New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-21
TIE ORIG SPINDLE.

Coma of our Western contemporaries are
waeipe meritorious warfare on what they apcS
describe as the substitute drug swlnuie
,hot Is the sale by some retail dealers OF an
orticIa nrepared in close imitation OF some we'll
known nroprietary medicine in place OF the
oonuine article. The extent TO which this fraud
is carried on is undoubtedly very great gui'e
"a great in the East as in the west Anero
oueht to be way Of reaching it by law fer-
hans there is, but the law may be so easily
evaded that probably no force can be pracucaily
applied in restraint of the fraud so potent as
nublic oninion. Whatever is to be SAID against
the practice, all too general in America, Oh
tinkering at ones system with drugs wnose
Qualities and functions are not known ana Ior
aomnloints not understood and however much
,otont medicines have tended to increase THIS
ppdr,ittad evil the fact remains that there are
,,onv such medicines with regulations estao-
Esbad nv long and extensive use, and the char
acter Of their manufacturers is to some degree
a guarantee that they possess certain VIRTUES
Extensive advertising has rendered the pupno
in every country village familiar with thelr
nature. with the ingredients of which they are
claimed to be composed, with the diseases they
ora intended to subdue, with the results their
uso "a alleged to have produced, and with the
appearance of packages in which they are placeu
upon the market. 1t is common tricK' al'er
sncb medicines have become known and after
demand for them has been created, Tor unscrupu-
Ions persons to devise inferior substitutes, mean
" Disguised in name and appearance, and Dy
nroftable arrangements with some retail drug
osts TO resp the advantage of the genuine
ARTICLES reputation. The druggist Of whom
narticular salsaparia or liver pill is asked
doesn't happen to have that potion in stock but
instead has another, claimed, perhaps, to be his
" own make.D or at least, to be well known TO
him which he is always prepared to recommend
as cheaper than the article demanded and fully
as good.
In this way a vast number of dangerous drugs
are foisted upon the public in place OF those
which. however undesirable for use without D
physicians prescription, are at least reputable
and in real demand. So far has this substitu-
ton gone that the market for certain OF the
most favored proprietary medicines market
created by large expenditure and tested ser
vice, is occupied now by spurious preparations
that ne reputable druggist ought to have upon
his shelves. The chief sinner in this business,
we regret to say, is to be found among the
retail druggists. Not infrequently ne
makes himself a knowing partner in
the fraud, permitting his name to be
printed on the bottles in which the substitute
IS supplied, or even engaging directly in its
manufacture. This is altogether dishonest.
Those who buy patent medicines need to be
warned against allowing themselves to be
cheated They take great risks whenever they
hermit salesman to persuade them to buy any
drug except the one they know and want. 1t
is little enough that science in its highest ex-
qualification understands about the human sys-
tenn and the treatment of diseases, and people
who undertake to do their own doctoring should
at least be sure that they are obtaining what
they intend to obtain, and that they are not
taking cheap tOadstOol for mushroom.