has taken place. One independently wealthy gentleman, for certain business reasons of his own, conceived the idea of inserting a trustworthy article exposing the patent medicine combine in the newspapers of the country, for which he was, of course, willing to pay the usual advertising rates. He gave the contract to a large advertising concern which began the crusade in Texas, the intention being to cover the country working the States one after the other. What was the result? As soon as the system's attention was directed to the plan the mandate of "silence" was flashed to the newspapers and the propaganda died an unnatural death in Texas, whose borders it never crossed. The columns of the public press were tightly closed to it.

Is it any wonder that it has been so difficult to pass a Public Health bill? I am hopeful, however, that the women will solve this problem. It would seem to be a subject in which they could become strenuously and eagerly interested. Women as voting factors, or as legislators, will never succeed in the subtle fights of ward politics, or in the coarser slugging battles of graft and patronage, but in the moral finesse, necessary to achieve success in public health and purity legislation they should prove to be enthusiasts. If the regeneration of the race is entangled in legislative procedure or political subtilties, its only salvation is to find emancipators whose heart strings are of finer and truer fiber than those in the breasts of men. We hope to find them in the mothers of the race.



CHAPTER XXXIII

THE PATENT MEDICINE EVIL—Continued

The Patent Medicine Evil and the Duty of the Mothers of the Race—"Blood-Money"—The People Must be the Reformers—Mothers' Resolutions.

THE PATENT MEDICINE EVIL AND THE DUTY OF THE MOTHERS OF THE RACE

It may be emphatically asserted that the patent medicine evil and the fraudulent medical cure more directly concern the mothers of the race than any others. No matter who the ailing victim may be, some woman is deeply and sincerely interested in his, or her, recovery and welfare. If the proper influence is exerted at the right time, and if it is based upon adequate knowledge of the danger involved, it is certain that the sufferer will not become a victim of the fraudulent and dangerous advertised nostrum, or a fake medical course of treatment. If each mother, therefore, possessed an adequate knowledge of the patent medicine evil, and exerted the influence which would naturally result from the possession of such knowledge, we should soon see the end of the whole business.

Most people are honest and sincere. It is difficult, however, to arouse the majority to concerted and sustained action. If the honest and well-intentioned element in society could be influenced to a sustained effort to correct existing evils, in any department of human effort, the fraudulent and dishonest members of society could be effectually rendered harmless. If the suggestion which I have advanced in the article on Eugenics, to form Eugenic Clubs in every community, should be adopted, the members could, in a definite way, contribute to the propaganda, by insisting that the members of the legislature and Congress inform themselves upon these subjects, and act and vote in accordance with the sentiment of their constituents. It is only by some such systematized, concerted effort that any hope may be reasonably entertained that this question will be satisfactorily and finally solved. That it is capable of being solved satisfactorily there is no doubt whatever. It depends upon the women.

The passage of The Pure Food and Drugs Act, caused, for a brief period, a cessation of the strenuous activity which had previously characterized the patent medicine business. It was not, however, to be expected that any single legislative act would permanently strangle such a parasite,—for we must remember that it is an easy and a highly remunerative calling. Nor was it to be expected that men who are adepts in sophistry and experts in quibbling could not find a way to circumvent the intent of the law.

This was proved to be so because they are again beginning to advertise more freely and with more assurance. One of the best known has assumed a new advertising garb. Its new diction is specious and clever, but it is a satanic cleverness when its history is weighed in the balance. It is quite probable that its formula may have been slightly changed, but at the end of each advertisement the following suggestive paragraph appears:

"SPECIAL NOTICE—Many persons are making inquiries for the old-time ——. To such would say, that this formula is now put out under the name of ——, manufactured by —— Company, C——, Ohio. Write them and they will be pleased to send you a free booklet."

The old time —— was condemned by the United States Government as an intoxicant and stimulant, and cures were sold in various parts of the country for the —— "jag," yet in the new advertisement the following appears:

"—— is a remedy that should be kept in the house. Its virtue as a preventive to disease is the thing I wish chiefly to emphasize.

"When once the value of —— as a household remedy is understood no home would be without it. Cathartics, pills and powders would be discarded. Irritating tonics would be no longer taken. ALCOHOLIC DRINKS WOULD HAVE NO PLACE...."

If "alcoholic drinks would have no place" in the household, why should one want this "remedy," which has no medical value except as a stimulant? It is as if a drunken man should deliver a temperance lecture: it would really be funny if we did not know the tragedies that have gone before as a result of its use. That is an example of the type of argument which must be legislated against.

There are two specific points in this crusade against the patent medicine fraud which should be the objective issues of all concerted effort to crush the evil. These could be taken up by mothers in their eugenic clubs and developed until successfully legislated upon. It would be the greatest immediate contribution to constructive legislation that women's suffrage could bestow upon the race.

First, to enact a law which would make it a felony for a newspaper to print a fraudulent patent medicine advertisement, or a fake medical cure. A national board of competent authority should be constituted to determine the question of fraud.

Second, to amend the law which permits the registration of a fancy name for a combination of drugs, without at the same time giving the formula.

The mothers of the race must recognize that it is not only a question of economy, but a vital issue in health preservation, to regard all advertised remedies and medical "cures" as absolutely dangerous and worthless, and consequently not to be used at all. There is no safe exception to this rule. The records teem with evidence condemning the whole discreditable business. Almost without exception, every advertised remedy and cure has been, when actually investigated, found fraudulent and worthless. The great majority of these concerns are owned and run by individuals, who have had no medical experience, and no training to fit them to advise patients in any sense. It is a money-making scheme pure and simple, and anyone who asks further proof is not open to conviction.

I believe the truthful and the just interpretation of the success of the patent medicine business is to be found in the ignorance of the people,—not the kind of ignorance that reflects upon their intelligence, but real, honest ignorance regarding the true character and merit of the patent medicine business. It would be an unwarranted reflection upon the intelligence and acumen of the American people to assert that they would wittingly support a fraudulent proposition, especially a proposition whose success meant their own physical degeneration. The reflection is rather an indictment of the inefficiency of those in authority.

We must not deny that there exists in the minds of the lowly a feeling that what is printed is true. This is as it should be; it is an instinct and it is fundamental. We must remember, too, that there are thousands and thousands of homes, into which absolutely no literature of any kind ever penetrates except the weekly, and it may be stray copies of the daily newspaper. These people are primitive and credulous. They have ailing members in the family, and they have not always accessible medical service, or they may be too poor to avail themselves of such service as exists. When, therefore, they see glaring promises of relief and "cures" for whatever may ail them, in the oft-read paper, week after week, it is an easy step to become enrolled as a victim. These people believe in their newspaper. They have no reason to question the truth of its contents. They unconsciously put their trust and dependence upon those in authority, those who should see to it that the instinct of truth and honesty is reflected in the justice and protection which is meted out to the helpless and the poor. Is it any wonder, therefore, that we have victims, when the only voice that comes to them from the great world beyond is a tissue of false promises and fraudulent pretensions? The law is a cumbersome vehicle to move. It cannot be driven by inspiration—no matter how crucial the incentive may be that creates the inspiration,—it moves only by the potential force of a great conviction, the voice of the people. It seems a pity to waste time in the education of all the people before their voice shall be raised to demand protection, when the authorities know now of the wrong that is being perpetrated and could right it without the waste of this precious time.

Since we cannot hope for legislative assistance until the people are aroused to demand it, every mother who has an opportunity to learn the truth about the matter, must become a member of the propaganda of education and must spread the knowledge to others. We must educate the army of innocents who fall because they do not know the truth, and we must reach that vaster army, whose gullibility permits these frauds to flourish. We must show them the false foundation and the hollow pretense upon which such schemes are founded. We must show them that each detail of the business is inspired by a wrong motive; that the so-called personal letters even are printed by the hundreds of thousands, and filled in to appear as personal communications by office clerks who possess absolutely no medical knowledge; that the "diagnosis" blanks are worthless and frequently dangerous, and simply sent to the prospective victim to impress him and draw him on; that the medicine furnished, is, as a rule, made of the cheapest of drugs, bought in large quantities from parties, whose reputation in the drug trade is not of the best; that the medicine has no special potency nor value, that it is in all likelihood a worthless mixture, which in the advertisements is given false and lying properties; that when they have got all the money out of the victim possible they will sell his letters to other nostrum venders. It is a sorry reflection on our civilization that the sick, often the incurably ill, cannot be protected against their own credulity and the devices of those who would fatten on their misfortune and profit by their sufferings.

If every mother who reads this article would quietly think the matter over and reach a definite conclusion as to just how she may contribute her share to the educational crusade to crush the patent medicine monster, I am certain it would not be long before we would begin to feel that there were the "mutterings of a storm brewing." If each mother would subscribe to the following resolution, and obey it, she would really be an agency for much good in her community:

I resolve never to advise an ailing friend or acquaintance to purchase or use an advertised remedy or "cure" of any kind whatsoever; nor will I permit any other person to advise the use of such remedies or "cures" without, in a friendly way, protesting, and thereby converting this person, who undoubtedly is ignorant of the facts.

I further resolve, always to advise an ailing friend to consult someone, whose education and experience qualifies him to give competent advice.

I would suggest that the above resolution be printed on cards in the form of a motto, to be hung on the wall, and distributed from house to house by the eugenic clubs. At the bottom of the card, the word "over" should be clearly printed. On the reverse side, in ordinary reading type should be a condensed and efficient argument against the use of patent medicines. This argument should be complete and convincing in itself, so that one who may casually ask what the card means may be told to read what is on the back of the card, and may, thereby, be convinced that "it is a good idea." This would be an inexpensive way of exciting the curiosity of the community, and when the psychological moment arrives it would probably be possible for one of the members of the club to give an address or lecture on the patent medicine evil. Inasmuch as the curiosity and the sympathy of the audience would be with the speaker, it would only be necessary to state facts to make converts. It seems worth trying, and the suggestion is given with the hope that the women in every community who are capable (and there are capable leaders in every community) will take this club idea up and develop it far beyond the largest hopes which I conceive for them.

If eugenics means anything, and if the women are what they claim, much will be accomplished by each doing her part intelligently, and by each community standing upon its own record.

THE END