40 



and a cough in most instauces is simply an effort on nature's part to get 

 rid of some irritating material. When we get a particle of food into 

 the windpipe we cough until it comes up, but when the cough is due to 

 the inhalation of a mass of irritating dust particles we (that is, some of 

 us) use a "cough cure." 



"With the active cause, the infected dust, so plentifully present and 

 with a frequent reaction or effect, that is the presence of an ailment, we 

 have hence another effect: a large variety of nostrums or patent medi- 

 cines—to counteract the reaction due to inhaling infected dust. In ad- 

 vertising these the long list of names given above is used. Usually some 

 one name is given in large t.vpe. followed by several others in smaller 

 type and from time to time there is a shifting, one of the synonyms in 

 the small type will lie advanced to head the list. There are several sets 

 of these words or names, depending on the part of the liody where the 

 symptoms of the dust infection are mainly localized. If, for instance the 

 pain is mainly in the back, the chief word and the minor ones will likely 

 be: BACKACHE, lumbago, rheumatism, diseases of the kidnejs; by 

 changing we get DISEASE OF THE KIDNEYS, ))ackaclie. lumbago, etc., 

 each of the words being in turn used in large type. For the throat and 

 chest we have: COLD, catarrh, grip, tlircat troul)le. weak lungs, tonsil- 

 itis, etc. For the nervous conditions we have words like headache, neu- 

 ralgia, biliousness, neurasthenia, etc. With a large list of words there 

 can be considerable shifting about. All these points are brought out in 

 the clippings which I will show. The relative amount of space occupied 

 by patent medicine advertisements in the newspapers of dift'erent Indiana 

 tOAvns and cities will also be shown by clippings. An examination will 

 show that a minimum of such advertisements in a city means a com- 

 paratively clean city, while, on the other hand, in a dirty and dusty city 

 the newspapers are full of advertisements of patent medicines relating 

 to ailments and di.seases directly attributable to the inhalation of a dust 

 polluted atmosphere. Nature exacts her dues. What the people save 

 by neglecting to keep their cities clean, t'ley are compelled to spend, or 

 do spend, for patent medicines in The vain attempt to counteract the 

 evil influence of the dust. A comparative study of patent medicine ad- 

 vertisements in the newspapers of different cities, states and nations, 

 furnishes much food for thought. Civic pride and dust seem incom- 

 patible. To be able tt) i oint with prid>: to one's home city is (piite 



