The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-05-09
FAKE ''CDREs"
ARE SHOWN Up
BY DEPARTMENT
Federal Authorities Warn Peo-
pie against Certain Medl-
cines for tuberculosis.

| WASHINGTON. May S.-Af1er in
| vestigating under the food and drugs
/ act q large number OF preparations
advertised as consu:rp ion cares. me.
!. United States Department o? Agrscn1-l
! ture has rot been abe 10 discover
any thac can in any sense be regarded
! as cures" for tuberculosis. Some
contain drugs that may at times al
lord some temporary relief from the
I dist1 essing symptoms OF the disease,
but this is all. Since the passage OF
! federal legislation prohsbiting the
ID .pment IN Interstate commerce Or
I medicinal preparations for when
false and fraudulent claims are made
! there has been a marked tendency 10
! label these preparations remedies
cures" as they used 10 be called In
many cases. however. they can not
even be regarded as remedies.
No Extract or Balsam.
4 cherry haIsarn." for example. for
the cure or consumption" and
| @hemorrhage of the lungs. which i:
was represented would strike at the
very root or the disease" was found
on analysis 10 be nothing but solu-
igioa in water and alcohol OF opium.
sugar. benzaldehyde. inorganic salts.
and coior:ng matter. II contained no
cherry bark extract or balsam.
A more elaborate cure" consisted
of Ave different preparations which
the creduIous patient waste take sep
arateIy These were first, the medi-
cine proper, the essential ingredients
of which weres found 10 be morphine,
cinnamic ac;d and arsenic-not very
safe mixture 10 take haoitually; sec
ond, a tonic which was supposed to
contain iron but did not; third.
cough mixture made up of alcohol,
| chioroform and codeine, which is
| derivative of opium or morphine:
I fourth. a mixture which contained
some quinine and a solution of water
| and alcohol: and fifth. codeine tab
| lets Even the strongest constitution
| could hardly stand prolonged course
| OF such a treatment.
Ingenuity Shown.
| In the marketing of such prepare
tons considerable Ingenuity IS fire.
] orently shown One of the main OBJ
! jects is 10 persuade the patient that
| he IS receiving, at comparatively
| low price, the individual attention OF
| a trained specialist. For this pur-
pose. symptom blanks are employed
/; These contain a number OF questions
l about the patients symptoms. the
Z NSTstuS a oocSA ~ -
! 10 as many as 20 or so. The patient
! Is led to believe that the Information
which ne furnishes in reply to these
questions viii be carefully considered
I before any medicine is prescribed for
I him. though every physician knows
I that an accurate diagnosis can not
{ possibly be made N this way. As a.
matter of fact none is attempted and
the degree of attention which these
individual reports receive can be
+ measured by the fact that cases have
I come under the observation OF the
I department in which mail order con-
!: Germs doing a business Of this kind
have received as many as 1000 letters
a day.
I Urged TO Buy More.
! After the patient has submitted his
diagnosis report he is urged TO pur-
chase a supply OF The medicine II
he does So he is then. urged TO pur-
chase more II he states that he has
experienced no beneficial effects, he
ia told that ne has not taken enough.
and this process IS likely TO continue
until the limits OF his creduI;tv have
been reached If. on the other hand.
ne decides at the beginning not 10
purchase the medicine. it is likely 20
be offered to him at successfully lower
prices until he is al last induced to
believe that he can not afford, 10 ig-
more such bargain. This is carried
10 such an extent that treatment"
the original price OF which IS $2S. may
be offered ar the end OF six months
Cor $50.
7 Requires More.
A. matter Of fact the successful
: treatment OF tuberculosis requires
much more than the mere giving. OF
m edicsne and. moreover. what VIII
&; help one case VIII not necessarily
help another Claims that are abso-
/ iuteIy unwsrranted are no longe: ne--
I r,i+ted on the labels OF medicines ship
ped in interstate commerce, but tie
wording may be such as 20 convey a
misleading impression without the use
or absolute statements. Thus :aese
preparations continue to ind sale
despite the fact that Eftie trouble
on the part OF the prospective pur-
chaser VIII reveal their worthless
ness.
! European Russia has the highest
birth rate of any country in the
world: France the lowest