The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1905-03-25
nepiesl .authoritles in the world.

! matter bat the cosl, aioDs ~ enough
10 prevent abuse. alcohol costs
/ about 81 30 per gallon. Il is too ex
pensive Tor any - Adicine maker to
use more than ne needs Of ii. And he
cannot hope that people are going to
take the medicine because OF the aico
hol, when good wniskey can ne pur.
chased for one fifth as much.
A dose of medicine which contains
even 70 per cent. Of alcohol does not
seem to me a very dangerous matter.
That means one fifth of teaspoonful
OF alcohol at time. Physicians do
not hesitate 10 give brandy to a
child in teaspoonful doses, and bran
dy is half alcohol. When one COM
pares medicine with beer or wine, he
should also compare thedosage. One
takes more alcohol in glass Of wine
than he takes in great many doses
of medicine.
Mr.. Box Is also most unfair in his
reference to poison5 used in proprie-
tary medicines 1t is true that some
medicines contain poisons in small
percentages, but the use IL not near ly
as general az in physicians prescrip.
tions. a great many drugs which are
recognized by every physician as
helpful ia small doses are poisonous
when taken in excess,
An elderly druggist told me few
days ago that he had personally ex-
amined more than 100, 900 physicians
prescriptions, ana; by actual count,
10 PEI cent. Of them contained an OPT
ate. Yet analysis shows not n trace
OF opiate in the largest sellers among
the proprietary remedies,
Strychnine is another dangerous
drug largely prescribed by physicians.
1t is used as tonic and stimulate.
Yet this is drug rarely found in pro
pr,etaries-
The maker Of a proprietary medi-
cine must be more careful about the
use OF any poison than the physician.
The physician is in position to di-
rect his doses and to watch the re
suta He is able to take chances
which no maker Of a general remedy
will take, for fear the directions on
the bottle will not be adhered to.
There are thousands of physicians
whose interests are opposed to pro
prietary remedies. They are ready
to denounce a ready made remedy at
the slightest evidence of harm from
it. Yet how seldom we hear of any
harm from proprletaries. have my
self never heard of a single authenti
Gated case.
1t is the lack of poison, RI her than
its presence, which forms the real OBJ
lection to proprietaries. 1t is by us
ing poison which the medicine max
er avoids that the physician often sc e
cures greater effect. The maker Of
remedy has too much at stake to
use anything which which will result
in,occasiohal harm. And this caution
leads himrtoo often to omit ingredi-
ents which he knows to be valuable.
Proprietary RENE dies arc used not
only alone 10y the poor who cannot
afford to call physician but they are
employed by those to whom expense
ia of no Importance. And in ordinary
ailments, when physician is called,
he prescribes a ready made remedy.
Proprietary remedies are at some
time taken by all OF us. They are
found in nearly every home
And ! know of no, business where
fraud has less chance for success han
in medicine. \ worthless remedy is
very soon found out. A sick person
will not long continue remedy that
does not help. The lack of merit in a
food may remain long undiscovered,
but if medicine lacks virtue the TACT
Is at once apparent.
When | read a remedy for any or.
binary ailment, my choice goes to a
remedy so good that it made its max.
or rich,
nNEENhINp