lled "Appliances" and "Methods" are nothing but an adaptation of
the old-fashioned truss with belt, band, leg-straps, springs, etc.
Nothing but the most worthless kind of a truss masquerading under a
misleading name.

Some of these "Method" concerns throw in some absurd kind of liniment,
salve or ointment-- tell you the secret lies in this "lymph" or whatever
they call it rather than in their appliances.

But that is nothing more nor less than the rankest kind of fraud.

It is folly to suppose any salve, liniment or medicine can possibly cure
rupture. Might as well expect them to cure a broken bone. Though they
can probably do as much good as the worthless "appliances" they come
with.

[Sidenote: The Liniment Fraud]

When you first apply this "lymph" or liniment, you may feel some
stimulating effects; for these lymph-sellers are always careful to tell
you to _rub_ the stuff _in_ thoroughly. But the stimulation lasts only a
few minutes; and is due to the _rubbing_ and not to the liniment. If you
rub with your fingers alone-- without any liniment-- it will do just as
much good.

This rubbing, while the stimulation lasts, simply proves the value of
_massage_. For rubbing with your hands is, in a way, like the massage
which the Cluthe Truss gives automatically. But the massage given by our
truss is a hundred times more invigorating and strengthening to the
ruptured parts than any amount of hand-rubbing. Our truss is giving the
_massage_ all day long, while rubbing with your hands can be done only
once or twice a day at most, only when flat on your back, and only for a
few minutes at a time.

Some of these people claim they can cure rupture by means of a
plaster-- like the kidney plaster which proved worthless long ago.

These plaster venders are careful to avoid saying out and out in plain
language that their plaster will positively keep your rupture from
coming out-- they make no direct promises or guarantee whatever of
holding the rupture.

If they cannot guarantee holding, it is nonsense to think any plaster
can possibly overcome any weakness like rupture, no matter what kind of
_magical_ ointment there may be in the plasters.

We have talked of these kinds of people in plain language; we have
called a spade a spade.

For it is nothing less than a crime the way these men have grown rich by
defrauding ruptured people.

It is worse than the way wildcat "mining" men have robbed the
unsuspecting public. For