Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-09-01
swINoLlNo IN DRUG STORES.

Geb dOIQ OF HOneSb ReOple'S money.
The fact that the American public de-
lights in being hnmbugged has passed
into an international proverb, says the
Tribune. The latest addition to the
rank and file of petty swindlers is the
druggists who practice the substitution
scheme" The swindle is a growing
evil of recent date. Some firm or in
dividual by long and patient research,
and often by the expenditure of enor-
nous sums of money, discovers and per-
fects proprietary article. After years
of scrutiny and perhaps patient abuse
the article finds its way into public
favor. It's price is perhaps cheapened
and it's merits become advertised and
known in every town and city. It is at
this juncture that the retail druggist
gives to his tnquiring customer an arti-
Gle Just as good" and quietly pockets
the price of it's inferiority.
To such an extent has this imposition
grown that general attention was called
to it in an address before the National
Editorial association at ST. Paul by A.
Frank Richardson, of New York.
Mr.. Richardson has given this abuse
Of substituting his attention for some
time, and there is probably no man in
about it's extent and injustice. The man
who buys paraffine factory butter, or
stewed minnows in tin cans with a sar-
dine label on, or wooden nutmegs, or
perhaps drinks coffee originally made
! at the brickyards and sweetened with
sugar whose saccharine qualities are
the combined efforts of sugar trust
and sand bank, may while reviewing
| hn ho& ha 10
to the conclusion that he has been vic
timized and swindled. About the time
he is divorced from his digestion he
realizes the substitutes and ''our own
make" are perhaps little cheaper, but
hardly as fattening. Then the same
man will walk into drug store. He
wants apollinaris water. He has seen
advertised that it will call back the
sulking appetite. He gets something
with the same label and '1ust as good. "
The druggist makes few cents by the
swindling substitution and the customer
| forswears the use of apo1linaris, etc.,
and keeps to 1t all except the 'etc. "
There are hundreds of proprietary arti-
c1es that have earned a reputation
through the public prints and extended
| testimonials that have been almost
forced from the market by the substi-
| tuition swindle.
| people have no idea how extensive
this petty system of thievery has be-
come" said Mr. Richardson. There
| are concerns whose preparations have
| become household words. Millions of
dollars are invested in the business of
| these concerns. Their articles have
merit and those merits have been ad-
| vertised. This popularity induces the
customer to call for the article at the
druggists. The druggist has some un
known article just as good without
merit enough to make it known, which,
presuming on the confidence the pur.
chaser places IN him, the druggist palms
off on the customer.
''The evil aside from the swindle OF
the practice to the purchaser, lies i'll the
fact that he is induced to use something
which is either worthless or injurious
At Detroit and elsewhere there are
| houses whose sole business it is to man.
ufacture worthless mixtures and com.
pounds, which they sell to retail drug
gists under labels bearing some resem-
blance to favorite and well-known prep
arations These retail vendors of un.
known nostrums masquerading under a
well-known name generally place on
the preparation Our own make, strictly
pure ETC. The interest the druggist
has in selling this stuff is that he buys
it at much lower price than the stand.
ard Preparation. The individual pur.
chaser is easily swayed at best Add tc
this the confidence he naturally places
In his druggist, and it is no wonder that
this, petty system of swindling has
reached its already great proportions
There are preparations in which mil
lions of dollars are invested and hun.
dreds of thousands spent yearly in call
ing the attention of the public to theil
particular use or benefit, and when any
one calls at the dealers stores for the
express purpose of getting the familiar
article the dealer tries every method in
his power to induce him to take Some
thing else, which he knows is of dou BIT
full merit if not positively injurious.
For nearly every one of the we'll
known preparations there are a dozer
limitations which druggists announce
are precisely the same thing-only
cheaper. The success of any proprie
tary article rests on the same broad
basis of known merit as all other sue
| ceSses, No amount OF advertisement
can bring business to a dishonest mer
chant and no amount of advert isement
can keep poor medical preparation
long in favor, but when the preparation
has kept on for years fighting it's way
into favor it is little short of thievery
for dealers to make use of it's popularity
for it's own destruction by selling under
its guise and name a cheap and worth
less article"
Mr.. Richardson suggested that the
only practical way of Kidding the public
of this abuse of substituting was tc
make known its nefarious details sc
that purchasers might insist on having
the article they believe to be best anc
refuse to take the article the swindling
dealer wishes to substitute. Customers
who will not accept something just al
good' from a druggist know that they
can get what they want at some Other
drug store. Chicago Post.