Omaha daily bee., 1894-02-13
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II we arc to believe the numerous adver-
tlsements which hold up TO the public par
ticulsr patent medicines an the only and ex-
elusive remedy that will relieve mankind Of
the ills that flesh is heir to. the health OF
the country is on the point Of being con-
signed TO the tender mercies Of a newly
formed medicine monopoly. For many years
the druggists imagined themselves secure In
the trade In cureall nostrums, scented soaps
and delightful dentifrices which they took
10 much care to cultivate. The prices Of
these speciaities were fixed on a plane suf-
nclcntly high 10 richly remunerate all CON
cerned In the manufacture and sale. while
the innocent purchaser remained in dense
ignorance as to the real value Of the In
gradients. How much Of the price was set
over against patent, how much to
manufacturer, how much to jObber.
how much TO retailer and how much TO plain
everyday water we're points with which he
did not attempt TO rack his brain.
This golden age Of the druggist Is no
more. Since the advent OF cut-rate drug
shops, cheap dry goods houses and depart
ment stores the prices Of patent medicines
nave Desn III n HObl utInDIdilhSh NDHNihi'h'
Soap for which the corner druggist asks Is
cents can be had in the basement Of the dry
goods palace for 3 cents. One-dollar bottles
OF garsaparilla sell on the bargain counter
for 90 cents. The c~ut-rate patent medicine
dealer is not required to keep an experienced
Az his clerk and saves expenses
In a dozen different ways. At the same time
he takes one Of the most lucrative branches
OF the retail drug trade into his own hands,
while the so-called reputable" druggist
waits for physicians prescriptions. This, at
any rate, is the story told by the Interstate
Retail Druggists association at It's recent
meeting In New York. at which 1t was de-
cided to resist the enc~roachments OF the
common enemy. The plan adopted is simply
to secure the cooperation OF the manufac-
turers and TO prevent any one who cuts rates
from renewing his stock In trade when 1t be-
comes exhausted. Eighty per cent of the
druggistB In any one place are to be author
lied to agree upon a schedule OF prices to be
maintained for all standard commodities.
Any one who dares to sell below the estab-
lished tariff rates will have his name en-
tered upon the blacklist, and when he seeks
to purchase goods VIII ma himself practi-
cally boycotted. Jobbers who break the rule
are to be bIacklisted by the manufacturers
and IL prices don't rise to their former fig
| ures Il will be because there Is a leak some
where.
This new scheme to throttle competition
may promise very well for the retail drug
gists, but 1t BODIES no good for the consumers
OF patent medicines and Will run up against
the laws against trusts in almost all of our
states. The reason why patent medicines
and druggists sundrles have been sold at
cut rates is that experience has shown that
they can be proftably manufactured and sold
at those prices. II the druggist cannot com
pete with the dry goods store he might re-
iinquish this part of his business and con-
fine himself to the legitimate compromising
OF medicines. A retail medicine monopoly
Will not be tolerated at this late day.