The Daily Alaska empire., 1950-06-08
LOCAL PLANT MAY
 RE RAW MATERIAL
 FOR NEW MEDICINE
150,000 Pounds of False HeIIebore 10 Be Gafh-
 cred, Chamber Told

A large-leafed forest plant foun' in the Juneau area may be the ray material from which new drug Veriloid will be produced.
 This was announced at the noor meeting of the Chamber of Com merce today by pr. P. K. Bates O the Reiker Laboratories, subsi diary of the Rexall Drug Company
 The plant is false hellebore, ant is found in the moist soils O Southeast Alaska.
 Although the extracts from tho local plant have yet to pass striHl- gent tests under the Food and Drug Act, Dr. Bates company is SC confident that it will prove sate'- factory that l50,000 pounds of dried hellebore root will be produced here.
 Dr. Bates would not reveal the use of the drug extracted from the root, but said it is being tested as a remedy in an illness affecting
 
 one out of every 10 persons in the United States. He said the root extract has proved successful in about one-half of the cases treated.
 The Forest Service here first brought to the attention of the scientists the fact that the plant grew in this vicinity. For test purposes, 1000 pounds of the rcot found in the Juneau area was sent to the Reiker Laboratories last summer
 Extracts from the root is Of a species of veratrum and is found in the eastern United States; had been tested and found satisfactory, but the product Of the Alaskan variety has proved to be sigh-y different.
 We had hoped to be able to produce more than 150,000 pounds of the root here "; season, but since the differences have been found we must cut back on the extent of our 'ante,'" Dr. Bates said.
 Joe Smith, a local lumberman, will be in charge of producing the raw material in Alaska. He said after the meeting today that any one will be able to dig the root.
 The root-digging program will be announced sometime next week, Smith said. Diggers will have to clear with Smith, who will tell them where to work, because tie Forest Service is limiting the areas in which the root can be taken from the ground.
 Smith said the root gather cd will be ki1n-dried.
 Lemke Bill Opposed
 Opposition to the Lemke bill, a measure which would grant vet erans more than 1000 acres of Alaska land, was apparent today when the Chamber passed unani- mously a resolution which will oe forwarded to the Senate committee on Interior and Insular affairs.
 The committee is to consider the bill in the near future. It has been passed by the House of Rep resentatives already.
 Norman Banfield, Juneau attor- ney, drew up the resolution op- posing the bill and presented 1t to the Chamber. He termed the bill piece of vicious legislation"
 Kenneth Kadow, Interior De- partment official, called attention to the Congressional Record anc said that the opposition to the bill failed to get its point over during the hearings in the House. He said 50 persons had spoken in favor of it and four against it.
 Mayor Waino Hendrickson saio that none of those favoring the bill at the hearings were iron Alaska.
 'It is just another case of long distance government" he said.
 Banfield said that the Juneal American Legion post will enter tain a resolution opposing the bil when it meets Monday night, ant it was decided to send a copy O. the Chambers resolution to tn .,atoro,c, orro,,;1oti10e l,oro