The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-10-24

Readers Of such leading maya
zines, as the Ladies Home Jour
nal" and Golfers Weekly" must
have noticed recently many articles
relative to patent medicines.
The editors Of these magazines
are seeking to bring about by legis-
1ation and agitation, what they
choose to call reform in the patent
medicine business. They make the
statement that it is not only unsafe,
but unwise, and in many cases de-
structive of health, for people to
purchase and consume patent u1edi-
cines the ingredients of which they
have no knowledge. ~ !"
1t it not our purpose to enter into
a discussion of the merits or de-
merits of this agitation or crusade.
Thousands of people4have used
patent medicines and have been
benefited by them. At the same time
there are undoubtedly evils existing
in the ABUSE of some so-callcd
patent medicines. Because you
have thief in your neighborhood
you would not say the whole neigh
borhood is composed Of thieves. We
know that we have plenty Of Gus
TONERS at our counters who tel our
clerks what benefit they derive from
4his or that preparation.
Yet even with this knowledge
1t is hard for US to say what c=.c
among the patent medicines is t.1c
'.neighborhood backlog" The w.
fortunate part of our position is
that we do not know the formulas
Of the patent medicines we sell.
We do not believe that the pro-
prietors of patent medicines are dis
honest or that they are intentionally
rnisrepresenting their products. If
we did we would certainly refuse to
Sell their goods over our counter.
Our exact position in this patent
medicine agitation is this: We are
the servants Of the public. We sell
and will continue to sell patent
medicines just the same as the gro
Ger sells you canned corn or pota-
toes. We want our patrons to find
in our stock just what they demand,
only we can positively say t.lct at
any time we find medicine l. l.
furious we will throw it cut Ct our
store.
Several years ago, a Thousand CT
the leading druggists throughout
the United States organized Gac--:-
selves together in a cooperative
company to produce remedies which
they could back up with their OWL
names and their own regulations.
The first object Of this co-c~c-s-
tive company was to produce lie
of remedies thot every d-u-G.-t
would know thoroughly. There
were to be no secret forraulac; the
ingredients of every remedy would.
be known to every druggist.
Each of these thousand druggists
contributed to the organization all
that his knowledge and experience
had brought to him in the way Of
advice as to different remedies.
The formulas Of something like
1000 or more remedies were sent to
the company. A committee Of cx-
perts' was appointed and this corr
mittee went over the various fo--
Tnulas conscientiously and earnestly
for a long period of time and selected
from the entire list about 200 stand
ard remedies, the manufacture OF
which the company then undertook.
The company in the meantime
had erected a perfect laboratory
large, well-appointed, with every APP
pliance known to modern skill. The
combined capital Of a thousand
druggists made it possible for the
company to purchase in the largest
quantities, the fundamental drugs
and herbs, ETC., that form the in
gradients Of the various remedies.