QUACKERY

For many years the American Medical Association has labored to secure the passage of a law which would give the federal government the power to ban all advertising containing misleading or fallacious statements about food or drug products, and which could be invoked with telling effect against the vendors of quack medicines, beauty aids, and bogus aphrodisiacs.

Such a bill is now pending before a Senate subcommittee and has received general and well merited approbation. It is consequently most unfortunate that its success should be seriously threatened at this time by a vigorous lobby backed by the patent medicine manufacturers. With a rather surprising naivete they allege that if they are forced to tell the truth about their products they cannot sell them; thus even in the presentation of their defense they indict themselves. The power of these men is not to be underestimated. They have extremely influential connections in the financial and industrial worlds, the powerful Drug Institute is behind them, and being heavy buyers of advertising they have gained support in that direction. They are, accordingly, able to bring strong pressure to bear, and this has made the sub rosa campaign which they are waging one of the most dangerous attacks to which the administration has yet been subjected.

The "New Republic" in reviewing the case points out that the best defense which Roosevelt can offer to this insidious assault is to publicize the affair ruthlessly, for the very nature of their business makes it impossible for the patent people to fight in the open. If these tactics are used it should be possible to end the victimization of the public by "cures" that are not only useless but very often harmful as well.