egislative
enactment that would wipe out forever the whole infamous business. No
spasmodic or localized effort will ever succeed against this public
enemy. Its very strength is the people whom it dupes and despises,
because they supply the money with which the patent medicine combine
fights its battles.

It has been estimated that three hundred millions of dollars are spent
annually on patent medicines and fake medical cures in the United
States. Three hundred million dollars fraudulently obtained every year,
mostly from the poor, is surely a subject deserving of honest and
careful consideration.

The pure food and drug act compelled the manufacturers of patent
medicines to publish the formulae of their remedies on their labels. This
is a big step in the right direction. Many States have helped the
propaganda in one way or another, but much remains to be done. When the
formulae were demanded it was discovered that all nostrums belonged to a
certain class. For example it was found that the soothing syrups--which
are fed to babies--all contained opium in some form, or an equally
dangerous drug. The headache remedies were all dangerous, every one of
them containing ingredients which affect the heart seriously. The
so-called tonics owed their chief virtue to their stimulating effect,
which was due to the alcohol they contained and which in many instances
practically equaled ordinary whisky in quality, quantity, and effect.

It has been authoritatively stated that more alcohol is consumed in this
country in patent medicines than is dispensed in a legal way by licensed
liquor venders, barring the sale of ales and beer.

Many so-called remedies were found to contain absolutely no medication
at all. They were simply sugar, or starch, or some harmless substance.
But they were being sold to cure anything from kidney disease to cancer.
It was an astonishing revelation and in a way it showed how far men will
go to attain financial success.

A well-known tonic was at the time of the investigation one of the most
prominent proprietary nostrums in the country. The actual cost including
bottle, label, contents, and packing is between fifteen and eighteen
cents. It costs in the drug store $1.00 per bottle. It was found to
contain alcohol and water and a pinch of burnt sugar for coloring
purposes, and one-half of one per cent. of mild drugs. It was claimed
that it would cure all or any of the diseases listed in the book, and
that l