Aj;naarry,Pi907m'}     Publicity  on  the  Standing  of  Nostrums.  31 
ing  contract  could  be  cancelled  in  case  of  effective  opposition  by 
legislative  enactment. 
Following  close  on  this  work,  which  had  been  aided  by  similar 
articles  by  other  authors  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  came  a 
crushing  blow,  which  caused  such  a  scurrying  of  vermin  in  the 
wainscoting,  a  clanking  of  chains  in  forgotten  cellars  and  a  rattling 
of  dry  bones  in  secret  chambers  as  had  never  before  been  heard. 
It  was  the  publication  of  the  list  of  membership  in  the  Proprietary 
Association  of  America,  and  be  it  to  the  credit  of  many  well-known 
firms  that  immediate  withdrawal  from  this  unsavory  alliance  was 
the  first  order  of  business  for  some  time  immediately  following  this 
publication.  A  glance  at  the  list  as  first  published  shows  the  catho- 
licity of  commercial  interests,  for  here  are  allopath,  homoeopath, 
eclectic  and  therapeutic  buccaneer  under  the  same  umbrella  of  unity 
of  interests,  which  unity  seems  to  be  the  dissemination  of  misin- 
formation and  the  hoodwinking  of  the  public. 
Men  of  standing  in  the  affairs  of  the  National  Associations  and 
others  entered  the  arena  and  contributed  liberally  to  the  campaign 
of  education  which  had  begun  in  earnest.  Determined  opposition 
to  the  work  of  the  Council,  which  was  expected  at  the  Boston 
meeting  of  the  Association,  fell  flat  and  the  Council  began  with 
renewed  vigor  to  carry  out  its  mission. 
In  June,  1 906,  what  was  probably  the  crowning  blow  which  has 
thus  far  been  struck  was  delivered  by  the  successful  passage  of  the 
Pure  Food  and  Drugs  Act,  the  manifold  provisions  of  which, 
regarding  labeling  and  publishing  unwarranted  and  extravagant 
claims,  will  cause  the  inauguration  of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the 
conflict. 
The  most  recent  official  reports  have  dealt  with  three  prepara- 
tions, Somnos,  Uron  and  Thialion,  of  which  the  latter  two  had  been 
marketed  by  the  customary  cuttlefish-like  methods  of  employing 
words  to  conceal  the  truth.  In  the  case  of  Somnos  the  firm  manu- 
facturing it  have  protested  against  the  decision  of  the  Council  and 
have  admitted  expert  evidence  in  support  of  the  position  they 
have  taken,  so  that  this  matter  is  far  from  being  settled  at  the 
present. 
Such  is,  in  brief,  the  history  of  the  campaign  up  to  the  present 
time.  Now  the  question  arises,  what  effect  has  this  publicity 
already  had  and  what  effect  will  it  have  in  the  future  upon  the 
