Chapter XVII: Unqualified Practice Through the Post

It will have been observed that the various articles described in
the preceding chapters and in the earlier volume show considerable
variations in regard to the procedure by which they are placed in the
hands of the public. They may be roughly divided into three classes;
the first, and probably largest class, consists of those which are
supplied to the public through the ordinary retail channels, such as
chemists, stores, etc. The second class consists of similar articles,
also sold under the proprietary medicine stamp, but supplied only, or
chiefly, direct from the maker or proprietor to the consumer through
the post, and not through retailers; in this case the proprietor
reaps the full retail price, and having the names and addresses of
consumers, is able to plant advertising matter or letters where they
are most likely to take effect, and to apply later for “unsolicited”
testimonials. In the third class also the medicine is supplied
direct to the consumer, but before it is sent, a list of questions,
or “symptom form,” is submitted for answers to the questions to be
filled in by the patient, on the pretext that the medicines will
be “modified” or “selected,” according to the nature of the case;
here, again, the full retail price goes to the proprietor, and with
the particulars supplied by the patient, future letters--urging
continuance of the “treatment,” or the taking of some stronger or
additional article--can be made more effective; no doubt, also, such
particulars are of use in working up an account of the case which
shall be of the nature of a testimonial, when the purchaser has been
persuaded that he is cured, or has really been cured by or in spite
of the medicine.

In some advertisements the departure from the mere recommendation of
a particular nostrum goes further, and the advertiser claims to be a
“specialist” in some particular kind of disease, and to treat each
case individually, according to the particulars furnished by post, or
sometimes to treat any and every disease on the information supplied
in the same way. The border line between these and the preceding
class is very indistinct. In this chapter some further particulars
are given of advertisers of these two classes.

The nostrums already reported on have included one or more in which a
“symptom form” has figured in each of the following groups: “female
medicines,” medicines for obesity, sexual weakness, skin affections,
“bad legs,” alcoholism, rheumatism, and deafness. In most cases
the first supply of medicine was followed up by letters insisting
on the great importance of taking it uninterruptedly, or asking
for particulars of the results attained. In the case of medicines
for amenorrhœa, in every instance the article first supplied was
accompanied or followed by recommendations of a stronger one, said
to be certain to succeed if the first failed, and, of course, sold
at a higher price. In many cases where the original communication
was not an order for medicine but merely an inquiry, the letter
sent in reply was followed at intervals by a number of others,
emphasising in a sensational manner the terrible seriousness of delay
in obtaining the “cure,” and frequently offering the latter at a
gradually diminishing price, as at a cheap-jack’s “Dutch auction.”
This offer of reduced price is sometimes made conditionally on the
purchaser supplying six names of other persons known by him to be
suffering from the complaint in question; so that if the terms were
accepted the vendor would be kept supplied with a list of names and
addresses, ever increasing on the “snowball” principle, of persons
likely to be susceptible to his letters. The letters sent usually
appear on casual inspection to be type-written communications written
to the individual, who is frequently addressed by name as “Dear Mr.
(or Mrs.) ----,” or as “Dear Friend”; but closer examination has
almost always shown that they are really circulars produced by one
of the multiple copy processes with a typewriter, the individual’s
name being inserted afterwards. These circulars usually contain
expressions of strong or special interest in “your case,” even when
no case has been mentioned and the “symptom form” has not been filled
up. In fact, there is every reason to suppose, in regard to most
nostrums sold in this way, that the composition of the medicine sent
is in no way modified in consequence of the details supplied.

Extracts from one or two typical letters may be given as examples.

THE NATIONAL COLLEGE OF HEALTH, LTD.

In Chapter XI. we gave some account of certain medicines supplied by the “National College of Health, Ltd.” After an interval the person who had ordered the medicines analysed received the following:--

Dear Mrs ----,

We are extremely sorry that you have not allowed us to see your case
through to a successful termination. We are taking a special interest
in your case, and as you have gone to some expense, and as we want
to be of real help to you, it is a pity for you to throw away this
opportunity of being permanently cured.

Let us implore you as a friend not to neglect the advice we gave you
in our last letter, for if you do we fear you will not get well,
or if so will not remain permanently cured. If you neglect the
simple precaution of purifying your blood and keeping it pure for a
reasonable period, it will be your own fault if you do not get well
and remain so, which is what we earnestly desire.

To effect a permanent and lasting cure, it is absolutely necessary
that you should take the Blood mixture for a reasonable period.
Neglecting this is not fair either to yourself or to the Tremol
Treatment, which has done so much good for those who carry it out
conscientiously.

The date, name and address, and the words “Dear Mrs. ----” are seen on careful examination to have been added with a typewriter to a circular letter. From this it would appear that the number of those who purchase the “Tremol Treatment” but do not feel sufficiently encouraged by the results to “carry it out conscientiously” is large enough to make it worth while to have a circular ready to send to them; also that it is a routine matter to assure them that “we are taking a special interest in your case.” It appears impossible to doubt that large numbers of people are lured by such assurances into sending their money for such “treatment.” But there are two considerations affecting this kind of practice which are so obvious that it might have been supposed that they would occur to anyone. The first is that the absentee prescriber is an anonymous and unknown person--for example, the letter quoted above is signed (with a stamp) “J. S. Chatterton, Doctor’s Secretary”; the “doctor” does not appear. In other cases it is “our consulting physician,” our “specialist,” or “our medical staff,” etc., never anyone whose qualifications and experience can be ascertained. In the second place, it can hardly be supposed that writing down a few answers to questions can supply a prescriber with an adequate knowledge of a given case such as can be obtained by personal consultation and examination. The meagreness of the information which will satisfy these anonymous prescribers is remarkable.

THE SUTTON MEDICAL COMPANY.

Another circular in imitation of typewriting which is before us, headed “The Sutton Medical Co.,” looks like an attempt to imitate the Kidd Company’s methods, though on a more restricted scale. It is dated from Clerkenwell, London, and commences:

Dear Friend,

Do you or any of your friends stand in need of medical treatment? We
make a speciality of kidney and bladder trouble and rheumatism, in
fact all complaints arising from uric acid poisoning....

To introduce these remedies we are going to give away 10,000 Proof
Sample Treatments. They will be sent post-paid and absolutely free.
You are one of the ten thousand selected to receive a Proof Sample
Treatment, because we believe that if they cure you your influence
in your neighbourhood will secure other patients.... We will also
send you entirely free a copy of “Sutton’s Talk on the Kidneys.” ...
Answer the questions on the printed form and post it to-day.

The printed form was filled up with the details of an imaginary case; but whether, in the interval that had elapsed between receiving the circular and sending for the medicine, the Sutton Medical Company had concluded that they were mistaken in the belief that “your influence in your neighbourhood will secure other patients,” or whether the giving away “10,000 treatments” had caused them to collapse, or from some other reason, no medicine or answer of any sort was received.

THE J. W. KIDD COMPANY.

One of the most extensive businesses of the kind we are considering is that run by the J. W. Kidd Company, of Fort Wayne, U.S.A., some particulars of which have previously been given (_Secret Remedies_, Vol. I., p. 177). Although the letters are ostensibly signed “Dr. James W. Kidd,” the remarks made above as to the real anonymity of the prescriber apply no less, as the business is run by a company and, on the evidence submitted, is far too large for any one individual to attend to the cases. The letters contain the usual sort of references, such as “With my staff of skilled specialists, I have successfully treated more serious chronic cases than any other doctor.” This company, although established in America, sedulously cultivates business in this country. Besides newspaper advertising, it appears to obtain the names and addresses of persons to whom it seems worth while to write. It has been asserted, and so far as we know without any contradiction, that in America, at least, there is a regular trade in old letters, orders, etc., from purchasers of nostrums, and that a firm desiring to push a preparation for any particular disease can purchase from a broker thousands of letters from people who have bought some other preparation for that ailment, in order to bombard them with letters recommending the new nostrum. Perhaps that is how the Kidd Company gets names and addresses; one of the letters sent by the company states that “I have decided to favour you because I am informed that you need expert medical attention, and because I believe you will tell your friends about my successful treatment after I have cured you.” Of course, modesty in advancing the company’s claims would be absurd, as diffidence in disparaging legitimate practitioners would be out of place. A single extract may serve as a specimen:

My Treatment: Do not waste your time and money on worthless patent
medicines, on incompetent doctors, or on One remedy--no one remedy
can possibly cure all cases or all diseases. The free treatment I
will send you will consist of as many kinds of medicine as I have
found advisable in cases like yours--remedies pure, effective, and
successful--the kind I have used in curing thousands of others.
The fact that my patients receive treatments especially prepared
to suit their individual cases is also largely responsible for my
great success. Simply mail me the enclosed Symptom Blank soon, and
with your free remedies I will send you one of my Books--not an
advertising pamphlet, but a valuable medical book entitled “The Ills
of Humanity.”

The “symptom blank” contains only a few questions, including, “If other doctors have tried to cure you, what did they call your disease or diseases?” and a general invitation to “write me freely, in your own words, about your diseases, symptoms, or pains”; and the following aid to diagnosis is added:

I am specially successful with the following diseases--simply make a
mark (X) side of any one of them you have:--

Rheumatism
Constipation
Diarrhœa
Indigestion
Nervousness
Torpid Liver
Impure Blood
Piles
Dropsy
Pimples
Malaria
Eczema
Asthma
Catarrh
Lumbago
Neuralgia
Headache
Dizziness
Epilepsy
Scrofula
Prostatitis
Lung Trouble
Chronic Cough
Heart Disease
Female Trouble
Kidney Trouble
Bladder Trouble
Partial Paralysis

The “diagnosis” and medicine sent in a given case are described in Vol. I of _Secret Remedies_. In _Truth Cautionary List_, under “Kidd, ‘Dr.’ James William,” appears the following:

Advertises profusely all over the world, offering to cure all
diseases, and to send a sample of his treatment “free.” The remedies
appear to be absolute humbug, and are supplied in quantities at
extravagant prices, as much as £4 having been obtained from victims
in some cases.

These exposures, however, have not yet sufficed to drive the company out of the field, as shown by the recent receipt of its circulars.

AN “EYE AND EAR SPECIALIST.”

An advertisement which is to be found in very many newspapers is that of “Mr. Thomas Ison, oculist and aurist, Ison’s Eye and Ear Dispensary, Limited,” inviting consultations by post for all diseases of eye and ear, which are stated to be cured without operation. From one of the circulars sent it appears that the advertiser also attends at certain times at given hotels in many of the northern towns, twenty of which are named, to be consulted. An application for advice in a case of failing sight brought a printed circular enclosing

Printed form of questions to be answered appertaining to your case,
which please fill up and return to me by early post, together with
cheque or postal order for my fee, when suitable remedies will be at
once forwarded to you with full directions for their use.

A written postscript stated:

The charge is 10s. 6d. for special remedies and advice. My treatment
is very successful and there is no pain and no inconvenience
attending the use of the remedies.

The promise of no pain and no inconvenience, before any information has been sent as to the nature of the trouble, seems to imply an intention not to undertake any very serious treatment, whatever the case might prove to be. The printed form was as follows, the answers that were given being here printed in italics:--

Established 1871.
Ison’s
Eye and Ear Dispensary, Limited,
----,
Mr. Thomas Ison,
Oculist and Aurist.
A new method of treatment for the
Rapid Cure of Diseases of the Eye and Ear
without Operation.
Attendance at Leeds every
Tuesday and alternate Saturdays.
Hours: 10 to 7
Other days by appointment only.

By this new system of treatment nine cases out of ten can be cured
without a personal interview or the patient leaving home or business,
thus saving time and expense. The postal arrangements are now such
that persons may be treated in the most distant parts without delay.

The special remedies applicable to each case are forwarded in a
portable compass to any part of the world, with full directions.

Each patient is requested to fill in, as correctly as possible,
answers to the following questions, and return the same by post:--

1. State name, age, and full postal address.-- ---- ----, _34_, ----
----.

2. State profession, business, or occupation.--_Clerk._

3. Is the constitution strong or weak?--_Strong._

4. How is the general health? Are the functions of the body performed
regularly? If not, state particulars.--_Good. Yes._

5. State whether the right or left eye, or both, are
affected.--_Right eye only._

6. How long have the eyes or eye been affected?--_It has been
steadily coming on for about 3 months._

7. Do you feel any pain? If so, where? At the back of the eyes,
across the forehead, in the temples, or over the eyebrows?--_Yes, at
the back of the eye._

8. Do the pains occur in the daytime, or in the night?--_All the
time, but worse at night._

9. Are the eyelids affected? If so, describe the symptoms.--_No._

10. What part of the eye is affected? Is the white of the eye
bloodshot wholly or in part, greyish, or of any other unnatural
colour? Are there any spots on the eye, or discharge? If so,
state particulars.--_The white of the eye is greyish. No spots or
discharge._

11. Is the iris (the coloured ring which surrounds the pupil of the
eye), light or dark, or has its natural colour otherwise changed? If
so, state particulars.--_Light naturally, unchanged._

12. Has the pupil of either eye increased or diminished in size,
and has it changed from its natural round form? If so, state
particulars.--_No._

13. Are you naturally near sighted or far sighted, or do you squint?
Do you use spectacles? If so, state whether with flat glasses, and of
what colour, and of what number, if you know.--_No._

14. What treatment (if any) has been employed up to the present time,
and with what result? State, as near as possible, what has been done
or used. Send any prescription that may have been given or used; it
will be returned.--_None._

15. Is your mother or father subject to any affection of the
eyes?--_No._

Any other observations which may suggest themselves, please write on
the other side.

Note: It being our desire to bring each case to a successful issue
as early as possible, it is highly important that we should have the
co-operation of our patients in every particular, in order to assist
us to this end.

This was sent with the 10s. 6d. required, and the package received in return contained a 2-drachm bottle of “Drops” and a 1-ounce bottle of “Lotion,” and a dropping-tube of the kind supplied wholesale at about 1s. 9d. per dozen, accompanied by a letter which stated:--

I send herewith remedies to be used according to the printed
instructions. Please persevere and you will do well. Write me a day
or two before the remedies are finished, and I hope to have a good
report.

A printed sheet of instructions for use was sent, giving directions for “The Drops,” “The Lotion,” “The Embrocation” (for forehead and temples), and “The Ointment” (for edges of eyelids). The two latter were crossed out; the others were:--

The Drops.--Two Drops to be dropped in the inner corner of the
affected eye (the eye to be well open) by the aid of the Drop Tube
two or three times a day.

The Lotion.--Linen cloths wet with the Lotion to be applied to the
Eyelids for a few minutes night and morning.

Note.--Add the contents of the bottle to a bottle containing a
half-pint of cold water before use.

Analysis showed the drops to consist of:--

Boric acid 2¹⁄₂ grains
Glycerine 2 „
Water, to 2 fluid drachms

The lotion was found to consist of the Liquor Hamamelidis of the _British Pharmacopœia_. In both cases careful search was made for small quantities of other substances, but nothing else was found. The cost of both together would be about one penny; the bottles, dropper, and postage would amount to a few pence more. It is not necessary to comment on the value of such “treatment”; it is sufficient to contrast it with such statements from the circulars sent as:--

Many hopeless cases, given up by the medical profession as incurable,
have been brought under his special treatment, and, to the surprise
of their friends, they have recovered their sense of hearing or
seeing after having been deaf or blind for many years.... This is
not accomplished by means of painful operations, poisonous drugs, or
compounds, but by means of a special treatment he has introduced,
as the result of thirty years’ practice and the experience of his
fore-elders.

A “HERBAL SPECIALIST.”

An advertisement which may be met with in many papers is that of a Mr. J. George, medical herbalist, usually beginning with a reference to “Lost strength restored,” offering a free book which should be read by all men suffering from loss of nerve power, etc., and concluding: “No Drugs or Minerals used. Nature’s Remedies only. 30 years’ success. The Treatment that Cures.” Application to the address given brought a circular resembling a typewritten letter with the name and date typed in, a “consultation form,” and two pamphlets. These were both entitled _The Treatment that Cures Lost Health and Strength_, one being marked “18th edition” and the other “26th edition.” Both contain a number of testimonials, and the one marked “18th edition” contains several dated 1911, including one of March 2nd, 1911. As the pamphlets were obtained in April, 1911, the interval between the 18th and 26th editions would appear to have been a short one, but it seems to have sufficed for a marvellous extension of the powers of the Herbal Remedy. In the “18th edition” the following appears:

Special Notice.

In asking you to read carefully the following testimonials (which are
taken from some hundreds that I have received during the last five
years) I am convinced that no greater proof can be produced of the
Wonder-working qualities of the Herbal Remedy in all cases of Lost
Manhood and Vitality, Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhœa, Premature
Decay, all disorders of the Nervous System, Urinary Organs, etc.,
etc. It is an undeniable fact that the Herbal Remedy has given health
and strength to large numbers of men and women who have become old
and debilitated long before their time. If space would permit, I
could print such statements from men that have suffered (but whom I
have cured), that would convince the greatest doubter. Therefore, I
ask you to read these testimonials which are from living persons,
daily in communication with me, and think, if you are a sufferer from
any of the symptoms mentioned give the Herbal Remedy a trial, and
avail yourself of a Safe, Sure, and Speedy Cure.

In the “26th edition” appears a similar paragraph, but the list of disorders following the words “in all cases of” has been changed to

Asthma, Bronchitis, or any Chest or Lung Disease, Indigestion, Loss
of Appetite, Liver Trouble, Kidney or Water Complaint, Backache,
Weakness, Lassitude, Piles, Costiveness, Impurities of the Blood,
Eruptions, Blotches or Itching of the Skin, Anæmia, Dyspepsia, Female
Irregularities, or any complaint incidental to the Human System.

It then continues: “It is an undeniable,” etc., as above.

In the “18th edition” it is stated that:

In placing your case under the treatment of Mr. J. George, the Herbal
Expert, you are placing yourself into the care of a Practitioner that
has had upwards of 40 years’ experience in diseases of the urinary
and generative organs.

In the 26th, however, we read that

In placing your case under the treatment of Mr. J. George, the Herbal
Expert, you are placing yourself into the care of a Practitioner that
has had upwards of 40 years’ experience in all diseases and ailments
incidental to the human system.

As the advertisement referred to above, which appeared this year, speaks of “30 years’ success,” it would appear that the first ten out of the forty years were given to failure. But a further inconsistency is supplied by the letter, in which it is said that

The Remedy is one that I have used with the greatest success during
the past 20 years, previous to which it was used by a near relative
(a well-known Herbalist in the South of England with over 50 years’
extensive practice).

The price of the Herbal Remedy is, one month’s treatment, 8s. 6d.; two months’, 15s. 6d.; three months’, 21s.

The “consultation form” was filled up with particulars of an imaginary case, and sent with 8s. 6d. A box of 29 powders was received in return; these had an average weight of 57 grains, but single powders varied from 47 to 69 grains. The material had a bitter taste; it contained about 25 per cent. of maize flour, and the remainder consisted of vegetable tissue which appeared to be derived from a bark, but did not agree in characters with any drug in ordinary use. It showed no alkaloidal or other principles by which it could be identified, and no other substance was found to be present.