The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1914-12-03
DEFENDS POPULAR REMEDIES
Speaker Says Newspapers Should In.
vestlgate 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 ndveT.
Using OF such medicines. was the
charge made by Carl j. Balliett. Of
Buffalo, y. y, at the convention of the
Advertising Aniliation ut Detroit.
Mr.. Balliett II q director OF the Pro.
prietary Association Of America, which
includes In IT, membership two hun.
dred firms which make the popular
prepared medicines OF America.
MIR. Balllett pointed out that II Is
the duty o. the newspaper publisher
to refuse the advertising OF any fake
or fraudulent medicine, Just AZ II IL
his duty 10 refuse any fake or fraudu.
lent advertising but II In o right TO
shut down on all medical advertising
because there have been some takers.
any more than II would be right to
refuse 10 publish all department store
advertising because certain stores
have made Il practice Of wing about
bargain sales.
Disease and death are mysteries.
People who are perfectly well are
skeptlcai They laugh az the time.
I patent medicine Joke. Just az
they laugh again and again over the
many variations OF the operation Joke
The operation was u success but
the patient died This s@o.caIlpd hu.
NOR has perhaps hart ~" medicine
business with well people. but when
the hitherto healthy man feels a SCI.
we're pain or Illness hr Immediately
wants medicine. and will bless the
cure whether II b, a. the hands of a
regular doctor a h]om"opa'h. an os,oo.
path, a Christian Scientist or patent
medicin" There is nothing more
deadly than disease. nothing more
honorable than e. cur" n.
Mr. Ha!lioit ro.u'od the idea sought
10 b." spread about that patent mnli.
rinos ar" unpcrlia. by showing tha.
from 1900 20 1872 the amount Of pre-.
pared medicines consumed IN America
Increased from 500. 600 600 to sIGO..
100000 annually. ~" showed that. NJ.
though the American Medical Nssocl.
alton Is trying a. an organization TO
oNt"rminat" so called patent medi
cinos, the family doctor. individually,
Is not fighting them but prescribing
them. He estimated that SOC. OF the
prescriptions written by doctors today
include proprietary medicines.
The writings Of Or. Harvey W. WI.
ley. he said. have also aimed to de.
stroy confidence in proprietary modi.
cInes: but that Ur. Wilev's ideas arc
not infalliblc II shown hv cases where
his analyses were entirely wrong. Mr..
Ra'liett mentioned a case where. with
al the power OF the Government. he
fought a preparation as being danger.
Gus TO health, and was l~ngloriously
wallOpod
Th,re has been spread the idea that
q clever iak"r can mix a few useless
Ingredients and by smart advertising.
sell o ~ 10 and win sudden wealth:
whereas, as n matter Of fact. the medi.
cine business Is uotOriously d%ificult.
and, whore there has been one SUCCESS
at II, there hay" bccn n hundred fail.
ures. ANY medicine which has no
merit cannot live, because persons
who are duped into buying It once will
not buy II again, and the profit from
advertising a medicine can only come
from repeat sales Ia the same, salts.
fled people, Therefore. any medicine
which has been on the market for n
number OF years, and Is still adver.
tised. must have merit behind Il to ac.
count for It's success.
In conclusion Mr. Balllett declared
n a no newspaper Is doing Justice TO
It's readers In the matter Of medical
or other advertising. unless II inyes,i.
gates. not only the wording OF the al.
rertisem"nt Offered for publication.
but the merits OF the article adver.
tised, He pointed O that the few
newspapers who have been doluded
into the policy OF barring out medical
advertising have adopted this general
policy. rather than 10 form an inves.
tigation bureau Of this Kind which
could In II constructive and useful If.
Tort, Investigate and decide what IL
a good product and what Is n fraud.
In not only the medicine business. but
Ia every other business which adyer.
tlses its wares TO the public,
The audience seemed TO agree with
Mr., Balliett's Ideas on the subiec. and
the chairman decided the question az
Issue In his favor.