The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-01-02
PURE FOODS AND
PURE DRUGS LAW
One Enacted by Congress Went
Into Effect Yesterday in
Feeble Way.
STATES RIGHTS VIEW OF 1T.
Good Enough Advertisements for
Druggists-No Money Appro-
propriated to Enforce Law.

The act of Congress. approved June
Goth, 1906, known as the Pure Food and
Drug Law was supposed to have gone
into effect yesterday, and the suppose
ton is that under that law all the food
stuffs and drugs. medicines and nostrums
sold in Richmond yesterday were as pure
and as devoid of evil communications
MS virtue itself. But little Inquiry by
Il Times-Dispatch man revealed the fact
that very few deaers in drugs and food
stuffs in this city have, so far. paid any
attention to the act OF Congress. While
every druggists and grocery dealer in
Richmond has been furnished with a
copy of the law, very few OF them have
even taken the time to read 1t.
The drug houses which make and sell
all the way from the Rio Grande to the
Lakes. and from Maine to Florida. certain
proprietary medicines, have studied the
law enough to make 1t medium for
advertising their goods. All the packages
of such medicines that We're put up yes
terday and all that were on hand which
had already been put up. We're adorned
with a neat little ."sticker." which read
about as follows: >Guaranteed under tho
food and drugs act. June 80. 1906" There
was no inside evidence, however, that
any change had taken place in the con-
struction of the drugs and things that
went out under this new "sticker." That
may have meant that the drugs in the
hotties and packages so labeled were al
ready sufficiently conscious Of their mate
purity, and needed no further publication
to meet the demands of the new law.
Practically imperative.
One wholesale druggist, who has a
long list of proprietary. medicines and
who used n million or two more or less,
of these little stickers yesterday, said
he did not think the law amounts to
much, or ever will. as for that matter.
a'At present" said he st is nothing.
Z for there is no way to enforce it. What
would law against hanging amount to
In country where there are no Judges
or juries, and no gallows and no money
ITO obtain any OF these things? Congress
has not made an appropriation to enforce
the law, and. SO far as I know. the gov
eminent has no officers who are willing
TO run around and enforce laws Just for
the fun of It, or for pure patriotism.
Officers want fees for everything they
do.
'.Besides, the government has practi-
cally made the law imperative until next
October, ostensibly to give large dealers
a chance to unload their bad stock, but
sTI%SueSS5 really 10 get lne=lncOnllnR Con-
gress to make an appropriation for the
enforcement OF the law.
s Good Advertisements.
M \. However. one point In the law acts
with the drug and patent medicine peo-
pie like a charm. ] refer TO these little
stickers. They are good ads They are
a. kind OF government endorsement of the
goods in the bottle or package that they
arc stuck on. It Is as cheap advertising
as we could do. One point IN the law,
however, will be u dead letter. 1t re-
gIlires druggists to paste on every pack
n age ana bottle of medicine In his store
\ last night date line, saying that u,pt
bottle or package was ON hand January
1st
ss. !, know that every package OF
medicine 7 make is Just as
ee------- at five years OF age as at FIVE hours
CitI folks who take medicine don't know
s-t. and but few of them believe 1t Is
IpANa. Now. IL the government thinks
fnX going To stamp my goods old age
Il, X, government is very much mistaken
tss5Vrhis wholesaler went on to say that he
I'D not think the law would trouble tht
Eetailers TO any great extent, They buy
s-itlleir proprietary medicines from the
I wfoesaler, and when they come properl!
\ labelled that they have been constructed