The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-06-14, Page 24PAGE 8A=-GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JANE 14,
GDCI History Series
BY CATHERINE RUSSELL
The GODERICH SIGNAL -
STAR, has, inevitably, seen
many changes over the years.
The present-day palter displays
a marked contrast to that of
1903. One feature which seems
to have disappeared forever is
the patent n11dicine adver-
tisement, now relegated to the
back page of CHATELAINE
and SE 'ENTEEN.
In one s'lhnse, this absence is
unfortunate. Advertisements'
for miraculous healjh cures in
the 1903 editions of the
SIGNAL make amusing, and
occasionally interesting
reading, .for one who enjoys
browsing.
As with all advertisers, ttiose
in the patent medicine field
were anxious to assure
prospective customers of the
legitimacy and sincerity of
their claims. (It is somewhat
doubtful that they wholly suc-
ceeded, keeping in mind some
of the statements that they
made.) Two methods of doing
this appeared _especially
popular. The most widespread
was the use of testimonials of
cured patients, complete with
names and addresses. The
.other , device was somewhat
more subtle. Advertisements
were often disguised as news
items, with headline, dateline,
and "Special" in brackets. One
could easily read half the item
before realizing that it was a
promotion, thereby making the
task of the advertiser easier,
"(and that of the researcher
more difficult!)
The advertisements provide
an insight into those diseases
_ and complaints which seemed
to occupy the minds of the
people in 1903. Kidney disease
and related ailments topped
the list by a great margin.
"Female complaints" , came
next, with constipation running
a close third.
The product that received the
most exposure was Dodd's Kid-
ney Pills,. Some eight -page
issues of the SIGNAL con-
tained as many as fdtW'"hdver-
tisenients for the "(rent
Canadian Kidney fill Few of
them were the same, however.
Dodd's had managed to
discover a considerable number
of diseases that were caused by
the kidneys, and devoted each
advertisement to a different
one.
Dodd's was fond of both the
testimonial and the news item
as means of advertising. There.
were
here-
were countless numbers of
items, mostly originating in
Quebec and the Maritimes, that
heralded yet another wonderful
cure. One item told the tale of
George Robertson of Montrea'
who had, had Dropsy "so, bad
that tapping was resorted to''
He had also been afflicted with
lumbago and rheumatism.. He
stated joyfully that seven box"es°-
•'had cured him completely:-
Maxime J3oucher of Hunter-
stown, Quebec required a few
more than that. After twenty-
five years of kidney disease, he
had to take the same number of
boxes of pills to become cured.
wonder that the same ad-
vertisement proclaimed, "No
case of kidney disease is too fir-
nily planted for Dodd's Kidney
Pills to root out."
Most sufferers ..needed less
patience than Mr. Boucher oh-
viousl}• did. 'typical was Mrs.
T.E. Craig of Toronto, who had
trouble walking around, hack
pains, and dark-coloured urine.
One box of Dodd's brought
relief and four ~tired her com-
pletely. Not content to allow
the product to rest on it's
laurels, the advertisement ad-
ded that the pills "continue to
come to the front, wherever
remarkable cures are talked
of."
Dodd's had a series .of adver-
tisements dealing with the con-
nection between kidney disease
and other illnesses. Once the
link had been explained, it was
a simple matter to point out
that the medicine that cured
kidney disease would cure the
related diseases also.
.One advertisement quoted- a
"well-known doctor" (not
naming him) as saying that
1973 g
Aboutpatentmedicine ads
ever post-mortem that he had Always thinking of the public,
performed on heart -disease the Claflin Co. advised not to
patients had shown that the waste oey on substitutes.
kidneys were at fault. Another Kidney nailment also received
called lumbago "rheumatism of attention from Edmanson
the back" and attributed its Bates and Co. of Toronto,
cause to uric acid in the blood. which produced Dr. Chase's
The acid was, of course, the Kidney Liver Pills. An adver.
result 'of malfunctioning kid- tisement for this medicine told
revs. Neuralgia was labelled of the plight of William
"rheumatism of the face'". One Halditch in Port Robinson, On-
messt}ge was titled "Woman's tario, who was plagued with
Weakness" and was addressed hack pains, headaches, insom-
to "pale young girls, worn-out nia, and lack of_appetite. He
mothers, suffering wives, and reported enthusiastically that
women entering upon the he was cured after only a few
Change of Life." It advised boxes of pills.
then that healthy kidneys However, Dr. Chase was not
prevented disease in t he content to bring "health and
reproductive organs. Also at- happiness to thousands" with
trihuted to kidney problems his Kidney Liver Pill. He
were backache, blood disorders, seemed to have felt a respon-
Bright's Disease, and even sibility towards the sufferers of
diabetes! other ailments. Dr. Chase's
Another kidney remedy was Ointment was purported to
13u -..Ju, manufactured by the have a multitude of uses,' in-
'Claflin ('heretical Co. of New chiding allaying inflammation,
York, N.Y. and Windsor, On- relieving itching, curing skin
tario. Bu -Ju was a vegetable disease, ulcers, eczema, salt
preparation in a pill forth. A rheum, teeter, and bleeding, it -
box of fifty pills cost $.50. ching and protruding piles..
The Claflin Co. apparently According to its promoters,
was not fond of testimonials; Dr. Chase's Ointment "stands
either that, or it could not per- alone, unapproached and
suade anyone to testify to the unrivalled". At.a price of $.60
effectiveness of their product. a box, the preparation carried
At any rate, no testimonials ap- with it a money -back guaran-
peared. There were news items, tee.
however, along with the stan-Bates also
dard, box -enclosed adver- manufactured Dr. A.W. Chase's
tisement. Catarrh Cure. (Clatarrh is an
Bu -.Ju claimed to contain the inflammation of the muceous
good qualities of all other kid- lining in the throat.) The Cure
rley pills without the obiec- was sent directly to the afflic-
tionahle features. It was ted area through the use of the
labelled "The Kidney .Pill That "Iniproved Blower" (provided
Cures Intended only for -kid- free!) , and was said to clear air
nes and urinary diseases and passages, stop droppings in the
rheumatism, Bu -Ju was sup- throat, and permanently cure
posed to regulate the kidneys catarrh and hay fever. The ad -
and "make life the delight vertisement for this medicine
it should _ be". One adver- was accompanied by an eye-
tisement stated gravely that, catching illustraytion ora man
"Removal- of unwholesome with 'a tube up his nose. It was
matter from the human system just the thing to make one
is as necessary to health as is eager to buy the product!
assimilation" anf went ori to One would think that by this
inform the reader that "if the time, Dr. Chase's gestures of
- sewers of the body fail, blood concern for the sufferer and ac -
poison ensues." Bu -Ju was cumulation of profits would
guaranteed to '"make a new have been sufficient, but such
man or woman of the sufferer". was not the case. He also of -
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d
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And the Square Shooter 2 is the most poouar Pr,!arr;lr-1
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GODERICH
s
524-7532
fered to the public, Dr. Chase's
Nerve Food , which convenien-
tly cured nervous prostration,
exhaustion, headaches, dyspep-
sia, dizzy and fainting spells,
paralysis, locomotor ataxia and
feelings of weakriess,
depression and despondency.
Mr. F. Turner of Peterborough
seemed to agree that the
medicine cured "physical
bankruptcy and, collapse". He
wrote that he recovered from
nervousness, insomnia and
nervous headache after six
weeks of treatment.
The preparation was sold in,
pill form, at $.50 a box or six
for $2.50. To protect against
imitation, the company very
kindly included ,on each box
"the portrait and signature of
Dr. A.W. -Chase, famous book
receipt author".
Edmanson Bates and Co.,
having finally given up its
medical mission, the Dr:
William's Medicine Co. of
Brockville, Ontario took up the
challenge. This company also
had a cure for the nerves—Dr.
William's Pink Pills for Pale
People. This remedy cost $.50 a
box or six for $2.50, and was
said to "brace up jangled ner-
ves".
In an advertisement, Mrs.
Wm. Westcott of Seaforth at-
tested to the effectiveness of the
medicine. She stated that six
boxes of Dr. William's Pills
had cured her headaches, diz-
ziness,nervous exhaustion',
poor appetite, and run-down
feeling, after several doctors
and medicines had been
useless.
Dr. William's Pink Pills were
all-powerful, it appeared. It
was claimed that thsy cured
troubles arising from poverty of
blood, or weak nerves, anemia,
headaches, neuralgia,
erysipelas, rheumatism, heart
ailments, dyspepsia, partial cleanse the system, -purify the
paralysis, St. Vitus Dance, and blood, and build up the body,
"the ailments that render
miserable the lives of so many
women".
Dr. Williams also Manufac-
tured Baby's Own Tablets and
sold them for $.25 a box. This
product was a mild laxative
with no opiate and promised
"prompt relief'.
The Iron -Ox Remedy Co.
Ltd. of Walkerville, Ontario
seemed to be aware of the scep-
ticism 'of the public towards
patent medicines. It published
an advertisement in the
SIGNAL deploring "the hum-
bug and deception" in the
medicine business. In order to
assure the reader of the respec-
tability of 'Iron -Ox, the com-
pany announced that it was
owned" by Hiram Walker and
Sons Ltd. What greater respec-
tability can one ask for than
the auspices of a liquor
manufacturer?
Iron -Ox Tiny Tonic Tablets
were touted as the "Cure for
Constipation"..One message
began;'startlingly enough, "Nett
even Crazy People would scour
their faces with brick -bats, bt)t
thousands of persons do things
infinitely more foolish." The -
announcement,. then went on to
explain that the face skin was
"rhinoceros hide" in com-
parison to the membrane -of
the stomach and bowels.
Because Iron -Ox was not a
"violent cathartic, but rather a
gentle laxative, it would not
harm the delicate organs.
Iron -Ox was fond of using
large quarter -page adver-
tisements, often illustrated.
One pictured .a woman in
toga admiring herself in a han. -
dmirror, and was entitled
"Real Health for 'Summer
Days". Another showed, ap.
propriately enough, two oxen
locking horns.
Iron -Ox tablets claimed to
t.
allowing it to withstand the
summer heat. R. Pelhan of
Toronto reported in an adver-
tisement that he had suffered
from indigestion. One box of"
pills brought about an im-
provement, and "the second
one did the business and I felt
gay." A comment like that
makes one wonder exactly what
wats in those i Tiny Tonic
Tablets!
These little "helps to health"
were said to be "as tempting as
candy". For some reason, the
company was quite proud of its
container; it was mentioned in
every advertisement. One
hailed it as "the neatest
aluminum box you ever saw".
If, for some uunknown
reason, Iron -Ox was unable to
cure one'of constipation, there
was no need to despair. Ab-
bey's Effervescent Salt was
ready to take up the challenge.
A teaspoon in a half of glass of
tepid water each morning was
supposed to cleanse the bowels
and prevent sick headache,
biliousness, sour stomach, bad
breath, Zack of energy, and a
blotched complexion.
Abbey's used illustrations
frequently in its adver-
tisements. One showed a'
woman in her bedroom taking'',
hers daily dose of the .
(Continued on page 10A (
ear
SPECIALIZE
LEGAL MEpI
O$EExE�U1IV
DId yo REkAaYI
Coneotoyw C w
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the clipping In now.
I would like Information
full-time program daal
high school gradual
equivalent.
Name _ _
Address -----
Phone •— _
Please return to: RPI
Conestoga College, lgg
Valley Drive, Kitchener,
2511 Ext. 261.
GSS-LME
• - NEW LOCATION...
McE1NAN INSURANC[ AGENCY
• - 56A EAST ST. -
SERVING GODERICH AND AREA
Auto - Dwelling - Commercial • l
i
Sealtest mills comes in
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-Who says milk has to come in a glass?
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,k a
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Dominion Dairies Limited is a registered user of "Sealtest•"a registered trade mark of KrattcoCornoraut,It
Distributed in this area by
Bisse't'-Brother's
Phone(519)524.7561
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