Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-09-30
PATENT MEDICINES AS BOOZE.

PATENT MEDICINES AS BOOZE.
Under a decision of j. w. Yerkes,
federal commissioner of internal rev.
enue, q government license" will be
necessary to the dealer in patent med
icines composed chiefly of distilled
spirits or mixtures thereof, without the
addition Of drugs or medicinal ingred-
tents in sufficient quantities to change
ic liquor" Eastern papers are pre-
dieting serious protests from manufac-
turers OF medicines and howl from
druggists and grocers. especially in
states with prohdbitory laws.
However. in Iowa the new ruling is
not likely to bring general protest from
the druggists, practically all of whom
already have government licenses"
and most Of whom hold permits" to
sell liquor for medicinal purposes.
{ Where grocers are permitted by law to
sell patent medicines. the classified
ton Of these medicines will put them
out of the business and thus throw the
entire trade to the druggists. There is
little in the new ruling to make trouble
for the drug stores. The medicine man
,,facturer may find his field limited to
the drug trade and complain. The
country grocer whose sales Of patent
medicines have added materially to his
hank account will undoubtedly feel
aggrieved and ready to protest. How
ever, he is not likely to carry gov
eminent license which in itself would
offer strong evidence of violation of
state law.
Time was in Iowa and especially dur
ing the period following the adoption
of the prohibitory amendment, when
the patent medicine trade was a gold
/ mine. The state was flooded with cheap
connections Of poor whisky and diluted
alcohol tinctured to, bitter flavor and
dealers reaped a harvest from the
thirsty souls whose parching lips CAPPED
for Hostetter's, Harvest Home and the
= +
long list Of other "bitters'' with which
the bibulous Iow-an supplied the dearth
OF the good red liquor of an earlier
time. If not health there was hilarity
Of q sort in the stomach bitters and
they went like hot cakes. An epidemic
OF chronic stomach trouble struck Iowa
with the amendment and judging from
the number Of requests filed annually
by Iowa drug stores, this peculiar UNI
der current of ill-health still runs UNI
abated.
The state laws largely destroyed the
general traffic in alcoholic patent med
icines. Grocers whose crossroads
stores had become the center of patent
medicine conviviality, felt the strong
arm Of the law. The trade fell away
when the. druggists were given the
liquor selling privilege and today most
OF the patent medicines sold in Iowa
are bought for legitimate purposes.
II in the exercise of his proper duties
the commissioner might censor pro-
prietory medicines medicines to the
elimination Of the innumerable fakes"
he could do the public a greater serv-
ice. The unbridled claims of the patent
proprietors for their medicines as cur
alive agents should be modified to APP
proach truth and the sale Of, those
without merit Of. any nature be forbid
den. The SIS government license is
not burden to bother Iowa druggists
who sell patents or reform the drink
habit to any appreciable extent. AL
published list Of those containing
"booze' might, however, prove an ex-
scellent guide for teetotallers and prohi-
bitionists who have failed to UNDER
stand the origin Of that pleased and
contented feeling that follows "a wine
glassful three times day"