This list of three drugs, be it remembered, represents only an insignificant and paltry fraction of the patented synthetic chemicals which have been poured in upon the American market chiefly by German manufacturers. A complete list would cover easily two or three of our pages, and in nearly every case the same glaring disparity prevails between the moderate prices ruling in Germany, France, England and Canada, and the outrageously extortionate prices imposed upon the same articles in the United States. In Germany and France (substantially, also, in England and Canada) the law accords no exclusive monoplies in any food product or remedial substance. Recognizing the claims of suffering, disease, and poverty, the German law wisely removes foods and medicines from the category of patentable products, bestowing upon the inventor of a new remedy exclusive property solely in his process of manufacture, but not in the substance itself, nor in its name. The name adopted for the new remedy, coined or fanciful, remains free to all; the same substance may be manufactured by any different process; and the inventor's property is restricted wholly to the particular method which he elaborated. This, and this only, is the measure of his protection. In the United States the law permits this foreign inventor to secure privileges and monopolies which he would not even dream of soliciting in his native land. Our laws confer upon the inventors of new medicinal substances, such as phenacetin, a permanent and threefold monopoly. They grant a patent on the process. self-on its chemical composition-on its very identity. They permit the registering of the name, rendering the latter the exclusive property of the manufacturer for all time. The same product, according to American law, may not be manufactured by a different process even though offered for sale under a different name. Name, process, product-all are monopolized and held far beyond the reach of honest competition. Our laboratories remain few in number and puny in growth, thanks to a blasting favoritism from which foreigners, and only foreigners, derive any benefit. Not a single new synthetic compound has been discovered and brought to completion in this country since the flood of synthetics first began to pour in. The only result has been the enriching of a few at the cost of the whole country, and as a matter of fact the American people have been paying foreigners millions annually for taking advantage of the privileges granted by the United States patent laws. If the patentees of these remedies were satisfied with a reasonable profit, we might not complain. There is no reason for the high prices charged for these goods, but the knowledge of the patentees that with process and product patented and the name copyrighted they have an absolute monopoly, and can charge just what they please. The appointment of a commission by President McKinley to revise the patent laws means another chance of securing judicious, sensible and honest legislation. The character of the gentlemen composing the commission gives ground for believing that a substantial reform will be accomplished ultimately, and, in the meantime, the good cause can be powerfully aided and its triumph hastened if every reader will only write to his congressional representative and to the senators from his State, besides communicating with the members of the commission at the following addresses: Hon. Arthur Greeley, Assistant Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. Hon. Peter Grosscup, Chicago, Ill. Mr. Francis Forbes, New York city. The actual relief from the absurd, blundering, incomprehensible abuses now existing must proceed from the commission and from Congress. Do something more than merely curse the monopolists; write the congressmen and senators; write the commissioners, and lend a helping hand to Lately I have had under my care several cases of enteric fever with excessive diarrhea. I have in these cases tried a mixture of compound tincture of benzoin and water with marked success. I start by giving a dose of five minims of the tincture every two hours, and if the diarrhea does not decrease in twelve hours, I then double the dose. In all the cases after twentyfour hours' administration I have found marked benefit; the diarrhea decreases, the stools are not so offensive, the temperature is decidedly lowered, and the I attribute the success in these cases to— patient feels very much more comfortable. 1. The internal antiseptic property of the drug. 2. The mixture forming a protecting coat to the inflamed bowel. 3. The antipyretic action of the drug. The Family Doctor. -Try cranberries for malaria. -Try cranberry poultice for erysipelas. -Try eating fresh radishes and yellow turnips to cure gravel. -Try eating onions and horseradish to relieve dropsical swellings. -Try buttermilk for the removal of freckles, tan and butternut stains. -Try taking cod liver oil in tomato catsup if you want to make it palatable. -Try breathing the fumes of turpentine or carbolic acid, to relieve whoopingcough. -Try a cloth wrung out from cold water, put about the neck at night, for a sore throat.-South Dent. Jour. Twins Born in Different Years. The Deutsche Medizinal-Zeitung, for March 28, cites from the Progrès Medical the case of a Jersey woman who gave birth to a daughter at ten o'clock in the evening of December 31, 1897, and to another one about two o'clock in the morning of January 1, 1898. The one born last was better developed than the first one. WORLD one year and Dr. Waugh's book, 85. You need them both. Tuberculosis of the Lungs. Dr. Landon B. Edwards, Professor of Practice of Medicine, University College of Medicine, Richmond, Va., reports in Vol. 53, No. 15, New York Medical Record, 35 cases of tuberculosis of the lungs treated by serum, with 11 total recoveries, and by recovery he means disappearance of bacilli, healthy respiratory action, chest expansion increased from one to two and a half inches, flesh increased to normal, and that the patients look well, and, according to physical signs and, symptoms, are well. He notes other patients improving, and states that the record is greatly better than he ever obtained with any other treatment than serum; that he had used no other serum than Paquin's of St. Louis. These portions were selected for the reason that cow's milk contains, according to the best authorities, about 4 per cent. of fat, while mare's milk contains only about 1 per cent. By using skimmed milk and water, the 4 per cent. is reduced to the desired 1 per cent. Again, the addition of water has reduced the phosphates in cow's milk to near the desired amount present in mare's milk, while the subtraction of casein from the skimmed milk, together with the addition of water, reduced the amount of casein from 4 to 5 per cent. to about the 1 or 1 7-10 per cent. contained in mare's milk. Take the skimmed milk, and by the aid of a steam bath, raise it to the temperature of 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Add one-third of the yeast, first dissolved in a small quantity of water, and keep it at this temperature until the casein separates into a thick mass. Pour off the whey, and strain it thru muslin into a forty-gallon cask already containing the fresh milk. Now add the balance of the yeast dissolved in a small quantity of the milk, and lastly the water with the sugar dissolved in it. The cask should be made of oak, with a wooden faucet just below the lower hoop, to which is attached a rubber hose about fifteen feet long and a half-inch in diameter, so as to allow it to go into the neck of a quart champagne bottle. About four inches from the end there is attached to the tube an arrangement similar to those we see on fountain syringes, whereby the flow can be controlled at will. The Kumyss is now stirred about once in five or ten minutes while the bottling is proceeded with. Place the bottles in rows convenient to the cask, and fill to within three inches and a half to four inches of the top. When all are filled, soak some straight, wide corks of proper size in lukewarm water, and cork thoroly with the aid of a corking machine, and so that the corks do not protrude more than one-quarter of an inch above the neck. Tie with good, stout twine, the same as you would a bottle of citrate of magnesia, and lay on their sides. The temperature of the room should be about 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the bottles should be shaken once in five or six hours. At the end of fifteen or eighteen hours, fermentation will have perceptibly begun, and they are ready for the ice box. The temperature of the box should be kept under 55 degrees Fahrenheit to allow a slow and even fermentation to go on. If kept below this point Kumyss does not need any more shaking after it is in the ice box. It is only too high a temperature and rapid fermentation which causes the lumps and grittiness which should be entirely absent in a good Kumyss. Practical Points, Flavell of this city allows physicians 25 per cent. discount from the prices charged patients. If you must prescribe a truss or other surgical appliance it will pay you to send for his catalog. Do not neglect to send to the Resinol Company for samples and literature. Their preparation is. advertised solely to the profession and is of acknowledged value in all skin troubles. Write them mentioning THE WOrld. Chronic constipation caused by atony of the bowels is best treated by some bitter water of recognized value, such as Apenta. Write to the Apollinaris Company, mentioning THE WORLD, and get samples and literature. The advertisement is on another page. Keith's avena sativa is regarded as a nerve tonic of great value. The firm will send a large sample gratis to physicians paying postage. Constipation is best overcome by gentle means. There is no better known laxative than California Fig Syrup. Read the advertisement elsewhere and give it a trial. Send to Frye of Portland, Me., for bulletin of instruments and prices, mentioning WORLD. THE Gibbs' hollow supositories are a boon to the physician who must dispense his own medicines. Read the advertisement elsewhere and write Schieffelin & Co., for particulars. An obstinate case of piles will probably yield to ung. petroselinum sativum. Read Stewart's adv. elsewhere and send for a sample, mentioning MEDICAL WORLD. The Natural Body Brace is a strong ally in the treatment of female disorders. Send for illustrated pamphlet. Send to the Walker-Green Pharmaceutical company for a useful souvenir, and mention THE WORLD. Chas. Lentz & Sons will send on application a pamphlet explaining the advantages of the Frazier-Lentz hot-air apparatus, which has proved so successful in the treatment of rheumatism and allied disorders. Chloride of Silver dry cell batteries stand on their merits. Send for illustrated catalog, enclosing five cents in stamps, and receive a valuable souvenir. The adv. of the Mercer Chemical company contains information that may be of use to you. Read it. Parmele's artistic adv. is always worth study. Have you seen it in this issue of THE WORLD? Nutrient wine is more of a food than a stimulant, and is invaluable in the treatment of typhoid fever, etc. Read the adv. of the Armour Company, and investigate its merits. The Waugh-Abbott preparations are walking right along into the favor of the profession. If you do not want to be a "back number" you would better investigate them. Samples will be sent free on request. Read the advertisement elsewhere. By sending express charges you can have free samples of Marchand's hydrozone and glycozone which cure all diseases caused by germs. The firm will also send free a 240-page book "Treatment of Disease." Read the advertisement opposite first reading, and write them mentioning THE WORLD. Freligh's remedies are concentrated, prompt and powerful. They are well known and liked by the profession, and if there is any one unacquainted with their merits, free samples will be sent on application, mentioning THE WORLD. The Lambert Company will send free a valable cloth bound volume on "Choleraic Diar rhea " to any physician mentioning THE WORLD. Read the adv. elsewhere. It will pay you to regularly follow the advertisement of Parke, Davis & Co. on the last cover page. They will readily answer any questions asked by our subscribers. Sharp & Dohme's aseptic hypodermic apparatus is a most valuable addition to a physician's outfit. Read about it in their advertisement elsewhere in this issue. Wampole's pulverous pills are rapidly increasing in sales, an evidence of popularity. Have you tried them? Read the adv. and send for samples, mentioning MEDICAL WORLD. Why not try Pabst Malt Extract if you wish to prescribe a tonic? It is reliable. Read the advertisement on another page. Get the literature sent free by the Dios Chemical Company, of St. Louis, to those mentioning THE WORLD, and read up on Dioviburnia for the functional diseases of women. Phytoline will rapidly and safely reduce flesh. Have you tried it in obesity? Write the Walker Pharmacal Company for literature and clinical reports, and don't forget to mention THE WOrld. Antikamnia is an American product, and deserves support by Americans. Have you tried it? If not send for a sample, and mention THE MEDICAL WORLD. You will not be without it afterward. Angier's Petroleum Emulsion has built its great reputation on absolute experiment, not conjecture, and the firm invites you to add to knowledge concerning its therapeutic action. Samples and literature will be sent free on request to those mentioning THE WORLD. The season for stubborn coughs is advancing, and it will pay you to give the preparation a trial. Liebmann's Teutonic Malt has a national repu tation. It stands all chemical tests. Write the firm for full information, mentioning THE WORLD. Get a sample of Pheno-Bromate and give it a trial in the aching pains of typhoid fever. Depression never follows its use. Read the advertisement on another page, and write the Company, mentioning THE WORLD. It will pay you. Eskay's Albumenized Food is worthy of trial. Write for samples and literature, mentioning THE WORLD. The way a doctor is drest has much to do with his success. Why not wear the best and most fashionable clothes as made by Thompson? Read the advertisement on another page and write them. They are reliable. Do not neglect to carefully read the advertisement of the American Ferment Company, which appears on another page in this issue. It contains much information that is of value to every practitioner of medicine. Write the Maltbie Chemical Company for formula, literature and clinical reports concerning Viskolein, which possesses great abortive properties in fevers of the typhoid type. Fomakyne, also, is excellent for the headache and other pains of typhoid fever. Kennedy's White Pinus Canadensis gives satisfaction in gonorrhea and gleet; also, in cases of leucorrhea and ulceration of the os uteri. Write the Rio Chemical Company for samples, mentioning THE MEDICAL WORLD. The eighth annual meeting of the Western Surgical and Gynecologic Association will be held at Omaha, December 28 and 29, 1898. Titles of papers from some of the leading surgeons of the West are already in the hands of the secretary, and the coming meeting promises to be the most interesting yet held. G. W. Brown, M.D., says: "I have used Pineoline in many cases of skin diseases, and in every instance with immediate relief or permanent cure. I did not stop to classify the ailments. Whenever I found an eruption or irritation of any kind, I applied the Pineoline to the affected part, and in every instance gained the desired results. The preparation is one the physician can always depend upon to give the desired result-prompt relief." In typhoid fever I have always noticed that when Platt's Chlorids was used the air was a great deal fresher and it was easier to keep the tongue and lips moist. Undoubtedly the dryness of mouth, besides indicating the state of bowels, is greatly caused by impurities in the air. E. Sylvain, M.D., Attending Physician to Hospital of Sacred Heart, Manchester, N. H. See advertisement elsewhere, and send for a sample. It will be of use to you. In cases of engorgement of the cervix-uteri, Micajah's Medicated Uterine Wafers afford marked relief; are highly beneficial in all inflammatory conditions; and in cases of endometritis, decided improvement has been reported from their use. One advantage in this treatment is the ease of application. Send for samples, mentioning THE World. In Unguentine we have a thoroly antiseptic, healing and restorative dressing, non-toxic, inodorous and clean. It readily subdues inflammation and assists in granulation, and was used in the hospital barracks at Key West, Florida, where the wounded soldiers of the Maine were taken for treatment from Havana. Doctor, if you have not tried it, write for a sample and have it on hand for your next case. Antitoxin is not a proprietary article or nostrum, but an ethical therapeutic agent on a par with quinine, morphine and mercury. All antitoxin deteriorates and should be exchanged for a fresh product at stated intervals. This courtesy was first granted by the H. K. Mulford Co., for whose product the claim is made that it is the most generally employed and yields the highest rate of recoveries. Dr. Alfredo Garofalo, says of Phenalgin: "I have used this valuable drug in influenza, acute rheumatism and severe headache with considerable satisfaction. I believe that Phenalgin is an important therapeutic product and that it will remain in common use." Dated Rome, Italy, September 11, 1898. The Journal of the American Medical Association says: "Among the many attractive exhibits at this year's Denver meeting, that of Imperial Granum, a recognized standard among prepared foods, occupied a prominent space. Handsome sample boxes of the food, and copies of company's clinical record, were presented to each physician in attendance." Doctor, have you had a sample? If not, send for one and mention THE WORLD. Our Monthly Talk The kindly light in the darkness guides the mariner on his way and warns him from dangerous rocks. Who placed the lights in dangerous places, and who maintains them every night thru all the year, and every year? The Government. And they serve every ship, of whatever nationality, that comes within their range. And the story is only begun. When fog gathers and becomes so dense that the lights cannot penetrate it, fog-horns are blown and their dismal sound is the sweetest music to the sailor in danger of being dashed upon the rocks. As the ship approaches port, buoys, lighted buoys, bell buoys, whistling buoys, etc., guide safely to the wharf or place of anchor. But years ago the Government removed specially dangerous rocks, deepened channels, etc., and every year one of the largest appropriations that Congress makes is the River and Harbor Appropriation, for the improvement of rivers and harbors. These public duties in relation to transportation by water are recognized by every country. Look about your house, upon your dinner table, etc., and you will see to what extent articles from beyond the sea enter into our daily life. What would a country be without public roads? Imagine a town or city without public streets! Not many of the necessities and comforts of life are produced in your immediate vicinity. Think over all these things, and then say if you think that transportation is properly a public question. Say if you think it is an important question. When you say yes to these propositions, reflect over the fact that the mud roads and here and there a graveled road, belong to the public, upon which the horse, mule and ox may be used as motive forces, while the roads of iron and steel, with the puffing, swift and nevertiring locomotive, are owned and operated by private companies for private profit. Distant communities are as interdependent upon one another as adjoining communities once were, and the railroads absolutely control this interdependence. Should such control, such an important public function, be intrusted to private corporations which exist only for profit? Most other countries have long ago discovered that private control of so important a public function is inimical to the public welfare. When will we make this discovery? How long after we have made the discovery will we proceed to act upon it? The abuses are many, as most of us know, but whose fault is it? It is natural for the owners of the railroads to work for their own interests. Why don't the people work for their own interests? Not bright enough? Don't know how? Too slow? How long will we continue to pay the railroads from eight to ten times more per pound for hauling the U. S. mails than the express companies pay for having their packages hauled? How much longer will we pay a rental for the postal cars equal each year to the cost of the cars? and this in addition to the monstrously high price paid for hauling the mail, while the express companies pay no rental at all! The railroads like this sort of thing, and will continue it so long as we will permit it. Those who protest against this injustice the railroads regard as disturbers; dangerous agitators; "socialists; anarchists!" They like the present condition, and they want it to continue undisturbed. But, doctor, how do you like it? Would you like to have penny postage? You can't have it while such exorbitant rates are paid to the railroads. Would you like to have a cheap and convenient package post, at about one-third the rates we have to pay to the express companies? You can't have it while such an unreasonable rate is paid to the railroads. Don't you think it is worth while to see or communicate with your senators and congressmen upon this subject? The railroads "see" them with passes. Suppose you vote for a man that can't be seen " in this way. Write about this in your local newspaper. 66 The railroads hold a controlling power over the price to be paid to the farmer for his produce, and the price to be paid by the consumer. Usually the rates of transportation are high until the bulk of the crop is in the hands of speculators; then the rates go down. Just why this is done, "inquire within "; that is, on the inside of the ring, if you can penetrate the deep and dark secrets there. But to those who have given attention to this subject all is as transparent as daylight. The speculators either belong to the railroad ring or "stand in" with the railroad ring. Thus the members of our most useful producing class, the farmers, are drained. When the farmer is prosperous, we all are prosperous. When the railroads rob and drain the farmers, they rob and |