The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-16
NEW ANTT-QUACKA ASSOCIATION.
NETTING TO ORGANIZE ATTACK
ON FAKE DOCTORS.
Au.,cn d. FOX PresIdes and q Cleveland
Reporter Describes his Experiences
I'm CrusadinE Child Labor and Adult
lrrated Foods Also 20 ne Fought

Reporter Describes His Experiences
I'm CrusadIng Child abe and Adult
Grated Foods Also 10 ne Fought
More than i25 delegates representing.
LIMITATIONS in New York. Philadelphia
ant cities of the South and Middle West
.-embled in the Hudson Theatre in West
F,rfy-rourth street yesterday afternoon to
form, a national body to fight against
lle.crious proprietary medicines, quack
,~,aIical institutes and kindred evils.
po,lty state Attorney Eugene O'Dunne
If Baltimore suggested that the organiza-
mon he "a allied the Public Health Defence
Tea rue and this name was adopted.
,.l-tcn G. Fox presided. President
MCGOWAN of the Board OF Aldermen well
,.gnpd the delegates to New York for Mayor
Mcclellan. who was unable to be present,
ard Mgr. Lavelle of st. Patrick's Cathedral.
speaking for Archbishop Farley, said hat
anything that the clergy and laity Of the
catholic Church in America could do to
helm on the crusade would gladly be done.
Many of the delegates were women.
among whom were Mrs. Charles Evans
Hughes, wife of the Go~vernor-elect; Lillian
VI. Y. stevens. national president of the
W. T. &. u; Mrs. Elizabeth Grannis and
Mrs. Martha NJ. Allen. head of the depart
mont of medical temperance OF the w. c.
7. l., who mad an address.
The longest speech and the one that
caught the audience the most was made
hv Charles +. Stuart, a reporter for the
cleveland NeWs. Mr.. Stuart told how
his city editor called him up one day and
told him to get after the quacks OF Cleve-
land. regardless OF expense"
First. I went to two big physicians
of Cleveland" began Mr.. Stuart, a told
them to go through me with a dark lantern.
They aid there was nothing the matter
with mo except a little bronchial affection,
due 10 cigarettes. Then under an assumed
name [ visited every big advertising quack
in town. l didn't give them a list of faLe
symptoms, because even a reputable ply
sician now present could be fooled that
way. ILaughter.l
First | called on one with whisk ers.
They all have whiskers, y'know, but some
how or other this fellows whiskers didn't
gee with the whiskers in his pictures pub
lished with his advertisements. He said
could be cured of stomach, liver, lung,
kidney and other diseases-all of which
he discovered l had-for $50. 1 jewed
him down to S., and then he took me into
a department with a name on the door
a yard long. stretched me on a table. and
while he began to massage me he turned
on a lot Of fake machinery and colored
lights that had the aurora borealis faded.
but say, l never made a speech in my
life before, and don't know whether I'm
making good. lCries OF you are-go on,
and laughter.l
Well, he next made me sit in a static
chair for three-quarters Of an hour. Sud-
denly | asked him for a guarantee that l
would be cured Of all the diseases he had
found.
You're almost half cured now said
the doctor but when / insisted that |
must have a written guarantee he handed
me one finally that said i would be cured
%. what do you think2 Prostate nephri-
tisi' Now, il any doctor here can tell me
lat the-what prostate nephritis' is
I'd be glad to be interrupted. Laughter
] asked the quack what IL was and he said,
That phrase covers all the other diseases
Can you beat it?' Also their private drug
stores are the greatest system Of graft in
after my paper had sent me the rounds
Of the city we scourged hem right and
left and called them robbers, cheats and
everything else by name. By that crusade
we put out OF business. at least so Tar as
Cleveland was concerned, firms that had
been spending $500 0 a year for postage
stamps alone and whose annual business
was over 5000 900
1T is time the community begins TO
realize the evil that threatens it, said
Chairman Austen Fox. Exposure Of quacks
and auack medicines may put one or two
out OF business, but what we need is laws
that will make these offences punishable
by fines and Imprisonment. And as the
English say, It's d~oggedness as does it,
We need to go at them d~oggedly, not only
IN a local way but national as well. don't
believe the enforcement OF criminal law
should be placed in the hands of private
organizations, but the organizations can
wage the fight to bring the sponsors Of
these abuses to Justice
Our great power will be the press. Here
tofore the press has been the most r~ecreant
20 its duty. 1t Is generally believed here
that you must make yourself solid with the
press, but now / feel sure the newspapers
are ashamed of their part in these matters
Thomas W. Barlow Of Philadelphia spoke
principally Of the work done by Anthony
Comstock for the promotion OF sweetness
and light in New York, and later Mr.. Com
stock took the floor and spoke in the same
strain.
No specific legislation was discussed yes
terday. The sole purpose Of the conference
as embodied in the. blanket resolutions
that were adopted was to form a national
body to fight not only quackery, fake medi-
cines and allied evils but to take up the
cause Of child labor. adulterated foods, -to
work for the enlightenment Of the public
on all matters affecting these subjects.
To work for the enactments OF laws
for the protection Of and preservation oil