The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1914-11-14
DEFENDS POPULAR REMEDIES
Speaker Says Newspapers Should In
vestigate Merits Of Medicines Be-
fore Barring Advertisements.

That an organized attempt has been
made to blacken the reputation of the
popular family remedies of this coun-
try, and to mislead the newspaper
publishers into rejecting the adver-
Using of such medicines, was the
charge made by Carl J. Balliett, of
Buffalo, n. Y, at the convention of the
Advertising Affiliation at Detroit
Mr.. Balliett is director of the Pro
prietary Association of America which
includes in its membership two hun
dred firms which make the popular
prepared medicines of America
Mr.. Balliett pointed out that it is
the duty of the newspaper publisher
to refuse the advertising of any fake
or fraudulent medicine just as it is
his duty to refuse any fake or fraudu-
lent advertising, but it is not right to
shut down on all medical advertising
because there have been some takers,
any more than ii would be right to
refuse TO publish all department store
advertising because certain stores
have made a practice of lying about
bargain sales.
Disease and death are mysteries.
People who are perfectly well are
skeptical They laugh at the time
worn patent medicine joke, just as
| they laugh again and again over the
many variations of the operation joke
/ The operation was a success but
the patient died" This so-called hui
NOR has perhaps hurt the medicine
business with well people, but when
the hitherto healthy man feels Sc
we're pain or illness, he Immediately
wants medicine. and will bless the
cure whether 1t be at the hands of a
regular doctor, homeopath. an Osteo-
path, a Christian Scientist or patent
medicine. There is nothing more
deadly than disease; nothing more
honorable than to cure 1t.
Mr.. Balliett refuted the idea sought
to be spread about that patent medi-
cines are unpopular by showing that
from 1900 to 1912 the amount of pre-
pared medicines consumed In America
increased from 100000, 900 to $780,
100000 annually. He showed that, al
though the American Medical Associ-
alton is trying as an organization to
exterminate so-called patent medi.
cines, the family doctor, individually,
Is not fighting them but prescribing
them. He estimated that 400 Of the
prescriptions written by doctors today
include proprietary medicines.
The writings of DR.. Harvey w. WI
ley, he said, have also aimed to de
stroy confidence in proprietary medi
cines; but that Dr. Wiley's ideas are
not infallible is shown by cases where
his analyses were entirely wrong. Mr.
Balliett mentioned a case where, with
all the power of the Government, he
fought preparation as being danger
GUS to health. and was ingloriously
walloped.
There has been spread the idea tha
a clever faker can mix a few useles.
ingredients and, by smart advertising
sell tons of it and win sudden wealth
whereas, as a matter of fact, the medi
cine business is VIGOROUSLY difficult
and, where there has been one success,
, at 1t, there have been a hundred fail
ures. Any medicine which has N
merit cannot live, because persons
who are duped into buying it once will
: not buy it again, and the profit from
advertising a medicine can only com,
from repeat sales to the same, salts
: fed people. Therefore, any medicin,
, which has been on the market for
| number of years, and is still adver
I tised. must have merit behind 1t to &C
r count for its success.
: In conclusion Mr.. Balliett declare,
) that no newspaper is doing Justice t,
: its readers in the matter of medica
y or other advertising, unless 1t invest
Z gates, not only the wording of the ad
: vertisement offered for publication
e but the merits of the article advel
I tised. He pointed out that the te,
e newspapers who have been delude
] into the policy of barring out medica
e advertising have adopted this genera
< policy, rather than to form an inve.
+ tigation bureau Of this kind whic
8 could, in a constructive and useful e.
e fort, investigate and decide what
0 a good product and what is a FRAUD
s In not only the medicine business, bu
= in every other business which adve
e tises its wares to the public.
n The audience seemed to agree wit
Mr.. Balliett's ideas on the subject an
the chairman decided the question 9
issue in his favor.