New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-28
4 DAYS TO LICK
100000 STAMPS
$50 Men of Health Staff
Begin Enforcing Drug
Labelling Code.
SECRET FORMULAS
ARE ORDERED FILED
Proprietary Interests Declare
They VIII Fight First Case
Prosecuted.

Can $50 inspectors of the Department
OF Health label 100000 bottles and
packages of patent medicines in four
days?
That was the task that confronted
the inspectors. physicians and nurses
that went forth yesterday morning with
100000 labels bearing the inscription,
"In Stock Dec 81. 1915, D. H., y. I. c.
To complete the task each INSPECTOR
must place 1000 labels day until New
Years Day.
These inspectors are the SIX rmlsn
line in ;he Board Of Health's winter
campaign against patent medicines.
The new order Of the Sanitary Code,
after being once postponed. has with
stood all efforts OF the patent medicine
men to get a second postponem,nt. II
goes into effect January !.
This order requires that the ingredi-
ents Of every patent medicine sold IA
the city after December 81 shall either
be stamped in plain English on the
label or filed with tho Board Of Health.
ANY patent medicines on hand IN retail
drug stores are not to be affected BY
this order. and the 100000 labels are
10 d stinguish the medicines now IN
stock. The stamps are registered, and
care is being exercised that pack
ages of labels shall be left in the
hands of druggists who might Lse them
at a later date. Patent medicine firms
and manufacturers from all over the
world are scrambling in last minute
rush TO get their goods Registered
with the Health Department before
January J.
The druggists are all taking the in
convenience which the stamping is
causing them with good nature, and. az
one inspector said. they are helping
us with their clerks, else we ould
never get this done by the New Year
The stamping of patent medici.es IN
Riker g. Hegeman's, at 200 Broadway,
will be no small task. for about l2,OOO
stamps will have 10 be placed.
That this action of the Board Of
Health will precipitate war between
the department and the patent medicin"
men is frankly admitted by all. The
fight will be watched by every depart
ment of health in the United States. for
il is the first real showdown in forty
years fight for formula disclosure.
Louisiana has law somewhat SINH
lar to the New York City law, which
was due to 20 into effect September IS.
1915, but was postponed to November
Is. and then allowed TO become dead
letter
A prominent wholesale drug dealer
Yesterday unlocked a drawer and drew
from il a small stack Of letters from
druggi SITS. patent medicine men AMI
proprietary associations. From those
YOU will see" he said. that the pro-
prietary men will fight this order OF
the Board Of Health TO the last shrap-
mel. The services Of counsel are re-
tanned and funds are sufficient. As
soon as there is fair case in which
a retail druggist is prosecuted by the
Board Of Health for selling an article
that neither has its ingredients labelled
in English on the bottle. nor registered
with the department. the proprietary
interests will make test of the case.
"The fight will be made on the
grounds Of constituti onalty, the right
OF any legislative action TO deprive any
man Of his property rights. IL IS the
purpose to obtain a temporary inlunc-
ton. which. if made permanent, will
tie the order up in the courts"
The retail druggist. meanwhile. vii
half-heartedlv be strictly neutral
but this will be difficult task. said ono
druggist last night, when it is remem-
bered that SO per cent Of our business
is In patent medicines. and that some
Of these that sell for 81 arc worth less
than a 2-cent postage stamp