The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1897-01-14
PATENT MEDICINE MAKING.


a.,. Throughout tho Country.
Exclusive OF those connected with the
advertisement department., q numerous
branch and the stockholders in such
OF the concerns as are Incorporated, TO-
600 men are engaged in the patent med
lcine manufactures of the United
States, receiving collectively more than
100000 year in salaries and wages.
There are $50 such manufactures, rang
ing in Importance from those which
flood the American and the foreign mar
ket with proprietary medicines, as they
are technically called, down to the
smallest laboratories or botanist shops,
in which some particular herb or root
is, in grudging and primitive manner,
supplied to such persons as may have
heard of its efficacy. The partially Of
Americans for patent medicines is well
known, and doctors-who don't usually
agree-agree in declaring that the true
reason of the extensive use of such med
icines in the United States is to be
found in the fact that dyspepsia is a
general ailment, and that persons suf-
fering from dyspepsia are prone to be-
lieve that they have some other ailment.
Thus they become patent medicine
patrons under conditions that recall the
memorable remark of Col. Mulberry
Sellers, the sallguine speculator, who,
in describing the benefits of the "Orient-
al Eye Water" the sale Of which he be-
lieved would enrich him, declared that
the more of il people used, the more of
it they would need, and hence the sale
once started would constantly increase.
Many of the patent medicines sold, if
not, indeed, majority of them, do not
come under this description, for they
are merely compounds in pleasant form
and in palatable shape of drugs and
medicines in constant use by physi.
clans, and found efficacious in what is
called general practice. Though it
didn't used to, New York city now
stands at the head of the cities of the
United States in the manufacture of
patent medicines, with IS factories,
giving employment to 1000 persons at
aggregate wages in excess of $700, 900 u
year. Philadelphia comes second, St.
Louis third, New Haven fourth and
Lowell fifth. In proportion to it's pop
ulation Lowell is the American city
which is most deeply interested in pat
cnt medicine manufacture. After Low
ell comes Chicago, a poor sixth. It is a
somewhat peculiar circumstance that
though enormous quantities of. patent
medicines are sold in the south, and the
ingredients for their manufacture
come very largely from that section,
few patent medicines are made in the
south, though New Orleans and Atlanta
do little in this line. The city of Bal
timore seemed likely few years ago to
attain prominence in the manufacture
OF patent medicines, but recently it
has fallen back on the list, while the
city Of Boston has been pushing steadily
ahead. Providence is another New Eng
land city which is largely represented in
the manufacture of patent medicines.
In New York state two other cities so
represented are Buffalo and Rochester.
In the west, outside of Chicago ard St.
Louis and Cincinnati, the city which
does the largest business in patent med
icines is Grard Rapids, Mich, and Pc
oria does a little in this line, but not
very much. The expectation of Amer
lean patent medicine is increasing, but
the manufacturers continue neverthe-
less to appeal, with the greatest conf
dence, to the home market.-N. Y. Sun.