The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1913-05-22
FRIEDMANN'S CURE
A Disgraceful Piece of CommerclalIsm


Last November Friedrich Franz
friedman read a paper before the
Berlin Medical Society announcing
| that he had succeeded in producing a
preparation of tubercle bacilli by
which he claimed to be able to pro-
most advanced cases of tuberculosis
and to immunize children against the
disease. Immediately there appear
ed In the newspapers of this country,
and to a less extent in those abl2ad,
sensational accounts of this new
| treatment 1t was lauded as a dis
coyery that was to Danish tuberc1-
losis from the world. This was the
beginning of most remarkable and
disgraceful newspaper exploitation.
This has been kept up until the pres
ent time. AS one looks back one is
forced to the conclusion, says The
Journal of the American Medical As
ISOLATION, that, from the beginning, II
was a premeditated, well-arrange1
| scheme of free advertising. The press
agents of this obscure bacteriologist
certainly have done their work we'll.
Until it was announced that Fried
mann was coming to this country, the
medical profession was generous in
ascribing to newspaper enterprise the
advertising he was receiving; but as
soon as 1t was announced that he was
coming for the million dollars offered
by wealthy philanthropist, many be-
came suspicious. He was a register
ed physician in Germany. with the
right to use his remedy there. The
German government fully secures to a
discoverer by patent a monopoly of
the financial benefits to be derived
from his discovery. Germany Ger
tainly has as many sufferers from tu-
berculoss, in proportion to its popu
lation, as has the United States. If
Friedman has a remedy such as he
claims, he could have secured in his
own country financial returns which
would have made him rich. In spite
of this, he left his own land and came
here; and his actions since he has
been in this country have been such
as to destroy any confidence which
thinking physicians may have had in
the man.
Now it is announced that a deal has
been consummated through which he
is to get large sum of money I'M
mediately, with great prospects for
the future. 1t is safe, therefore, to
conclude that he has realized the ideal
he had in mind when he landed on our
golden shores. Greeted with cour-
teous open mindedness at first, he
seems to have been received with open
arms by shrewd and not too scrupu-
lous promoters who were eagerly
watching for a chance to reap har-
vest in partnership with him. Tn
less there is some totally unforeseen
governmental action, or unless some
well-nigh impossible wave of skepti-
cism sweeps over the land it looks as
though the dollars to be wrenched
from the wasted hands of the tuber-
culous would make harvest which
would exceed the reapings OF all pre-
vious efforts to bunco the sick.
The American medical profession
has listened to the claims of Fried
mann with an open mind. 1t has
waited patiently for him to prove his
claims and to show mis- real intentions.
To wait longer is now unnecessary The
most pressing duty now before ply
sicians is to lay the facts before the
public through the agency by which
Friedman has so shrewdly secured
the free advertising, from which he IS
preparing to reap his golden harvest.
A united movement to warn the peo-
PIC Ou tlio illlpol Ahhb 1NN''''tt 49,
meet with cordial response from this
same agency-the American press.
We can disregard the fact that the
remedy is a secret one; we can is-
more the dishonorable conduct Of
Friedman as Il physician; we can
even forget the possible danger that
lies in his treatment; we can let all
this pass. But one fact stands out
clearly and should be emphasized:
Friedman has presented no proof,
nor evidence, that he has found a cure
for consumption.
THERE'S A LIMIT