The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1915-04-22
tuberculosis Remedies" That are
Worthless

UuI knE09
Washington, D. C.-Aiter invest
igating under the Food and Drug
Act, large number Of preparation
advertised as consumption cures, tht
Department OF Agriculture has no
been able to discover any that can il
any sense be regarded as cures" iol
tuberculosis. Some contain drug:
that may at times afford some temper,
ary relief from the distressing symp'
toms OF the disease, but this is all
Since the passage Of federal Legislation
prohibiting the shipment in inter
state commerce Of medical preparations
for which false cr fraudulent claims are
made, there cas- been a marked tend
ency to label there preparations rem
edies" instead OF cures" or "infal'
lible cures" as they used to be called,
In many cases, however they can not
even be regarded as remedies.
A cherry balsam," for the cure"
OF consumption" and hemorhage o,
the lungs, which it was represented
would strike at the very root Of the
disease" was found on analysis to be
nothing but a solution in water and
alcohol Of opium, sugar, benzalde
hyde, inorganic salts and coloring
matter. 1t contained no cherry bark
extract or balsam
A more elaborate cure consisted Of
FIVE different preparations which the
credulous patient was to take separate
lY. These were first, the medicine
proper, the essential ingredients Of
which were found to be morphine,
cinnamic acid and arsenic-not very
safe mixture to take habitually; second
a tonic which was supposed to con
tain iron but did not; third, cough
mixture made up Of alcohol, chloro'
form, and codeine which is derivat
i've Of opium or morphine; fourth, a
mixture which nontained some quinine
and solution OF water and alcohol;
and fifth, codeine tablets. Even the
strongest constitution could hardly
stand a prolonged course OF such
a treatment.
In the marketing Of such prepara-
tiops considerable ingenuity is fre-
quently shown. One Of the main
objects is to persuade the patient
that he is receiving at a comparative
ly low price, the individual attention
OF trained specialist. For this pur'
pose symptom blanks are employed.
These contain question about the
patients symptoms, the number vary
ing from dozen or so to as many as
10 or co. The patient is led TO be-
lieve that the information which he
furnishes in reply TO these questions,
will be carefully considered before any
medicine is prescribed for him, though
every physician knows that an accu-
rate diagnosis cannot possibly be
made in this wav. As matter OF
fact none is attempted End the degree
OF attention which these individual
reports receive Can be measured by
the fact that cases have come under
the observation Of the department
in which mail order concerns doing a
business Of this kind have received as
many as 1000 letters day.
After she patient has submitted his
diagnosis report he is urged 10 pur'
chase supply Of the medicine. If
he does so, he is then urged to pur'
chase more. II he states that he has
experienced no beneficial effects his is
totd that he has not taken enough,
and this process is likely to continue
until the limits OF his credulity have
been reached. II, on the other hand,
he decides at the beginning not to
purchase the medicine it is likely 10
be offered to him at successfully
lower price until he is at last induced
to believe that he cannot afford to ig
more such blrgain. This is carried
tt extent that a treatment,
ice Of which is SIS,
.the end o. six months
rof fact the successful
u tuberculosis requires
than the mere giving Of
apd ,on,aoyar u,b,t ,,;jl