The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-11-20
Every Doc Yak In the Country is
Yanked up Today by Postoffice
Authorities for Misuse
Of tho Malls.
In TWENTY TWO STATES
Patent Medicines Which Are Adver.
tised as Cure Ails and Guar
anteed to do Certain
Wonders.

limited Press Leased Wire Servicel
WASHINGTON, Nov 20.-Simultan-
eous arrests of It's manufacturers of
alleged "quack" patent medicines
We're ordered by Postmaster General
Hitchcock today in seventy-two differ
ent cities scattered through twenty
two states. The arrests are the re-
suit of months of investigation by
postoflice inspectors and are aimed at
firms which manufacture medicinal
preparations injurious to the health
and are using the mails. Neither
names of the firms nor their location
were to be made public at the post
office department.
The departments dragnet is out for
every conceivable sort of medical
quack-the specialist maternity
doctors" "healers" and cure vend-
ers. Postmaster General Hitchcock
has been accommodating evidence for
months. 1t was understood that chem
lists of the department Of agriculture
have been cooperating in the gather
ing Of evidence for the crusade.
Practically all the indictments, it was
admitted, either charge the sending Of
obscene matter through the mails, or
using the mails to defraud.
The coterie of medical quacks
throughout the country have reaped a
harvest ever since the supreme
court decided the pure. food law could
not be used to prevent the manufac
/ ture Of patent medicines.
1.-The government, which had been
proceeding against takers for mis-
branding their products when they
learned of extravagant claims fol
their curative power, was therefore
powerless. Today's crusade was
new onslaught.
One hundred and seventy-three
warrants were issued, the arrests be-
| ing apportioned among the various
cities as follows: New York q; Chi
cago 9; Buffalo 3; Pittsburgh 7; In
dianapolis S; st. Paul 5; Fort Worth
A. Omaha A; st. Louis 8; Oklahoma
City 5; Portland, Ore, 8; Oakland
Calf, s; Los Angeles, 8; San Jose
4; Mobile, 8; Marietta, Ohio 8; Dal
las, Texas, 8; Denver, 5; Seattle, s;
Spokane, 5; San Francisco. 7.
/ Two each in Memphis, Washington
Albany, Birmingham, Duluth, Winona
Cleveland, Steubenville. San An
tonic, Houston, Topeka, Alameda
New Orleans.
| nno o,ch II NsIppaoDol;c Atlanta
/ Cincinnati, Toledo, ithaca, Galveston
4 Salt Lake City, Elmira, Lancaster
and Pine Bank, Pa; East Orange
/ Cumberland. Charleston and Coium
bia, s. c.; Jacksonville, Fla; Colum
bus, Springfield, Mount Vernon, Day
ton and Convoy. Ohio; Fort Wayne
4 and Terre Haute, Ind; Peoria, Ill.
4 Kalamazoo and Iron River, Mich.
/ Holden, Mo-; Muskogee, Okla; Wich
ita, Kans.; Council Bluffs, Iowa
Beliingham, Crescent and Tacoma
Wash; Sacramento, Peta una, Fres
no and Glendale, Calf
Thirteen In Chicago.
Il CHICAGO, Nov. 20.--In Postmaste
General Hitchcocks war agains
"quacks," thirteen men and womel
were arrested in Chicago. Using tn
mails in the furtherance Of an illega
: business was charged against each.
4 All the persons arrested here wer
arraigned before Commissioner Foot
and furnished bond for $1,000 for thes
appearance for preliminary hearin
within the next ten days.
Gathering Them In.
, OMAHA, Neb., Nov. 20-Thre
, Omaha physicians we're arrested q
!, noon today on warrants similar t
those to be served today upon II
/. doctors In seventy-three cite
: throughout the United States, accor'
! ing to federal authorities here, for
legal use of mails in advertising
!. series OF remedies known as I'll
/ ladies' guaranteed remedies" TE
!. physicians taken into custody here t
e day were B. Pribbenow, w. A. Burk
and Claudius Dibbern.
J. According to secret indictments r
d turned by the federal grand Jury. a
o paratus for causing abortion and a
e companying instructions for its us
e eouched in obscene language, we
(. sent through the mails by the accuse
e physicians. The indictments all
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