Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-06-22
President Urges an Amend
ment to Pure Food Act to
Prohibit Misstatements
and Misbranding.
CALLED FORTH BY
COURT DECISION
Recent Ruling Of Supreme
Tribunal Allowed Claims
OF Impossible Cures to be
Made on Labels.

Washington, d. c., June 21.-ln q
message prepared In New York and
transmitted through the white house
To-Day to congress, President Taft
scathingly arraigned the manufactur-
ers OF what he denounced as danger
GUS drug frauds" and urged congress
TO amend at this session the pure food
ana drug law to strengthen that act In
vital points Of weakness recently
pointed out by decisions OF the United
States supreme court.
President Taft believes that unless
the law is amended forthwith the
country will again be flooded by .in.
furious nostrums" and "cure.alls''
which were common before the pure
food law first was enacted.
The message was transmitted to the
senate and the house.
Representative Sherley OF Kentucky.
already has introduced bill bearing
upon the subject
Tho Presidents Message.
h The presidents message follows In,
part: q
ITO the senate and house Of reprs-
sentatives: 9ls5 81
Your attention is respectfully cail-
ed to the necessity OF passing ct this
session an amendment to the food ana
drugs act ofsJune 80, 1906, which will
supplement existing law and prevent
the shipment In interstate and for
eign commerce and the manufacture
and sale within the territories and the
District of Columbia Of worthless nos
trums labeled with misstatements or
fact as to their physiological action
misstatementss false and misleading
even in the knowledge OF those who
make them.
More tnan 1000 cases have been
prepared for criminal prosecution
against the shippers OF adulterated
and misbranded foods and drugs and
seizures have been made OF moro than
700 shipments Of such articles More
than two-thirds OF these cases have
been begun since March 4, 1909. OF
the criminal cases more than 800 have
terminated favorably to the govern.
ment and of the shipments seized
more than $50 have been condemned.
and either re-labeled or destroyed. In
every case in which the food seized
was deleterious to health, 1t was Dc.
strOyed. A large number OF cases are
now pending
An evil which menaces the general
health Of the people strikes 1T the
life of the nation. In my opinion. the
sale Of dangerously adulterated drugs,
and the sale Of drugs under knowingly
false claims as to their effect In dis
ease, constitutes such an evil as war.
rants me In calling the matter to the
attention of congress.
Quack Cures Condemned.
"The labels OF many Of these so
called cures indicated their use for
diseases OF children. They were not
only utterly useless in the treatment
of the disease but in many cases were
injurious. II any of these statements
had been true, no one with. access to
the remedies which bore them need
have died from any cause other than
accident or old age.
Unfortunately, the statements were
not true. The shameful fact is that
those who deal in such preparations
know they are decefving credulouE and
ignorant unfortunates who suffer from
some Of the greatest ills to which the
flesh of this day is subject. No physi.
clan of standing In his profession. no
matter to what school OF medicine he
may belong, entertains the slightest
idea that any OF these preparations
will work the wonders promised on
the labels.
/ fear IL no remedial legislation bo
granted at this session, that the good
which has already been accomplished
in regard to these nostrums will be
undone, and the people Of the country
VIII be deprived OF powerful safe
guard against dangerous frauds.
"The statute can be easily amend
ed. to include the evil have describ-
ed. recommend that this be done at 4
once as matter of emergency"
The message was called for by Z
recent supreme court decision 4 ch
ruled that manufacturer could al
ly label q nostrum as cure for> bn-
sumption even though he failed to
establish the curative qualities OF his
medicine, so long as the label COM
piled with the law in publishing truth.
fully the chemical contents OF the
remedy"
New Portuuuese President a,