Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-10-06
Patent fsnf;riirrs.

az IL is'i.Iftitt.s
The patent nirdicinr business has as
sume,i sucl rnurlnou, proportions that
the largest dealers say that sometimes
they can scarcely realize that 40 much
money is invested in il. Without the
most eXtcn>ire newspaper advertising.
thev Admit the business would fail away
and he almost ,nheard of. They are
satisfied thai this woul be the condition
Of affairs with them, notwithstanding
their ilremovahle opinion that many OF
the articles have genuine merit, and
when properly used accomplish good
results That the business may pros
per millions of dollars are expended
every year in advertising. When the
manufacturer of an article, after ten
wears of widespread advertising, dis
continues this "lan of Keeping it before
the public. the sales generally fall Oft
about - per cent. and then 4 steady
demand, which continues for many
wears, is reached. A reporter of the
tim, $ visited an establishment which is
the only one of its kind in the ci,y.
where patent medicines and other pre-
parati ions of the apOthcrary and drug
gist are exclusively sold. The seven
long floors of thi. building were filled
with articles invented for the cure Of
every disease which flesh is heir to-
Twenty years ago this prOprieto or started
in small way with three patented pre-
parationS. and at the present time he
deals i'll over 1900 different articles.
The gentleman who showed the re-
porter through the place. and who has
been engaged in the business for many
years, insisted that he had never heard
of any person who died, was injured or
disiigured through the proper use of
anv of the 5000 articles. Sometimes,
he said, mother would, of course, pour
bottle of soothing sirup down the
throat of her squalling infant, and then
when the infant died there would be a
great hubbub. Thercrorter's informant
said that there is no dull season in the
patent medicine business, rs there is in
the dry goods trade. When the season
for cough sirups has passed the cholera
medicines find ready market. Tooth
ache is common throughout the year,
and thus remedies for that distressing
complain; are always salable. Hair re-
storativeS are briskly called for in the
spring, summer, autumn and winter,
aud tonics likewise prevail at all sea
sons of the year The salesman esti-
mated that there are 2j,000 drug
gists AMI fully 10000 physicians
in the United States, and said that
the patent medicine dealers find much
favor among the physicians rs well as
the druggists. While the reporter was
rubbing against boxes filled with all
kind of preparations. the salesman
pointed to Il pile of boxes, each less
than two feet square. Those he
said. contain pills. We sell one of
the boxes for 1882, and you will OBJ
serve" he added. with Il smile. THAT
that is rather an expensive box of pills"
Then he figured M the cost of pile of
boxes that seemed almost lost in the
vast amount OF other boxes in the
room, and said: There we have 49,
012 worth of pills, and that will give
you Il faint idea of the amount of
money invested in patent medicines in
this building" The salesman said that
the dealer will not venture any money
in new article unless he buys it from
the manufacturer or pays the inventor
for the everlasting right TO manufacture
1t. lie will not accept Il patented artl-
Gle, advertise it,and make it profitable.
so that the inventor can at some time
take IT from him aud manufacture it
himself The inventor must either
manufacture and advertise the article
himself, or sell the patent to 4 manu-
facturer and have done with it. Look
ing AT half dozen preparations for
, pDrnS he salesman saiI .hat tbara ara
fully 1000 different corn-cures sold by
dealers.
The reporter was permitted to see q
list of the various preparations on sale,
The number of balms for the lungs,
rheumatism, consumption. etc, num-
bered 46; balsams, 90; stomach bitters,
LOG; cOrdials, As; catarrh, asthma, skin,
cough, rheumatic. heart, cholera, dys-
pepsia, ague, and other cures, 1871;
drops, AZ; eliXirs, a.; extracts, Isl;
hair dyes. %; hair tonics, IL; linimcnts,
81; lotions, "a; lozcnges. 81; hair-ois,
and cod-liver preparations. $50; ONT
ments, 81; pills, 3l2; plasters, 1877;
powders, 1863; various remedies, 142;
different kinds of hair restorers. 6S,
salts, 30; salves. 10; snufis. Is; soaps,
129; specifics. Go; sirups, 1888; tablets.
q; tones. 81; troches, 30, and medi-
cinal waters. 75. Besides these arti-
clcs there were many others with ex-
traOrdinary names, and the salesman
said that to be II good salesman in such
an establishment it was necessary to
remember all of the 5000 different
articles in the place.-N. T. Times.
60