The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-12-14
SOOTHING SYRUP NO LONGER soOTHEs
 FORSOOTH

l short chapter in the history of familiar "soothng syrup" shows how much popular education and public opinion can accomplish even when the laws of the country are lax or what Is worse, written to suit tho purposes of the makers and vendors of habit forming drugs.
 For many years the kick" in this particular patent medicine" was morphine. Each spoon. ful contained enough morphine to quiet the most annoying infant if the loving parent or about 1t and gave the baby several spoonfuls in a short time. 1t sometimes put the nuisance to sleep eternally.
 In the era, when the soothing syrup" tained morphine it's principal ingredient. along with a dash of alcohol and odds and ends of laxative and carminative drugs all of | which was good legitimate murdering business in Yankeeland the laws of Great Britain re- quired medicines containing morphine to be labelled Poison"
 Of course the Poison" label on the "soothing syrup" put crimp in the salse of the product over there So the firm having charge of British sales took the morphine out of the formula and substituted bromide of potash, which did not require the Poison la bel In America the nostrum still contained morphine, which tender hearted Uncle Sam pretended was rather good for the babies. | All the while a faint voice was crying in the wilderness and what a thick wilderness 1t was! At length q national weekly magazine caught the feeble sound of 1t and gave it Il booster. Then number of lesser mediums | joined in on the exposure game. Presently drug stores here and there began to refuse to | handle the dope.
 This was the most unkind cut the soothing syrup people had felt. But by gosh they knew how to meet every contingency. When the druggists began to go back them they promptly took the morphine out of the stuff | here in free country, and lest people would not learn about this noble sacrifice they even | began calling attention to the fact that the soothing syrup no longer contained morphine or other opiates. And this made them feel so good that they eventually removed the alcohol from the soothing syrup formula. To-day the medicine is just mixture of simple laxatives | CarminatiVpS CarminltiVe medicine which purports to expe gas from the alimentary canal and to relieve "colic," such as peppermint, turpentine, anise cloves. or what have you in the house. The truth Is that these irrtants probably cause more dis 1 comfort than they relieve. "Colc" in infants Is a more or less apocryphal condition that seems to prevail inversey as the intelligence and common sense of parents. and doctors.
 Customers above the moron grade have mo- ticed that all of the old reliable "cures' have quit pretending to be cures in recent years, at least the label. Well, for the reason, that is public opinion, not the trick laws of the land the last indignity has been heaped upon this once famous "soothing syrup" The word 'soothing" has been dropped from the name. And that's the truth
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 Attention Cooks
 Once you gave recipe for bran gems which you challenged readers to improve upon. submit my recipe. and I'm willing to my gems alongside of yours to the hired man or any other competent critic. (Mrs F.. H)
 Answer-Youre on. Now then, first let me repeat my recipe, praying to heaven the print erS won't nj it:
 | Butter. size of walnut, melted
 TcaCupful white flour. | Teacupful wheat bran. | Teacupful sweet milk. | Teaspoonful baking powder. l Tablespoon old-fashioned molasses Classes without sulphur doxide). The molasscs may be increased or omitted as preferred. | Bake in gem tins. | Now Mrs K. HIS gems: | One-half cup sugar. | Butter, size of walnut melted | Cupful thick sour milk.
 One-half teaspoon soda mixed in tie sour milk.
 Pinch of salt, mixed with the creamed butter and eugar.
 Cupful wheat bran
 | Make as fruit cake only not too stiff. | I cannot guarantee Mrs F. HIS recipe-in | fact I suspect she has forgotten to put any flour in her gems. However, she's the cook out. If anybody gets anything better than mine ie' me know and I'll drop around and teGt your entry.
 This Is No Joke | Your articles contain a fund of Information as well as dry humor which is rare pnong doe tors. 1 suppose doctors carry around with them secrets too grave Co allow of much incrrlnscnt. You speak of chemical Obiitcrntl0n of ynricosc veins. Come. now. Doctor. what n,cancth tils mysterious phrase? Many of iis sufferers would like Co know. (B q. B) | Answcr--It is a wonder a family physician can snap out of n and be cheerful at times. seldom enjoyed a laugh when l. was an honest doctor. The chemical oblitcrntlon of vnricose veins means n gradual shrivclling or drying up of the vein. which K produced by injection Of sugar solution or salt solution. Any good d0c- | tor anywhere can thus relieve sufferers in hts office without dotaining them from their usual occupation.
 ] (copynght John r. DlIe Col