The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1905-09-15
~ws PATENT MEDICINES
LOADED WITH ALCOHOL
A Proposition to Tax Them Ac-
cording to the Amounts Of
Whiskey Contained.


Especial -Serious consideration is
being given by several members of
congress to the question of pressing
at the coming session bill provid-
ing that patent medicines bearing
above certain percentage of alco-
hol, shall pay stamp tax equal to
the proportion of alcohol contained.
Prohibition leaders are inclined to
agree with the proposition, but just
how to go at it is the problem. The
prohibitionists have begun to find
out what the santis" have long ago
known--that so soon as prohibit
ton is established in community
the outgo of money for certain pat
ent medicines is exceedingly large,
and the drug stores Immediately
place extra orders for the addition
al trade they are sure to get. Be
sides handling the well advertised
patent medicines, the druggist puts
on the market compounds Of his
own preparation that have won
derful effect in curing all kinds of
diseases. Their chief ingredient is
alcohol. In many instances the
drugs used along with the alcohol
are harmful to the human system,
doing incalculable damage, not to
take into consideration the appe-
tite that is created for opium, pare
goric, laudanum and similar drugs.
Government officials have re-
Gently received analyses made by a
prominent physician in large
city, who says he found exactly the
same percentages of alcohol in GER
tain well known patent medicines
as found in the analyses made by
the Massachusetts state board of
health several years ago. 1t is
shown that hardly a single one of
the best known medicines con-
tanned less than II per cent Of al
cohol and some of them went close
to 80 per cent. A half dozen of
them averaged above 40 per cent.
and another half dozen above 30
per cent. Various samples of or
binary bar room whiskey averaged
below so per cent of alcohol, while
all samples of beer showed below
4 per cent. a revelation to the ply
stefan who had thought beer con-
tanned much more alcohol. Ten
years ago it was found, according
10 the Massachusetts, figures, that
100000 bottles of a certain highly
advertised patent medicine were
sold in Massachusetts alone. Near
ly one third of the contents of the
bottle was pure alcohol. Most Of
the sales were in prohibition com
munities and the larger the per-
centage of alcohol contained the
larger the sales.
The suggestion is made that the
amount Of the tax shall be in ac-
cordance with the amount of whis-
key contained in the medicines,
and this would have to be determ-
ined by requiring the manufactur-
ers to file with the commissioner of
internal revenue sworn statements
of the alcohol they use. At inter-
walls inspectors would procure sam
pies and make analyses. Some of
the medicines are said to be so
strong with whiskey that they
would have to pay high tax.
Authorities of the internal reve-
nue. bureau are unconcerned about
it all. They say that the alcoh d
contained in the medicines has al
ready paid tax to the govern
ment; and, further, that SO many
medicines contain alcohol to a
large extent that the taxation plan
would probably have to be an ex-
tensive one. They point out that