Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-29

IN AN out of the-way office on the
ground floor Of the Post Office
Departments main building in
L Washington there is a collection
Of the queerest-looking devices i'm
aginable. And no wonder! This is
the headquarters of c. E. Dunbar, ace
inspector for the department. For l6
years his main job has been to wage a
never ending battle against the mail
order quacks whose pink pills, Won
der-working lotions and impressive
looking contraptions bamboozle the
weak the credulous and the inflrm
our of untold millions Of dollars a
year.
There are stretching devices" al
legged to increase wee persons height
3 to 5 inches, weird-looking masks to
be worn over the nose and mouth to
''cure" tuberculosis and rheumatism,
electric belts" sold as sure correc-
tive for liver trouble and paralysis,
medicines for determining whether an
expected baby will be a boy or girl.
gadgets for making lean folks fat and
plump folks thin, skull caps supposed
to be able to grow hair on a bald
spot.
There's even contraption for max
Ing two pounds of butter grow in
place of one pound.
Almost without exception these
masterpieces of charlatanry are either
xx,orf hIaec ~ alec thu c1a ;v,v ~, IA for
them are fantastically exaggerated,
the inspector finds.
Nose-straightening devices have
been sold through the mails on a ire
mendous scale during recent months,
says Inspector Dunbar. Already, he
points out, the department has de-
clared two of the leading manufac-
turers fraudulent and not so long ago
forced out OF business the appliance
institute" with headquarters at Chi
cago.
According to a report made by the
Chicago Better Business Bureau, this
enterprise was a partnership affair
organized in october, 1881.
The device was advertised with the
claim that there were mo confusing
head tapes" although there were, and
that it was automatic" in its adjust
ment, although it wasn't. The device
itself was an affair Of aluminium and
felt. There came with it, of course,
the inevitable mystery element, q
preparing cream" The device proper
Is said to have cost about 40 cents to
make. 1t was sold at first for So, the
price being gradually lowered, as it
became more dificult to find takers,
to IS, then to 81 and finally to 50.
A DVERT1S1NG booklets were sent
out which might lead the gulnble
to believe that with the use of the
device one could change the nose of a
king Kong" into the chastely classic.
Pictures in the booklet showed men
and women with noses that bore bony
humps disappearing after the use of
the Sculptron and giving place to per-
feet Grecian prohles. Ladies with
rather elongated and overlapping pro-
boscides were changed-if the pictures
were to be believed-into visions Of
loneliness.
1T makes no difference what shape
the fieshy contour Of your nose may
be-" the firm proclaimed.
On another page Of the booklet, the
story went that the principle Of the
device "is Endorsed by doctors" There
ne. oI5ad tho f,,rfy,ar oy1,,rip~ ,-o~d &.
Upon the rigid logic of rhino-
plasticolosy (science Of shaping the
nose) are based the principles" of the
device in question.
Foremost members of the medical
profession indorse these principles in
the highest terms" it said.
THE science of rhinoplastics is not
2 In the experimental stage. 1t Is firmly
established, with . vast background
of thrilling accomplishments"
There are testimonials, Of course,
one of the most remarkable being
credited to q Miss r. B. Of Memphis,
Tenn, who gushes her appreciation
of the rapid work that the Sculptron
will do in these words:
AFTER the second night Of wearing
the Sculptron. I simply can't keep
from writing you how thrilled am.
At the present rate think am
going to have perfect nose in less
than q week. Isn't that marvelous?"
In due time the postal authorities
got around to the institute" and .
memorandum Of charges was fur