Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-07-28
CURES
MOST ALL FAKES
Department. of Agriculture
Warns Against Allur-
ing Promises.

Numerous inquiries received re-
Gently by the U. S. department of ag-
riculture indicate that promoters of
so-called obesity remedies and fat re-
ducing cures are using an old trick
dressed in new clothes to deceive fat
people into spending money for worth
less or dangerous preparations. The
advertisements appeal to the vanity
of people who wish to regain graceful
figures and also to the business neces-
stiles of those who become so fat that
they can no longer do their work eff
ficiently.
In order to be able to give def
mite reply to many people inquiring
about specific remedies. the drug spe-
cialists of the bureau of chemistry re-
Gently conducted a series of tests with
a number of nostrums of this charac-
ter on employees in the department
who wished to lose surplus flesh with
out injuring their health. One of the
most widely advertised so-called pre-
scriptions for reducing flesh was tried
for a period of six months. The re-
suit was that two of the subjects un-
der experimentation were obliged to
stop after taking the medicine for two
or three weeks because of its injuri-
GUS effect The third subject gained
. 1-2 pounds instead of losing flesh.
Another of the so-called remedies of a
great obesity specialist" was tried.
The subject scrupulously followed the
diet list accompanied this remedy and
faithfully carried out the system of
exercise recommended. After six
months treatment there was a reduc-
ton of Is pounds of flesh but this the
experimenters attribute to the fact
that the subject ate no bread, butter,
starchy food, pastry, sugar or candy
while under observation. The first
month after disseminating the treat
ment the subject gained 10 pounds,
and in three months was back to the
original weight recorded at the be-
ginning of the treatment.
AIIuring Circulars.
The circulars, letters and other an
of these so-caIled obes-
ity remedies, which are published
broadcast, in many cases asserted
that -two-cent stamp is the only
Those ending the two-cents
to the supposed philanthropist, who
wishes to help other sufferers to get
rid of surplus flesh, commonly receiv- |
ed a statement that the physician or
professor" discovered this remedy in !
the wilds of some foreign country or
received it from some famous Indian |
medicine man on his deathbed. Then |
after due praise of the effectiveness |
Of the remedy the professor" states |
that he is willing to supply this won |
derful treatment for a fee of from SIS |
TO S25 month. If the prospective pa |
tent does not answer Immediately he |
is besieged with a line of follow-up |
letters, and finally as a great individ- |
1al favor he is told that he can OBJ /
tain this marvellous guaranteed flesh |
for the sum of $3.50. In re- |
turn for the reduced price, however, |
the patient must agree to tell all his /
Tat friends about this wonderful /
means of shedding avoirdL pois
Judging from the letters received |
by the department of agriculture ap-
oealing to it to stop this practice I'M
Ter the Food and Drugs Act, women |
are usually the victims of these PRO
lessons" Much of the literature con- |
aims alleged statements of some in
iividuals woman's thrilling expert
ence in fat-forming and fat-reducing.
and this makes the situation seem
zeal and personal to the other wo-
men. Cases are on record where wo- I
men have parted with almost their
asst dollar in the hope of improving /
heir figures, and have awaited results
With anticipation that makes their
alter disappointment almost pathetic.
rhe strong feature of most of the lit
'rature is that no dieting is neces-
AIRY; the medicine is to do II all and
he patient is told that he can eat all |
lie wants and as often as he wishes,