The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-08-24
DOCTORS AND MEDICINES.

We used to know doctor of the old school
who, when called upon to prescribe for any in
his neighborhood, unless unmstakable signs of the
ague malaria were present, invariably gave a
dose which he described, in strictest confidence,
of course. as "nonharmless and non-tasteless" and
awaited developments. If the patient got well, as
he usually did, the doctors fee was small and was
easily collected. If the patient failed to improve,
his medicine took on a SAVIOR, and the size of the
dose increased in proportion to its nastiness, al
ways retaining the merit of mon harmlessness."
He was good doctor, and he was honored and
loved by wide constituency. He was present at
about every birth in the county for forty years.
and he reduced about every fracture and sewed
up about every cut and dressed about every wound
Day and night, rain or shine in the coolest win
ter weather or the sufocating heat of the dog
days. he was at the call of any and all within his
jurisdiction. And, be it said people there mostly
outlived the allotted three score years and ten.
The worthy doctor passed away at "a years, and
he had the largest funeral ever known in the vii
lage which had been his home most of his life.
Quinine and caomel were his sovereign rene
dies, besides his ''non-harmless" mixtures, and
if they had curative qualities at least were GER
tain not to impair the hardy constitutions of his
patients.
Assisting the doctor a great many ''home
cures" known to our mothers and grandmothers.
Goose grease, sage and mullen tea, little sui
phur for the blood, Glove bitters, few drops of
which in sweetened hot water brought smile to
many a boys face and comfort to his stomach,
these and others saved many life before the doc
tor arrived and eficacious in some cases
that the same remedies ordered continued
until the recovery was complete. Of course the
wisdom of the doctor was thus proven in the minds
of those who had anxiously watched his coming,
and it cannot be doubted those who had first pre-
scribed felt a sense of their own Importance and
knowledge when their course of treatment was
thus indicated
There are not many of the old school "non-
harmless" doctors left nowadays and the home
remedies celebrated over long period have been
superseded by others which the people have known
very little about until the passage of the pure food
and drug act. That they were intended to super
sede the old home remedies there can be no doubt.
Some of the earlier concoctions, like those of our
forbears were purely vegetable" and, like our old
doctor friends panaceas, were "non-harmless," but
with the added recommendation that they were
pleasant to take"
The favor with which these pleasant to take"
remedies met very attracted the favorable no.
tice of some who recognized the crying need for
blood purifiers and spring tonics and soothing
syrups for fretful children during teething time
and later in life during the green apple season.
ofohla with all
these decoctions as if nightshade and threeleafed
ivy, whisky opium and great many other poisons
are not purely vegetable" After these came ca
tarrh remedies and consumption cures, and host
of other medicines which purported to cure every
known i'll, and these widely advertised with |
lists of symptoms which, if well person read
them with credulity, impeled him to visit the drug
store to try bottle. The money back if it |
doesn't cure" separated many a man from his |
honest dollar and ''six bottles for S." an unpre-
oedented offer of dollar for nothing, was an in
vitation that man with symptoms" could hardly |
resist
To introduce a new remedy street takers sold |
barrels of medicine at half price with other at
ractive side features which made the medicine
seem almost gift to suffering humanity. By Law
sh advertising in reputable newspapers of testi-
nonials of grateful people who had been cured,
spreading of almanacs, hand bills and circulars
md erecting sign boards along the public high
va. the manufacturers created demand and
quilt up immense businesses and grew rich while
1T the same time dosing gullible public with
nodynes of the most dangerous kinds and instill-
ng desire for drugs which beyond doubt have
placed many deluded victim in his grave.
The cry, Beware of substitutes" in all the ad-
-ertising literature, made it almost impossible for
druggist to warn the purchaser of these decoc-
ions of the danger lurking behind the absolutely
harmless" label with which each one was adorned
The fraud became so amazing that the federal