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O-ON^O
EMPIRICAL REMEDIES
C>READ BEFORE^O
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA,
(^NApbil, 1852.^23
BY ROBERT CAMPBELL, M. D.}
CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON EMPIRICAL REMEDIES.
TRINTED BY JAS. McCAFFERTY.
1 8 5 2.
1
EMPIRICAL REMEDIES.
APPENDIX A.
From, the Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of j
Georgia, for 1852. j
The relationship sustained by Empiricism to Medi¬
cal Science is indeed a pertinent one. As vice persists
contrarious to virtue, so these two countervailing sys¬
tems, in a moral sense, advance at variance; the one
retarding the great interests of humanity, the other
counteracting its pernicious sway; the former but one
unconscionable scheme for coining guilty gain, the latter
blest with divinity of purpose—the perfection of Science
and its exercise through indiscriminate and self-sacri¬
ficing benevolence. Thus having defined its position
to be at enmity with the generous design universally
contemplated in the prosecution of all pure wisdom,
we would consider charlatanry in the manner of its
existence, and study the best, most practicable and
efficient means for its suppression.
In considering the varied pursuits of life embraced
in the grand reciprocating system of business operating
throughout the world, we find quackery the inevitable
concomitant of all human enterprise—a pretender to
the success of genuine worth, assuming but the outward
similitude of excellence to mislead the ignorant and
4
ESSAY ON
unwary, for the accomplishment of its mercenary, de¬
signs—a veritable "wolf in sheep's clothing!"
In all the walks of science there are none in which it
enjoys so protean a character of existence, or has at¬
tained so high a degree of perfection and'refinement as
in medicine. Nor is there one in which the rank weed
vegetates with more choking luxuriance, than in this.
Here, it springs forth a huge, imposing stalk, overgrown
by cultivation, branched and foliaged, and blooming in
almost irresistible similitude with the genuine growth.
Or rather—organizing into a specious philosophy, with
laws to govern and intensely elaborated theories to vin¬
dicate its policy, it assumes, the well-feigned dignity of
a perfect system of scientific truth.
And here we find to flourish its every grade of de¬
velopment, from the more refined and plausible accom¬
plishment of a pseudo-medical-philosophy, down to the
most odious species of medical imposture.
It is but natural to inquire here, into the source of
so great an evil—to investigate the conditions which
may operate as determining causes in the production of
so untoward a result as this commingling of medicine
more than of any other system of truth, with its appro¬
priate forms of empiricism, so as always to require the
discrimination of the adept to decide concerning the
merits of their respective pretensions.
The institution of Medicine is founded in an effort of
man's intellectual powers for the relief or mitigation of
the infirmities allotted to man's physical estate. Hence,
this relation places him in an attitude of dependence
upon the varied attributes of human nature, that unpar-
EMPIRICAL REMEDIES.
5
alleled incongruity of turbidness and purity of design.
Here, we have humanity in its weakest, most unfortified
position—overcome by disease, a suppliant for relief to
all who profess to hold in hand the reins of its infirmi¬
ties—an easy spoil for those of its kind, whom avarice
prompts to prey upon misfortune. Thus, in the nature
of the case, there exist here more facilities, and greater
inducements for imposition, than can be found elsewhere.
It is remarkable, that the popular mind is more in
darkness and error concerning the true principles of
medical philosophy, than in any other sphere of know¬
ledge appertaining to the welfare of mankind—more
insight into other sciences being commonly attained in
general education. This being so profound and compli¬
cated a system of learning, depending upon a just appre¬
ciation of so many intricate branches of science, and of
the mutual dependencies and indispensable connexions
between them, that popular notions of medicine are
mostly, either erroneous deductions from a limited
amount of information, or are imbibed from the decla¬
rations of charlatanry: which latter, are more easily
comprehended and appropriated by the ignorant. Thus,
the mass of mankind are not capable of discriminating
between the true physician and the plausible quack, or
of judging concerning the merits of their respective
systems of medication. This cause also operates favor¬
ably for medical imposture generally.
The class of diseases termed incurable, and which in
the present stage of therapeutical knowledge, must so
be considered, and for aught we can divine, must ever
so remain, furnishes a fertile field for the cultivation of
6
ESSAY ON
all varieties of empiricism. When Science, proudly-
scorning to dissemble, defines the Hmits of her sway,
then Quackery, tempted of so rich a revenue, usurps
the undisputed province.
We have thus attempted a partial analysis of the pe¬
culiar and necessary relationships of medical science,
which circumstances we conceive to be sufficient to
exert a determining agency in placing the comparative
ascendency of quackery in this, above that of any other
engagement of life. And such influences, although ap¬
parently remote and indeterminate, must conduce ulti¬
mately to the origin and maintenance of its varied and
numerous modes of manifestation, from the elimination
and exhibition of those dainty dogmas so weli calculated
to captivate the capricious and the fanciful, down to the
emission and appropriation of those vile products annu¬
ally issued in millionary swarms, for a more universal
application, and which are dignified by their worthy
authors as " patent cures," and by us stigmatized as
" Empirical Remedies.'"' It is the latter class, that it is
our duty here, particularly to consider.
Of all the heteroclitic systems of popular medication,
this one weighs more heavily upon our profession as a
responsibility, than any other—as it is more generally
prevalent in all classes of society, and from its nature,
possessed of greater malignity of power in its operation.
It is the physician's lot alone, to be able to fathom the
depth of so profound a mischief. And who can appre¬
ciate its portentous character as a growing evil, without
being shocked and pained at its too palpable significance?
EMPIRICAL REMEDIES.
7
From the position awarded him, by right of his educa¬
tion in the premises, he can survey, as an arbiter of
human health and life, the field of man's interest, and
scan with a knowing eye the conflicting agencies which
are warring upon it. By virtue of his office, too, there
reposes in him, the only hope of remedying this mighty
evil, by delivering society, the dupe of fraud, from the
degrading and perilous thraldom into which its ignor¬
ance and credulity have betrayed it. It devolves upon
us then, to search out its causes, to discover the agencies
which are tributary to its support and success, and de¬
vise, if possible, some sure means for their removal or
frustration.
It may not be considered inapposite first, to notice a
few of the artful devices which characterize the policy
of the " nostrum trade." The rationale of this system
of quackery, and of its prosecution upon so extended a
scale, appears very simple. In every pursuit of life,
whether high or low, where indolence and avarice incite
the mind to conjure up some royal road to fortune, it
requires but little penetration and reasoning for the ad¬
venturer to perceive, that in the extensive sphere of
popular dupeability, he is presented with an inviting
theatre for profitable speculation. The success of pre¬
decessor nostrum dealers tempts him to embark in a
traffic whose capital is but the outlay of truth and honor;
whose perquisite is easy gain. Hence, to determine
upon some medium in which to embody and disseminate
the nefarious project, is the purpose, it matters little
whether it be a virulent poison (if not too rapid a one,)
or a harmless confectionary, some convenient or pala-
essay on
'?
table nostrum is produced either originally, or from a
stolen formula vamped into a more acceptable form.
Next, it is necessary to attract popular attention to the
adjusted bait—and some most startling phrase, wrought
out of flaming words, is appended to it for a name; and
upon the merits of this name depends, in great mea¬
sure, the future prospect for success. "Dead Shot"
and "Pain Killer" are terms of irresistible import
to the popular comprehension. And such phrases are
in so great demand, that the language has been com¬
pletely drained of all the heroic terms which might be
pressed into this illegitimate and unhallowed service; so
much so that the more recent conscriptions are but far¬
fetched and insignificant expressions, which fall with
forced but feeble enunciation on the public ear. Such
is the latest style, embracing an action of empiricism
against pain. The "Pain Stopperwe apprehend, has
fallen still-born into light, for want of a nomenclatural
vitality. And here, we may inquire if the discovery,
by our science, of her several anaesthetic agents, might
not have aroused the spirit of emulation in her evil
genius, which has pi-ompted her to summon up to her aid
the " Pain Killer" Pain Extractor," " Pain Eradi-
cator"Pain Stopper " &c., etc.—in her recent foray
upon this important quarter ?
The system of publication, which constitutes so in¬
dispensable an auxiliary in the economy of this species
of commerce, is no less imposing in its artful design and
elaborate and comprehensive inditement, than is the
scheme of its nomenclature. Every one is made fa¬
miliar, through the columns of every newspaper, with
i
«*»#
i
empirical remedies
9
the strenuous puffing—the irresistible stress of gas, so
offensive to reason, with which these unscrupulous
mountebanks are accustomed to inflate the astounding
attributes of their noxious panaceas. In addition to the
prostitution of the columns of almost every daily and
weekly gazette throughout the country, by the introduc¬
tion of paragraphs fraught with subtle chicanery and
enormous mendacity, society in every condition is be¬
sieged by the audacious obtrusion of their lying placards,
handbills, circulars, and every variety of advertisement,
artfully adapted to the comprehension of every class;
or shrouded in a maze of unintelligible jargon of mis¬
applied or misquoted medical technicalities, which never
fail to secure, through the magic power of mystery,
the faith and advocacy of their illiterate and supersti¬
tious victims. For example, "Bristol's Sarsaparilla Cir¬
cular" presents the report of a very formidable case of
"Septum Nosi," miraculously cured by this infallible
drug.
Another mode of quack advertisement worthy of no¬
tice, as an instance of high attainment in accomplished
artifice and crafty ingenuity, is the construction of the
"Family Almanac," which is a compilation of nostrum
advertisements, almanac intelligence, and reports of
wonderful cures—interspersed with glaring wood-cut
caricatures of the hideous lineaments of dire disease, so
skillfully intermingled as unavoidably to arrest the atten¬
tion and curiosity of every reader.
Finally, the operation of controlling and vitiating the
public mind by the sophistry and falsehood of charla¬
tanry, represents the principal exercise of this pernicious
it i
—
10
ESSAY ON
business. And when success will warrant, it is dealt in
to almost an incredible amount of expenditure. It is
estimated that the notorious Morrison appropriated, be¬
tween the years of 1830 and 1844, the enormous sum of
$540,000 to the advertisement of his nostrum.
The evil influence exerted upon society by such a
perversion of the controlling energies of the public press,
is necessarily deeply felt, wherever such an abuse is tol¬
erated. It appears to have been appreciated by the
French government, when in 1846 an ordinance was
issued in Paris and every city throughout the kingdom,
•'that no bills or placards announcing the treatment of
any disease by particular individuals, or the sale of any
particular medicines, should be posted on the walls, or
otherwise exposed to public view; and further, that
none of the public newspapers should insert any such
announcements in their advertisements or otherwise."
How wise and efficient a measure was this, for the pro¬
tection of the commonwealth!
All the manoeuvring diplomacy of the nostrum vender,
in concerting his pretenses favorably for public accept¬
ance, however plausible and inviting, would often be re¬
garded with much of suspicion and discredit, especially
by the more discerning, were they not substantiated by
the endorsement of some more accredited authority.
Hence it is a great desideratum with him to procure, by
some means or other, testimonials of high sounding
name and respectability, to furnish a semblance of truth
and dignity to his unwarrantable representations. These
are often to be regarded as completive of the one con¬
sistent scheme of fraud—the product of an extension of
•«!§»
m> —
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EMPIRICAL REMEDIES. 11
the same ingenuity and falsity pervading the whole pro¬
cedure: having, in many instances, forged to them
names of the most indubitable integrity of professional
honor; or names which, perhaps, have long since exist¬
ed only in the office of a pure and irreproachable mem¬
ory. But alas! they too often may triumph in the
sanction of a genuine, a living authenticity.
Having determined what are the agencies which lend
their influence to the furtherance of so deplorable an
evil, this brings us to consider who are the abettors of
this pernicious vice. It appears from no inconsiderable
inquiry, that this serious charge, strange to say, is most
unanimously preferred against those whose positions in
the community would entitle them to be styled the go¬
verning intelligences of the popular mind, as they are |
those whose intellectual pursuits in life should command |
for them the deference due to an enlightened discrimi- j
nation. Thus, the Clerical, the Editorial and the Med- j
ical professions are principally condemned, as being I
participes criminis, in this unworthy enterprise. j
The Clergy are proverbially the supporters of quack- :
ery, and appear to evince a particular approbation of
secret or " patent cures," in preference to medical aid
derived from a more legitimate source, should we judge j
from the frequency with which reverend names are to I
be found appended to laudatory certificates in their fa¬
vor. But this prima facie evidence, we are persuaded,
leads to too harsh a decision in this case. For when
we consider the moral capacity of the empiric, to com¬
pass any means necessary for the attainment of his ends,
and the desirable character of such testimony from the
I
12
ESSAY ON
confidence generally imposed in the members of this
profession, for integrity and intelligence, we are pre¬
pared to make a liberal allowance in their behalf. But,
we would not excuse those of this order, who from
weakness, ignorance or conceit—in a craven spirit of
compliance, or through a blind obsequiousness to the
claims of designing flattery, do thus compromise the
dignity of their high calling and prove recreant to the
cause of truth and the interests of humanity. These,
though they need our pity, demand our reprobation.
It is everywhere complained, " that the public press,
the mind-governing power of the masses, venal and
prostitute, is the mercenary of charlatan impostors, aid¬
ing them to prey on Society, to corrupt morals and to
disseminate falsehood." * This, in effect, appears to be
sadly true! But why is it so ? The press, the passive
medium of communication, subservient to the wishes
the interest, the welfare of society, opens its impartial
columns and wide extended circulation, for promulga¬
ting information purporting to contribute to the benefit
of mankind. What, if the charlatan should there ob¬
trude his claims—extol the efficacy, the advantages of
his medication, giving it currency under a counterfeit
exposition of the laws of health and disease, which he
artfully drafts in accordance with the uneducated appre¬
ciation of the non-medical mind! Can we look to the
editor, in this case, to decide upon the injurious qualities
of the drug—so well testimonialized as it generally is; or
to determine the heterodoxy of the principles set forth ?
Can we expect him to appreciate the intimate relation-
* Prof. S. Jackson—Medical Reform,
|p86>
■««8»
EMPIRICAL REMEDIES
ships of remedial means to the intricate derangements
in the economy of the human organism ? Physicians,
the proper judiciaries, have not essayed to gain-say
them, and our silence is interpreted by the editor—as
by the people, as an evidence of admission, if not ap¬
probation, of the merit and truth of the system. He
himself is duped and errs unwittingly. It is true, that
he is paid for such advertisements—so is he well paid
for advertising^ generally. But his columns are alike
open to the advocacy of true medical science, and the
exposure of the fraud and subversion of the influence of
quackery ; and it but remains for us to employ them.
It is generally urged, and with a humiliating degree
of justice, that in the laxity and corruptness of the ethi¬
cal condition of our own profession, there obtains a
dominant influence for countenancing and promoting
the production and employment of quack and patented
remedies. And here, we are constrained to acknowledge,
that, whether from dereliction of duty, in neglecting the
employment of efforts necessary for combatting the
evil; or from an actual instrumentality in its cause, the
burthen of the offence weighs decidedly within the pale
of the medical profession. We are prone to regard
quackery, in its wide-spread and rapidly increasing
operation, with a bearing of complaisant regret and
supine resignation, as a necessary and inevitable event.
And thus, by an easy gradation, some attain to a leni¬
ent forbearance and finally, acquiescence in its polluting
embrace. We daily allow instances of its pernicious
and oftentimes murderous enactments to pass unchal¬
lenged and unimproved, for its exposure and conviction.
14 ESSAY ON
Such is an instance of neglect of the measures which
might be wielded in its opposition, and which, in itself
may be considered reprehensible in us, as the proper
guardians of the hygienic interests of the community.
But the offence of delinquency may be regarded as of
inconsiderable moment, when compared with the more
glaring evidences of disregard and infraction of the very
fundamental and necessary requisitions, implied in the
terms of our professional morality, and of which, so
many, who claim legitimacy in the Hippocratic lineage,
are to be found guilty. For there are many among us,
who testimonialize for quacks, or who are engaged in
the sale of their nostrums, or who, without ascertaining
their composition, prescribe them in their practice; and
there are still some, who are so fallen and degenerate, as
to have alienated themselves from the profession, and
forfeited their claims to its respectability and privileges,
by enlisting in the legion of quackery, with a shame¬
less avowal of their authorship or proprietorship of some
secret or patent drug. These are certainly, potent
influences derived from the medical profession, which
in its members are more inexcusable, inasmuch as it is
not in every case, that they can honestly plead ignor¬
ance. as an amelioration of their crime.
The aid contributed by the Apothecary, in the
exposure and sale of nostrums, likewise furnishes a con¬
siderable influence towards the success of this business.
And some, not satisfied with the fair profits of so lucra¬
tive an agency, must play a more active and extensive
part in the speculation. Many a physician's valuable
formula is made subservient to this perverted purpose,
EMPIRICAL REMEDIES
15
being set off with ad captandum name, and adorned
with every quack embellishment of which a drug is
susceptible, with specific directions for use., and confi¬
dent recommendations, as the cure of all incurable
diseases.
This is, at least, a compromise of the reciprocating
relationship they sustain to our profession, to say nothing
of the arrant presumption and intrinsic immorality of
the proceeding.
Lastly, the very foundation of all empirical systems,
and more especially of quackery in this form, and its
greatest sustaining influence may be referred to the
construction and operation of the administrative regu¬
lations of our country, in their bearing upon this point.
Hez'e, indeed, is its stronghold—the grand constitutional
basis on which it is founded ; from which it has derived
its origin and derives its existence, and upon which it
depends for protection and encouragement. The exis¬
tence and exercise of the patent law in its application
to remedial agents, guarantees the legality and consti¬
tutionality of the system. Besides encouraging the
production, by protecting the right of manufacturing
and vending these compounds, the exercise of this law
does much, in prejudicing the popular mind in their
favor—as a patent is received as an assurance of the
superior, tested qualities of the drug.
The difficulty of concerting any plan of prosecution,
which would promise success, in remedying this import¬
ant evil—so extensively prevalent and securely estab¬
lished as it is in our country—must be apparent to every
one. It would seem, that the adoption of measures,
which would meet it in all the conditions of its exist¬
ence, (if it were possible to devise them,) and which
would operate gradually, but certainly for the removal
of the causes on which it depends, would furnish the
only hope of a successful encounter.
It is evident, that the principal elements of its exist¬
ence consist in 1st, The general ignorance pervading
the public, on all medical subjects; and 2nd, The im¬
perfect and indiscreet arrangement of the legislative
regulations of this country, concerning subjects of medi¬
cal interest.
Any arrangement to operate successfully, must first
secure great concert of energetic action in the profes¬
sion, and the engagement of its most influential author¬
ities.
The plan which we would respectfully suggest for
your consideration, and which, in our humble opinion,
appears to meet the two most prominent indications
presented, is—
1st. The establishment of an efficient Standing Com¬
mittee in this Body, whose duty it shall be, with the
assistance of the general Society, to collect and publish,
as far as practicable, through the popular channels of
intelligence, all the instances of the pernicious effects,
resulting from the employment of empirical remedies,
which may come under the observation of the Society—
for the advisement of the people.
And, 2nd. Let it be the duty of said Committee to
present a Report of the facts, thus collected, at the an¬
nual meetings of the American Medical Association;
soliciting their recommendation of such a plan to the
empirical remedies.
17
several State Medical Societies and Associations of the
Union—for the purpose of accumulating evidence suffi¬
cient for the arraignment of this injurious system, as
a national grievance. And also, for this Committee to
solicit the interference of the National Association, as
the highest Medical intelligence, in memorializing the
National Congress, as the highest legislative authority
of our country, for the abolition of that portion of the
"Patent-law," referring to secret remedies, and petition¬
ing the suppression and prevention of such medicines,
by whatever additional measures, which that authority
may deem proper to adopt—the evidence of the joint
Report of the several State Committees, being adduced
as the reasonable apology for such an application.
Respectfully submitted.
Robert Campbell, M. D.,
Chairman.
Augusta, Ga., April 14th, 1852.