Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-05
A DnSu<iPt1 fSoOnl0-

ttrOm the PhI.aieipiIo ediCaii Journal
OF making quack nostruIns, as Solomon said
of books, there Is no end, each day bringing out
some new remedy. which, sin,uIarly enough,
as il Is claimed, will take the place and perform
the functions OF all others wnich Lave preceded
IL. vi course we no not mean To init mate that
all these things are vaiuele,s, but yet human
credulity is 50 strong that some INSCRIPTIONS
person. trading on the fears of hypnchondracs
or sickly people, only needs, as the late
lalnentcd Spoopendyke would have said, "a
bunch OF weeds and gallon of wafer to lie a
Whole ale drug store Among the things which
appeal most strongly to this weakness is Bit
mode OF life Of the aver aas' Ame re
con SANITY in need Of a tonic. He is rushed
at his business, swallows his meals hastily
and without any thought as to the capacity
OF MS stomach for digestion, takes little rest
and necessarily feels hipped; is subject to head
ache and takes often Il gloomy view Of things
generally. In such cases he resorts to bitters,
under the delusion that they will act on the
secretiOnS OF the stomach and give the system
new strength and energy. Men with active
sedentary lives, also long for tonic. They
may be opposed to the use of what are popu-
larly called stimulants. meaning. fermented
to their souls that wine glassful of some bitter
decoction will steady their nerves, supply their
without after depressing. A little thought
would show them under what a iallacy they
samses The w 9ass Of
widely advertised bitters in the market.
and the simple chemical analysis to
which they were subjected showed that they
contained about 80 per cent (the amount the
government allOws) of the most poisonous and
adulterated alcohol, and that the resduum con-
sisted of various foreign substances. which were
simply added as fiavOring extracts, to disguise
the taste of the original compound. The poorer
the grade of the alcohol the more vicious is the
compound. The value which such so-called
bltters are supposed to have is of purely fcti-
tlOus character. In fact in time they irritate
and iniure the delicate membrane of the stom-
ach and SO vtiate the taste that the palate soon
cannot distinguish between goO0 and bad. 1t
Is neither a natural nor q healthy excitement
which Is produced by those sO-called aids to d.
gestiOn, and the wonder is that the sensible peo-
pie who know little at least as TO the operation
OF natural laws, should allow themselves to be
SO misled "a to what the system really needs
These decOctiOns are consumed principally by
the debilitated, the cOnvalescent, the depressed
and particularly by aged people and weak
women and others to whom a stimulant is in
dispensable. Now, while alcohol, especially in
| the form of whiskey. is acknowledged to be the
best known stimulant, and Is prescribed and
used by physicians for this purpose every
where, we can't conceive why people will in
sist upon taking this alcohol in the form Of a
decOctiOn, the compromising OF which they
know nothing and which, as shown by
analysis, contains fusil Oil, vitriOi, catechu
and pOisOns OF the most deadly kind. It would
be far better for them to come out boldly and
use the pure article, something made from
malt, which combines both food aud stimula-
tive qualities.