St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-15
DIR. ZEERzs LATEST.

DR.. Tier appears to court another
defeat, as he has introduced a pat
ent medicine bill which is far more
ridiculous than that killed a few
days ago. It's first proposition is
Zierish in the extreme. No druggist
in Minnesota can, after July l, if this
bill becomes law, sell a 25-cent bottle
of pain killer, or any other patent
medicine, unless he, Or some one
else, has previously had it analyzed
by the state board of health, and
paid a fee of $50 for a IS service),
and have kept his customer waiting
till the state board of health makes
the examination. AS there are 5000
to 1000 patent medicines sold in this
state, what a nice little job this
would be; and if the secret of these
valuable remedies could thus be
ascertained, who would not rather
be member of the state board of
health than even a director of the
sugar trust?
On July Should this bill become
a laW) the patent medicine business.
with all it's Advertising S250.-
coo to 100000 per annum of outside
money coming into the state-with
all its profit to our merchants and
with all it's benefits to thousands of
poor people in our cities, and espe-
cialiy ON our frontier, who need
cheap medicine, will come to a stand
still. Thousands of dollars worth
OF valuable medicines will be con-
hscated, and fine of $500 and i'm
prlsonment await the druggist who.
no matter how pressing the need.
even to save life. sells a well-trfed
remedy in violation of it's absurd
provisions.
AS nearly all liquid medicines
patent and otherwise-contain alec.
hol, what use is it to pay a $50 fee
IN each case to find it out, especially
when S. fee would pay well i'm
such cases? And a five-cent taste
or smell of the medicine would gem
orally be sufficient to show it.
AS to the need of such legislation.
there IS none. No one ever heard of
any one being poisoned by a patent
medicine, and if some babies or
others have had too much soothing
syrup given them by a careless
nurse, regardless of plain directions.
not one has been SO injured where
a dozen have s1fs~red from over ,,r
under-feeding Or other causes.
what physician would be willing
to have plainly published on every
prescription the poison he wisely
ana safely uses i'll it, if it is used as
he directs?
Inc penalties in this bill are phe-
nomenaily severe, and the whole bill
SO loosely drawn that no intelligent
man can vote for or encourage If
The only possible chance for anv
support for it is that it is harmless
looking, and its seeming vindictive-
ness and pure destructiveness not at
once apparent. Some things can.
however, be seen at once. namely
that it is class legislation; that there
Is no call for it. The people of the
state Go not want it, or ask for if.
1t would deprive the poor nancy
eryWhere in the state-of his chean
ana simple remedy. It would in
Jure every manufacturer and dealer
IN medicines, and confiscate his prom
erty. 1t would do injustice to those
VINO now pay and send into our
state hundreds of thousands of dol
lars annually in advertising, and
dement, no one, not even the doctors.
The means resorted to get this bill
on general orders in the house
stamp it as a good bill to lay on.
or under, the table.