The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-07-07

lished, unless it be in the death.rate. II
is not mere supposition on my part-thit
idea Of medicines not coming up te
formulas. I remember q case where i
was proved that a patent medicine-ont
largely sold, mind you-had not ont
grain of the drug which it was supposed
to be an extract of in it. Cheaper and
stronger remedies had been substituted
yet the formula in the Patent Office wa:
all right. Where was the check on tha
manufacturer?
"What are the most dangerous rene
dies? Those for women and children
I do not know why it is, but women seem
to have o mania for dosing themselves
believe they like medicine; at least
they take enough to make one think so
Now, as any doctor will tell you, there
are drugs which, in certain cases, dc
women great deal of good, and in Others
act on them like slow poisons. The very
strength which makes them valuable
makes them dangerous. an an old
man now, and / recollect easily the wo.
men of forty years ago. I tell you they
were stronger and healthier in every way
than those I see now. Why was it
The women of to-day do the same kind
of work, although not as much as their
grandmothers and mothers did; they eat
the same kind of food; they live in the
same climate. ! see constantly in the
newspapers articles lamenting the physi-
cal degeneracy of the American women
but have never seen, except in medi.
cal journals, any reference to what l be-
lieve is the cause-patent medicines.
Any druggist will tell you that he sells
six bottles to women where he sells one
to men. Now, what are the drugs these
women are putting into themselves in
such quantities? What is the effect OF
them upon the mothers of the American
race? The question is serious one.
You know how the temperance move
ment is sweeping over the country; you
have read the articles and heard the
speeches which prove that liquor is q
poison which is running the men. I am
thorough believer in temperance, and
I think the movement good one. But
I have thought sometimes chat an Anti.
Patent Medicine Association would do
as much good to the race. If the men
are poisoning themselves with rum, what
are the women doing with drugs? Ply
sicians will say that the child Of drunk.
en- man inherits tendency or desire for
drink. What sort of a constitution do
you suppose the child of man who
drinks, and woman who has dosed her.
self on the strength of the medical
knowledge contained in the patent medi-
cine advertisement, until she has no
stamina left, starts out in the world
with?
"Yes, there is remedy for this, and it
is very simple one. Let the druggist
know what there is in the medicine they
sell. The druggists of this country can
be safely trusted with the care of their
ellow-citizens; they are accountable to
the law for what they sell, provided they
know what it is. Some of the States
have public or official analysts. It's a
pity that all have not got them but
that's neither here nor there. Let some
State with such an official pass a law re.
quiring any man who wishes to manl-
tacture patent medicine within its bor-
ders to deposit with the public analyst
the formula of its composition, and
oblige that official to analyze the medi-
cine once year, purchasing the same in
open market. If the sample does not
come up to the formula, let the Attorney
General prosecute the case. The penalty
may be merely nominal, for the public,
on hearing of the prosecution, would
punish the manufacturer sufficiently by
refusing to buy what he had to sell. In
the case I alluded to, where it was proved
that medicine was being dishonesty
manufactured, the demand for it ceased
in six months, and what was good
property became worthless. Then let the
analyst furnish copy of the formula to
any druggist upon application. There
would be no danger to the owner of the
medicine, because the United States pat
ent and copywright laws are quite suffi-
cient to protect him in the ownership of
his property. Nor would the makers of
honest medicines be injured; on the con-
trary, their trade would be increased.
But such law would come down pretty
heavily upon the men who think and act
as if having to pay an advertising bill
constitutes a diploma to prescribe and q
license to dispense drugs, both in one.
Yes, sir, q knowledge of what is in the
patent medicines, communicated to the
druggists of this country, would do more
than any other one thing to limit the sale
of those that are injurious, to protect
purchasers against the evil effects of in
discriminate dosing, and to put an end to
what believe to be great evil. Such
a law would put q stop entirely to the
manufacture of class of remedies which
are sold by the manufacturers and sent
by express. What these remedies are,
you will 6nd out by reading in the papers
the records of the hospitals and criminal
courts"