Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1884-08-21
CURE ALL YOUR ILLS.
Sure Panaceas for,Everv Ailment Un-
der the Sun.
New Patent Medicines Are Born ana
GroW-Where Advertising II
Fully Appree1ased-Suc.
cess and Failure.



In the three words, pains and panaceas.
is comprehended the whole subject OF
patent medicines y said prominent whole
sale druggist of this city to a reporter in
search of information on that world
known topic. People are bound to have
the former, and as long as there is an
earth the latter will be manufactured as
cure-alls. Patent medicines have become
one of the staples of the worlds products,
and are as certain now of being found on
the market as wheat or baby carriages or
corn Where and when the patent medi-
cine, as it is now understood, originated
is hard to tell. / am inclined to the belief
that like Topsy, it just growed.
:" In regard to the efficacy of patent
medicines i have this much to say: While
a large number of them are of course alb
solutely worthless, it must be admitted
that many of them have great deal of
merit and will do nearly what is claimed
for them. A manufacturer finds a recipe
which, in its cures of certain sicknesses,
has become almost tradition in locality,
or physician makes q study of some
II stands TO reason that in either case the
medicines must have merit. Many of these
preparations are compounded of herbs
which the Indian, through a natural in
stinct has been using further back than
the memory of man goeth others are
really what your physician would give YOU
at higher price, while the many are but
simple dscoctions, which, combined with
the good hygienic advice they make YOU
follow, effect their cures.
lhere are patent medicines without
end In this catalogue | have here there
are 5000 varieties listed, which are ac-
lively before the trade, and there are fully
1000 varieties known. Then consider the
vast number which have only q local repu-
tatlon, and have no doubt the total would
be brought up to 5000 The amount of
manufacturing done is tremendous, but a
larger number of the firms haven't much
capital to put into advertising, and conse-
quently their products never secure any-
thing but local reputation. The big
east firms have extensive manufactures.
In which they employ thousands of peo-
pie. and many of them have even arrived
at that point where they own large print
ing Offices and get out their own advertis
ing matter:
IL would be hard matter to guess at
the total amount manufactured, but an
idea can be obtained by referring to few
OF the more prominent of the medicines
now before the public. Last year the
value of the product of a well-known
Rochester firm was So 600. 900: of a
Philadelphia firm. s., OO0, 900; of another
Philadelphia firm, 81 800, 900; of Balti-
more firm, 81 900, 900; of Buffalo firm.
- 100000; of a Lowell firm, 81 ,OOO, 900.
Nearly one tenth of this entire product
was handled for the western trade by the
seven principal drug houses of Chicago
One OF these Arms sends about five car
loads. OF 81, 800 bottles. of its medicine to
this city every month to be distributed
through the west, northwest and south.
Inns getting medicine in carload lots is,
OF course, an exceptional case but il serves
as an instance to show to what magni-
tude this business has grown
The amount of advertising done in the
Interests Of patent medicines through
aimsnacs, newspapers, circulars. show
cards, posters. etc, is simply enormous .
said well known advertising agent whom
the reporter subsequently visited, land the
money paid out runs up into the millions
Aimanacs are printed by the ton and
when you figure out that these almanacs
VIII average sixteen or seventeen to the
pound you can realize what that means
and not one ton OF five tons, but hundreds
Of them l know several firms who issue
from fifty to three hundred tons of printed
matter every year and, besides, do an i'm
mense amount OF newspaper advertising.
About year ago one of the more
prominent Of the patent medicine manu-
factnrers was interested in trial in this
city, and swore on the witness stand that
his advertising expenses for the preceding
year were $3.50. 600; prominent Balti-
more firm l know expended nearly $780,
600 last year, and there are many firms
who pay out from $50, 900 to 800, 600
Why, take yesterdays Chicago dailies and
figure up the number of patent medicine
advertisements therein. That will give
you an ides Of the extent of the business Z"
The reporter did SO; he scanned the
columns of the papers and found therein
nearly thirty columns of display advertise
ments setting forth the merits of patent
medicines. THAT is exclusive of reading
notices and could have cost no less than
81. 200, continued the agent. 1T gives
you an idea of the extent TO which this adj
vertising is carried. In fact, il has been
pushed so much that patent medicine adj
vertiscrs are constantly devising new
schemes and expanding money out of the
ordinary channels.