The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-07-07
ished, unleag it be Ia the death.raite.


lished, unless it be ia the death.sate. 4
is not mere suppositfon on my part--thi.
ideas Of medicines not coming up tc
formulas. remember q case where i
was proved that patent medicine--on,
largely snld, mind you--had not ont
grain of the drug which It was supposet
to be an extract of in it. Cheaper end
stronger remedies had been substituted
yet the formula ia the Patent Office wai
| all right. Where was the check Oh thai
manufacturer
"What are the most dangerous rene
| dies? Those for women and children
do not know why It 10, but women seem
to have O mania for dosing themselves
believe they like medicine; at least
they take enough to make one think CO.
Now, as any doctor will tell you, there
are drugs which, in certain cases, do
women a great deal of good, and in others
act on them like slow poisons. The very
strength which makes them valuable,
makes tten dangerous. am an old
man now, and / recollect easily the wo.
men OF forty years ago. tell you they
were st-anger and healthier in every way
than those sec now. Why was itY
The women of to-day do the same kind
OF work, although not rs much as their
grandmothers and mothera did they e.
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 be.
lieye is the cause-patent medicines.
Any druggist will tell you that he sells
sig bottles TO women where he sells one
to men. Now, what are the drugs these
women are putting into themselves In
such quantitfes7 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 tho country; you
have read the articles and heard the
speeches which provo that liquor is q
poison which is running the men. om
thoroogh believer IN temperance, and
1 think the movement good one. But
have thought sometimes that an Anti.
Patent Medicine Association would do
as much good 10 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 q tendency or desire for
drink. What sort of O constitution do
you suppose the child of man who
drinks, and woman who has dosed her.
self on the Btrength of the medical
knowledge contained in the patent medi-
cine advertisement: until she has no
stamina left, starts out in the world
with?
eyes, there is q remedy for this, and it
is very simple one. Let the druggist
know wha. there ia in the medicine fhey
sell. The druggists of this country can
be safely trusted with the caro- of their
fellow. 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 annlysts It's q
pity that all have not got them; but
that's neither here nor there. Let some
State with such an official pass law ro.
quiring any man who wishes to manu-
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 cell. In
the case alluded to. where it was proved
that q Medicine was haipg dishonesty
manufactured, the demand for it ceased
in six months, and what was O 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
bis property. Nor would the makers of
honest medicines be injured on .he con-
trary, their trade would be increased.
But such law would come down pretty
heavily upon the men who think and act
as II having to pay an advertising bill
constitutes diploma to prescribe and a
license to dispense drugs, both in one.
Yes, sir, 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
law would put atop entirely to the
.nnDufacture of class of remedies which
aTo sold by the manufacturers and sent
by express. What these remedies are.
you will find out by reading in the papers
the records OF the hospitals and criminal
courts."' s5. ~ a '.'