essman in question.
The facts are thus brought to the attention of many Congressmen. They
see the point also. It suggests to them that they will do well not to
trample on this monster or they may suffer themselves. Thus are the
people deprived of what might have been a great step forward in the
fight for pure food and drugs and, incidentally, in the preservation of
the public health.

One may pertinently ask why the newspapers lend themselves to such
infamous and dishonorable dealings. The answer is that, inasmuch as they
derive a very large part of their total income from patent medicine
advertisements and as these advertisements are contracted for under
certain conditions, it can readily be seen that they are made a party to
crushing legislation which would interfere with the patent medicine
business.

It is agreed in case any law or laws are enacted, either State
or national, harmful to the interest of the ---- Company, that
this contract may be cancelled by them from date of such
enactment, and the insertions made paid for pro rata with the
contract price.

There is another feature of the contract that is of the utmost
significance and importance to the mothers of the race. It is the only
instance we know of which effectually muzzles the public press. This
part of the contract reads as follows:

It is agreed that the ---- Company may cancel this contract,...
in case any matter otherwise detrimental to the ---- Company's
interest is permitted to appear in the reading columns or
elsewhere in the paper.

This means that the newspapers bind themselves, under contract, not to
print any matter in their reading columns which would be detrimental to
the interests of the patent medicine manufacturers. Under the same
stipulation they cannot even accept matter to be paid for, if it in any
way reflects upon the patent medicine business. In other words, the
sovereign people, whose servant the public press should be, is, under
this contract, deprived of its rights of representation in the columns
of the daily newspapers.

The grave significance of this condition of affairs will be adequately
appreciated when it is remembered that every popular movement to right
public wrongs must have the fullest publicity or the effort is doomed to
failure. The patent medicine business has been shown to be a
monstrously evil institution, yet every effort to enlist the public
press in an effor