382 
American  Medical  Association. 
<  A-m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     August,  1908. 
Similarly  many  articles  were  reported  to  be  materially  different 
from  the  alleged  formula,  the  maker  sometimes  frankly  admitting 
that  the  formula  had  been  changed  for  the  better,  while  others  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  error,  simply  because  of  ignorance  as  to 
the  difference  in  the  action  of  the  constituents.  Others  as  laymen 
not  having  the  remotest  idea — pharmaceutical,  medical  or  ethical — 
simply  refused  to  explain,  believing  that  the  formula  was  their  prop, 
erty  with  which  they  could  "  do  as  they  pleased/' 
APPALLING  MENDACITY. 
The  false  therapeutic  claims  and  dishonest  methods  of  exploita- 
tion also  came  in  for  their  share  of  attention.  Thus  the  fat-free 
cod  liver  preparations — the  petroleum  emulsions,  the  hyoscine- 
morphine-cactin  combination,  etc.,  were  dissected  and  their  shallow 
pretense  of  therapeutic  virtues  exposed.  The  startling  disclosures 
of  the  methods  employed  to  sophisticate  scientific  government  re- 
ports in  order  to  boost  a  certain  preparation,  which,  after  having 
served  as  an  ordinary  "  Frauen  Medizin  "  in  Germany,  had  been 
brought  over  to  this  country  to  be  pushed  on  to  the  medical  profes- 
sion as  an  exclusive  product,  proved  a  shock  to  many  physicians, 
especially  since  it  was  discovered  that  the  wonderful  preparation 
was  actually  inferior  to  Blaud's  pill. 
THE  WORK  OF  THE  COUNCIL. 
Some  300  articles  have  been  accepted  by  the  Council  and  ad- 
mitted to  the  book,  "  New  and  Non-Official  Remedies."  Many 
more  have  been  examined,  but  only  such  are  reported  as  have  been 
found  to  be  entirely  false  in  composition  or  for  which  absolutely 
unwarranted  statement  concerning  therapeutic  properties  have  been 
made.  Former  efforts  for  reformation  in  this  direction  have  been 
made  sporadically  only  to  fail  because  of  some  criticism  appearing, 
which  either  could  not  be  proved  beyond  peradventure  or  could  not 
be  completely  substantiated  when  challenged.  The  work  of  the 
Council  has  been  successful  largely  because  no  statement  concerning 
any  article  has  ever  been  made  that  could  not  stand  the  most  rigid 
scrutiny. 
Nearly  one-half  the  articles  accepted  are  foreign,  mostly  German, 
manufacture,  the  remainder  being  fairly  representative  of  the  prin- 
cipal American  houses, 
