Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1914-12-02
DEFENDS POPULAR REMEDIES
Speaker Says Newspapers Should In
vestigate Merits of Medicines Be-
fore Barring Advertiser ents.

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 adveT-
Using of such medicines. was the
charge made by Carl ]. Balliett. OF
Buffalo. n Y. at the conventio- of the
Advertising Affiliation 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
Mr. Balliett pointed out that II is
the duty Of the newspaper publisher
to refuse the advertising OF any fake
or fraudulent medicine, just as II Is
his duty to refuse any fake or fraudu-
lent advertising. but ii is not right to
shut down on all medical advertising
because there have been some takers.
any more than 1t would be right to
refuse to publish all department store
advertising because certain stores
nave made a practice of lying about
bargain sales.
Disease and death are mysteries.
PEOPLE who are perfectly well are
skepucal. They laugh at the time
worn patent medicine joke. just as
they laugh again and again over the
many variations OF tho 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 a Sc
hn
wants medicine, and will bless the
cure whether it 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 il.
Mr.. Balliett refuted the idea sought
to be spread about that patent med-
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 Tie showed that. al.
though the American Medical Associ-
alton is trying as an organization 10
e1ferminate sO-called patent medi-
cines, the family doctor. individually,
Is not lighting them but prescribing
them. He estimated that 1870 OF the
prescriptions written by doctors today
include proprietary medicines
The writings Of Or. Harvey w. WI
ley. he said, have also aimed 70 de-
FtrOy 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 n preparation as being danger
Gus TO health. and was ingloriously
walloped.
There has been spread the idea that
n clever faker can mix few useless
ingredients and. by smart advertising.
sell tons Of II 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 It. there have been "A hundred fail
ures. Any medicine which has no
merit cannot live. because persons
who are duped into buying It once will
not buy IL again. and the profit from
advertising medicine can only come
from repeat sales TO the same, salts
fed people. Therefore, any medicine
which has been on the market for a
number Of years and Is still adver-
tised. must have merit behind 10 to ac-
count for its success.
In conclusion Mr.. Balliett declared
that no newspaper is doing justice to
its readers I'm the matter OF medical
or other advertising. unless II investi-
gates. net only the wording OF the sd-