IMITATIONS AND PERSECUTIONS. 145 



ting the microbe-killer before the public, were used. 

 Thousands of letters came to me containing complaints. 

 In almost every State in the Union I fought the imita- 

 tors. 



Probably the most persistent attack made against me 

 and the microbe-killer was by a physician who was also 

 a chemist. He caused to be published in a trade jour- 

 nal a series of articles calculated to injure me and pre- 

 vent people from using my discovery. The attacks 

 made against Harvey and Jenner years ago were no se- 

 verer than the attacks made against me, except that no 

 physical violence was attempted. In the articles pub- 

 lished I was branded as a pretender, a charlatan, and 

 an ignorant florist who never had studied even the ru- 

 diments of medical science. The microbe-killer was 

 characterized as a cheap compound possessing no cura- 

 tive powers. An analysis of the microbe-killer was also 

 published, which, however, was not claimed to be ab- 

 solutely correct, but nearly so. 



The attack was promptly answered by me through the 

 newspapers with incontrovertible arguments, and the 

 physician who had instituted the attack was given au 

 opportunity to retract his statements. This he wilfully 

 neglected to do, and I began a suit for libel in the New 

 York Supreme Court. There were delays and adjourn- 

 ments, and when the case at last came up for trial the 

 struggle to overthrow me was fierce. It was shown that 

 I was not a physician and did not pretend to diagnose 

 disease. My only claim was then, as it always had 

 been, that I had discovered the cause of all diseases and 

 the cure of all diseases. 



Undoubtedly the reason why the attack which brought 

 about the above case was instituted was on account of 

 the reliance placed in the chemical analysis which the 

 physician had made and published. He did not claim 

 that it was absolutely correct, but his claim was that it 

 was so nearly correct that the variations could cause 

 no difference in the action of the microbe-killer. Now, I 

 have nothing to say against chemistry or chemists, but 

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