The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 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. Baillett, OF
Buffalo, N Y, at the convention OF the
Advertising Afiliation at Detroit
Mr.. Balliett is a 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 81
Mr. Balliett pointed out that n
the duty of the newspaper pupllen
to refuse the advertising Of anN ia1Te
or fraudulent medicine, just as lt, is
his duty to refuse any fake or fraucu-
lent advertising. but 1t is not right to
shut down on all medical advertising
because there have been some takers.
any more than it 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 hu-
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 it be at the hands of a
regular doctor, a homeopath, an osteo-
path, a Christian Scientist or patent
medicine. There is nothing more
deadly than disease; nothing more
honorable than to cure it.
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 s100,O0O,OOO 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 40Go 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 that
a clever faker can mix a few useless
ingredients and, by smart advertising,
sell tons of it and win sudden wealth;
whereas, as matter of fact, the medi-
cine business is notoriously difficult,
and, where there has been one success
at it, there have been a hundred fail
ures. Any medicine which has nc
merit cannot live, because persons
who are duped into buying it once will
not buy 1t again, and the profit frol
advertising a medicine can only con
from repeat sales to the same, sat
fed people. Therefore, any medic
which has been on the market (;
number Of years, and is still adj
tised, must have merit behind it t4
count for its success.
In conclusion Mr.. Balliett dec
that no newspaper is doing jusX.,s
its readers in the matter of Id.ht
or other advertising, unless it
gates, not only the wording of
vertisement offered for pus
but the merits OF the art
tised. He pointed out tb}
newspapers who have bg
into the policy OF barring @"o fourth
advertising have adoptef "x "'s"'
policy, rather than to-
tigation bureau OF u.nae u".n.s ~
could, In a constructz
fort, investigate anf-
a good product anLkN SrAR
in not only the medis Meets 6r,t and
in every other businA.n first meet,ps
tises it's wares to thes
The audience eemtswosthy MAtros
Mr.. Ballietts ideas on Seeretary
the chairman decided
, issue in his favor