"The adulteration of aristol is liable to be fraught with
serious consequences to the patient. It is extremely
dangerous to introduce a mineral substance into an open
wound, and many surgeons who have used this adulterated
antiseptic, having bought it in good faith for the pure
drug, have been at a loss to know why the wounds have
suppurated. It is possible this adulterated drug may have
caused numberless cases of blood poison with consequent
loss of life."
HASTENED McKINLEY'S DEATH.
It is even whispered that one of the products sold by this gang as
a counterfeit of a standard article hastened the death of President
William McKinley. The story goes that when the physicians sent to the
nearest drug store for a certain kind of medicine they were given a
substance which resembled it in every way but which was spurious. It
is said the drug had exactly the opposite effect upon the president
from what the doctors had reason to suppose it would have. Some there
are who even declare that the application of the genuine article at
that critical time would have saved the life of William McKinley.
Otta G. Stoltz, druggist at 60 Rush street, Chicago, Ill., assisted by
his porter, manufactured the spurious drugs in his basement for E. A.
Kuehmsted.
In manufacturing the standard remedy of aristol, he used fifty per
cent of various ingredients, and fifty per cent of rosin. It was
called "Thymistol, manufactured by the Mexican Chemical Company,"
and substituted for aristol. There was no such a company in Mexico.
The goods, boxes and labels were made in Chicago, Illinois, and the
stuff was sold to the druggists for one half the price of the genuine
aristol.
The gang was ostensibly engaged in selling to the retail drug trade
infringements of a large number of patented drugs, manufactured in
Germany. Their products were represented to be genuine, differing
from those handled by the legitimate wholesale drug trade only in
the fact that they were imported by them direct from Canada and
England, thereby evading payment of royalty to the American patentees.
As a matter of fact, the peddlers used the cry of monopoly under
the patents merely as a pretext for ingratiating themselves with
the retail druggists, and then foisted upon them many adulterated
and spurious imitations of the imported preparations. The drugs
imitated are standard medical preparations, dispensed on physician's
prescription by every retail pharmacist. These remedies are in so
general use that at least one-half the prescriptions written by
physicians call for one or other of them.
LETTER FROM EDWARD A. KUEHMSTED, THE PRINCIPAL DEALER IN SPURIOUS
DRUGS; IT IS SELF-EXPLANATORY.
Chicago, Ill.,
July 24, 1902.
MR. M. R. ZAEGEL.
Sheboygan, Wis.
My Dear Mr. Zaegel:
Although I have been selling bogus Phenacetine and a lot of
other bogus goods for over three years. I have never had
the pleasure of selling you any of them. I should very much
like to do so, and feel that I can give you satisfaction
both in goods and prices.
Some time ago I perfected arrangements to get my supplies
direct from Europe, where the supply is not so limited as
in Canada, and I can do much better in price.
The enclosed list gives my complete line. All items with
prices attached I have in stock and can supply without
delay. Other items are continually arriving.
The prices I have made you are, I think, exceptionally
low, and I trust they will induce you to give me a trial.
Express charges I prepay. Trusting I may be favored with
your valued orders, I am,
Very respectfully,
EDWARD A. KUEHMSTED.
6323 Ingleside Ave.,
Chicago, Ill.
THE STATE LAWS COVERING THE FRAUDULENT ADULTERATION OF DRUGS AND
MEDICINES FOR THE PURPOSE OF SALE, READS AS FOLLOWS.
"Section 10, Chapter 38 of Hurd's Revised Statutes of
Illinois for 1903. Whoever fraudulently adulterates, for
the purpose of sale, any drug or medicine, or sells or
offers or keeps for sale any fraudulently adulterated drug
or medicine, knowing the same to be adulterated, shall be
confined in the County Jail not exceeding one year, or
fined not exceeding $1,000, and such adulterated drugs and
medicines shall be forfeited and destroyed."
After the great mass of evidence had been gathered it was submitted to
the Chief of Police, Francis O'Neill, who instructed Detective Clifton
R. Wooldridge to lay the matter before John K. Prindiville, Justice
of Peace, and if he would issue warrants to go ahead and search the
premises and make arrest.
Desk Sergeant Mike White looked upon as an expert by the police
Department drew the complaints and warrants which were duly signed and
a detail of 20 picked men was assigned to Detective Wooldridge with
instructions to go ahead, and on Oct. 29, 1904, they were divided into
four squads and they swooped down on the five Medicine concerns at one
time without giving them any warning.
The following is a list of the parties arrested:
W. G. Nay, alias S. B. Soper, 1452 Fulton street; over $2,000 worth of
spurious stuff seized. Nay and wife arrested.
Burtis B. M'Cann, alias George A. Barton, 6113 Madison avenue, $2,500
worth of stuff seized. McCann arrested.
J. J. Dean, 6123 Ellis avenue; $5,000 worth of spurious medicines
seized; Dean and wife arrested.
J. N. Levy, 359 Dearborn street; $500 worth seized.
Edward A. Kuehmsted, 6323 Ingleside avenue, and Isabella Kuehmsted
were arrested; over $12,000 worth of spurious drugs were seized by
Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge, Sergeant William M. McGrath, Sergeant
Thomas Fitzpatrick, Officers Terence N. Kelly, Mathew J. Reilly,
Michael O'Neill, Thomas Ready, Michael McGuire, August C. Dolan,
Patrick Quinn, Thomas Daly, Bernard Conway.
V. Goldberg, a partner of Edward Kuehmsted, appeared on the scene and
tried to prevent the officers from taking the goods. He was locked
up on the charge of disorderly conduct and on the following morning
entered a plea of guilty before Justice John R. Caverly and was
fined $1 and cost. John G. Campbell, alleged attorney for Edward A.
Kuehmsted, appeared upon the scene and tried to force his way into the
house while the drug was being removed. He also tried to prevent the
officers from taking the drugs and threatened to whip them, pulled his
coat off and assaulted Detective Wooldridge. He too was sent to the
Harrison Street Station and locked up.
The prisoners arrested in the raid were sent to the Harrison Street
Police Station together with eleven wagonloads of drugs seized, which
were valued at $30,000.
Upon the arrival of the prisoners and the drugs, a United States
warrant was served upon them, charging the defendants with using the
mails to defraud, also a duces tecum subpoena was served for the
drugs seized in the raid to be brought into the United States court
forthwith, was served upon Detective Wooldridge, and other officers by
United States Marshal.
The two ex-convicts were Levy, who was also known under the aliases
of Charles Meyers, R. Waldron, and R. Cassat and George Edwards.
Under the latter name he served a year in Joliet. Hass was the
other ex-convict. His Sing Sing number was B 5574. Yet under the
administration of the law under the justice shop system these men,
who sold chalk and water mixed with idorn oxides for an antiseptic,
finally managed to get out of the clutches of the law on a compromise
adjudication, concerning which the State's Attorney alone knew the
details.
Then the insolent vendors of fake drugs thought they saw a chance
to get back at the officers of the law. They found a nice little
loop-hole in the fact that when the raids were made a few chemicals,
which were not contraband had been seized, in the rush and scurry of
the raid.
Therefore a suit was brought against Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge,
Charles M. Carr, editor of the N. A. R. D. Notes, a police
publication, Henry D. Morton, Chief of Police Francis O'Neill, the
Farbenfabriken Co. and Wooten. The suit called for heavy damages.
After going over the evidence the court of first resort awarded
damages of $1.00. Rather than be put to the cost of an appeal this
$1.00 was paid by the defendants.
But the business of vending fake drugs in the city of Chicago had been
broken up and the city made unsafe for this most detestable class
of swindlers, who prey upon the sick and wounded and endanger human
life by the sale of their nostrums. "It was worth $1.00 to put the
rascally crew out of business," said Detective Wooldridge afterward in
discussing the matter. "It is surely worth a dollar to a man to know
that he has been instrumental in saving thousands of human lives." And
there the matter rested.