Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1906-04-12
w. G.. Il. U. Notes.

| w. &. Il. u. Notes.
In closing her valuable pap or on alcoho
and patent medicine read before the las,
meeting OF the w. c. T. u, Mrs. w. A
Wilder said:
Much has been accomplished during the
last few years in opening the eyes of the
public to the uselessness of alcohol as a
medicine. also in enlightening the public in
regard to the danger Of using patent med
cine.
Attention has also been called to the
| fact that on account of the cheapness OF
wood alcohol, costing only SO cents a gal
lon instead of $3.50. unscrupulous manu-
facturers use it in place Of grain alcohol in
flavoring extracts. In the last eight
years fifty deaths have occurred from the
use Of these and thirty-six cases Of blind
ness have been reported within few
years.
A good number Of the leading periodi-
Gals refuse to advertise any OF these ques.
tionable remedies or extracts. More are
falling in line.
The press has been widely used to ad-
vertise patent medicines. DR.. Sternberg
in his presidential address at the Denver
meeting of the American medical associa-
ton IN 9O4 said, 1T is time that the pro
fession should remember that the pen is
mightier than the sword TO educate the
public on questions relating to health, in
stead of permitting quacks to do it for
selfish gain" Physicians have not al
ways told what they know of the curse OF
the use of patent medicine, possibly feel
ing that they would be misjudged and ac-
cused of doing it because il interfered
with their practice.
Aroused to the need of work along this
line the Women's Christian Temperance
union has for six years had department
Of work called non-aloohoc medication.
Doubtless the organization has done as
much or more than any other in setting
the world to thinking on this, and the evils
OF patent remedies.
1t takes years to correct an evil OF this
kind so that we don't feel that il was re-
markabe after all, that out Of fifty w. c.
+. u. women upon whom Mr. Box called,
thirty-seven of them used patent medicine
and did not know that they contained al
cohol. Neither is it strange that just
twenty of them knew that there is de-
partment called Nom ,lcoholc medication
The faithful few in all organizations are
the ones who keep posted. This ignorance
can in fact be remedied bys-nfchasing
enough of Mrs. Martha Aliens leaflets
and putting one into each members hands.
As an organization we cannot but con-
denim the use of patent medicine and nos
trums containing dangerous drugs and al
cohol and we have no more right to take
a woman into our ranks who is slave 10
a patent remedy, without making her
pledge to abstain from it, than we have to
take men as honoraries without asking
them to swear off the use of the tobacco
and liquor habits.
One of the duties Of this department Of
work is to see to it that none Of our mem
bers help advertise these remedies, and if
any of them are advertised on our prem
lses, on fences, buildings or boards be-
longing to US, that we have them legally
taken down. And lastly, as Edward Box
put it, let US not cease to trouble the edit
or of our own religious paper il he adver-
tise these questionable remedies in his
columns, until he stops it, and if we are
as popular as we are sometimes told that
we are let US make our influence felt
along this line and do all that we can tc
correct this, one of the most deplorable
evils Of our land.