Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-10-28
AGAINST
PROPRIETARY
MEDICINES
cIap-Trap Argument Made by
Some Who are Seek
ing Cheap NOtOrlety


(Reprinted from the September
1905. issue Of the National Druggist
et. Louis, Mo-
No honest proprietary medicine man
ufacturer can with reason object to a
full and fair discussion Of the prin
ciples on which his business is founded
or Of the merits or dement's Of his pan
ticular preparations If the business
as a whole, or n any particular prepa.
ration cannot Withstand discussion and
Investigation, the foundation on which
e is built is false, ad Il deserves TO
fail.
We submit, however, that the attacks
on this industry that have recently ap.
peared in Golfers Weekly, the Ladies'
Home Journal, and one OF two other
publications, have not only not been
fair, but on the contrary have been
insidious, unloading and deceptive. in
The Ladies' Home Journal Of soptem.
Der, for instance, fun page Of ita val.
uablc space IL devoted 20 the cxploiia.
iion Of the evils Of patent medicines,
and great prominence is given 10 an n.
lusiraiion which pretonds 70 show
"How patent medicines will burn. 4"
There IL halfione cut Of the apparat
ne claimed 20 have been employed IN
an experiment 90 demonstrate the con.
tention as 90 the burning qualities Of
thcao preparations. Tho apparatus con.
sisls Of four small closed rccoplaclos
having exits, 20 each Of which is AZ.
tachod a rubber tube, which is tipped
on with an ordinary gas burner and
mantle A tablespoonful Of Hostel.
tor's blitefa was placed IN ono Of these
receptaoloa a Tablespoonful of Pcruna
IN another, a Tablespoonful Of Pink.
ham's Compound In the third, and a
hke quantity Of beer In the fourth
"Heat was then applied, and tho vapof
gave a bright illumination. Pinkham's
Compound burned Tor 2 minutes and S5
seconds, Peruna burned for 2 minutes
and 40 seconds, Hostetter's Bitters
burned Tor 4 minutca while tho beer
burned for 20 seconds only.
An effort on tho part Of tho editor Of
the National Druggist was made 20
reproduce tho effects supposed 70 have
been thus obtained by the oxperimenter
for The Ladies' Home Journal, tho ap
pAfaius described being duplicated by
us, except that No had no mantle al
haHd, But tho application of heat 20
tho containers produced for us. not
light, but steam, which put out every
match applied 10 the buTner-an effect
that was foFeseen, but which was per
sisted In Tor some time nevertheless
Now, whether or not the use OF a
mantle would have materially altered
tho result of our experiment we do not
with certainty knowi but suppose a
would have done so-suppose, as the
ladies Home Journal claims, that each
OF the substances named az having been
used in its experiment would, when
converted into gas give forth a bright
illumination Tor the length Of time
stated, what would Il an amount TOT
What new fact would il pFoyei Not
surely, that patent medicines will burn,
but that those particular ones which
were selected for some reason by the
eKpeFimenter, contained alcohol In
varying quantities, and that alcohol
viii buTn--a fact which every child al
ready knew, aud which has no bearing
whatever on the question Of the value
of these preparations as therapeutic
Agents
What, then, was the need aud pur
pose OF this spectacular display of
tubes and lamps and FeoeiveFsi Of oFigi
nal packages Of tho preparations which
Il Was sought 10 condemns Of graduate
glasses and the various ct esteFas Of