Washington sentinel., 1854-01-13
80taI anb psrspnaI.
spurious Drugs and Medicines.-From the |

report of the United States Surgeon General,
communicated 10 Congress at the commencement
of the present session, we learn that since the
stringent law enacted by Congress to prevent the
" importation of adulterated and spurious drugs
and medicines" ii is found that authorizations Of
those articles made more extensively than be-
fore in this country; that il is difficult TO pro-
cure medicines which are not either admixed with
some foreign substance, or from which some por-
ton Of the active principle has not been subtraced
by chemical process
The effort 10 suppress the foreign trade has had
the effect, il would seem, TO give more than ordi-
nary activity 10 the home manufacture of spurious
articles of domestic supply, and il remains for
Congress, the Surgeon General says, "to devise
some other means for suppressing the practice of
dispensing TO the public, drugs and medicines,
which, If not positively hurtful, are known to be
without efficiency, and therefore are injurious, by
superseding the administration at the proper time,
of other and more active remedial agents"
Although, under the system adopted by the
Medical Bureau, aduterated medicines have sell
dom found their way into the army, still, as it is.
an object of the greatest importance that these
supplies should be absolutely pure, it is now con-
templated TO attain that end by having as far as
practicable, the medicines furnished TO the army.
purchased from the naval laboratory at Brooklyn.
This establishment was organized year or two
since, under the auspices Of the Bureau Of Medi-
cine and Surgery Of the navy, and placed under
the direction of medical officer of that branch of
the public service; and the plan now proposed TO
be adopted will serve to enlarge the operations of
that institution, while il will also secure to the
army, pure and unadulterated articles Of medical
supply.
Every city has board Of health, whose business
it is to have removed every nuisance which may
endanger life and the sanitary regulations in most
cases are enforced and vesels too, are boarded,
before their entrance into port, to ascertain
whether or not there is infectious disease among
the passengers but there is little no attention
paid to the vending Of spurious drugs and medi-
cines. Congress has done much towards sup
pressing the importation of such villanous COM
pounds but as the Surgeon General informs US,
the domestic adalterating trade has largely in
creased.
Now, in view Of this fact, il becomes the duty
the imperative duty-of State legislatures to insi-
tute measures for the suppression OF the frauds
practised by some of our own citizens, in the pre-
paration by them ofmedicines possessing but little
of the active property of the article represented,
and in some cases, no doubt, actually poisoning
the patient.
As the government has laboratory. why can
not each State have one, more, where pure
drugs and medicines can be procured. Il is bad
enough to take the unadulterated physic. The
State should protect the citizen. If man steals
money or any other valuable, if not less than five
or ten dollars in value he is, on conviction sent to
the penitentiary; but people die, from day 10 day,
in consequence Of being drugged with spurious
compounds, and yet the base-hearted manufactu-
rers are suffered TO reap immense g lins, uninter-
rupted by the arm Of civil authority.
The Railroad. d.-Govcrnor Lowe, in his vale
dctory annual messaget the Legislature OF Mary
land, which recently convened, says
aThe Washington branch ofthe Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad has increased its revenue for the
last, as compared with the preceding year, by the
sum Of $364OS Is, Notwithstanding the reduction
of fare from one dollar and eighty to one dollar
and TWENTY-FIVE cents and the president and d-
rectors express the belief that, although there was
slight falling ofin July, August, and September,
(the three months next preceding the close OF the
fiscal year Of the company, during which the re-
ducton operated) the former receipts Will be
hereafter exceeded, as the number Of passengers
is gradually increasing. From this road the State
received, in 1852, the sum Of Si4,OO on account
of dividends and $50 ,S26 60 on account of capita
tion tax, making total Of $1O3,S26 " and IN
the last year. the sum of $55,000 for dividends and
$70,426 3S on account Of capltation tax showing
an aggregate Of $125,426 3S, and an increase for
the last over the former year, of $2l ,o99 69. In
the above comparative statement have allowed
for the payments made up TO the Both OF Novem-
ber last, the period at which the fiscal year ior-
merly terminated.
From the above extract, il appears that the rev.
enue has largely increased since the reduction
Of the railroad fare between Washington and
Baltimore. If the toll were only one dollar, we
believe that there would still be an augmentation
Of prosperity; and even without further reduc-
ton, the company would profit by issuing round
trip tickets at the present price, 81 So leaving il
optional with the purchaser TO remain either in
Washington or Baltimore over night, which, under
the present arrangement, is denied The privilege
now only applies TO the day.
Death from Intemperance.--In last Sundays
paper we recorded the fact that a woman, named
Emeline Lackey, died. the day before, at the house
Of a man named Nina Utermuhle with whom
she had been living on illicit terms,) in conse-
quence of excessive intemperance, and cruel
treatment at his hands. He was committed 10
jail on the last named charge, and was at that
time under the influence of ma,iaa-potn, and
continued SO until Wednesday night, when he
died He had been discharged from prison by
order Of the grand jury on the eleventh instant,
but was too unwell to be removed from the
premises
The coroner's jury rendered a verdict, in view
of the facts, athat Nina Utermuhle came TO his
his death from the effects of man,a-apotm, brought
on by excessive intemperance."
The physician Of the JAIL DR.. A. J. Semmes,
and the officers Of the Jail, did all in their power
10 relieve the unfortunate man, but, the result
proved, without avail.
VESTS Great Painting. Christ healing the