Page:Alcohol, a Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine.djvu/315
ALCOHOL AS A MEDICINE. 307
resort to such a wholesale fraud as this, what may they be expected to refrain from ?
As an illustration of how commendations from notable persons are sometimes obtained, the follow- ing is cited : In the winter of 1899, appeared an advertising picture of the lovely Christian lady from Denmark, the Countess Schimmelmann, who was spending some time in Chicago. Below her picture were the words :
" Adeline, Countess Schimmelmann, whose portrait is here
given, in a recent letter to the company, (mentioning
proprietors of nostrum) speaks of friends of hers who have
been benefited by (mentioning nostrum), and who first
advised her to recommend it to her sick friends.
" The Countess, as is well known, is a prominent member of the Danish court. Her coming to this country has been much talked of. Her real object is one of charity. She is stopping in Chicago, and from there writes her straightforward en- dorsement of (mentioning nostrum)."
The italics are the writer's. The picture and the testimonial were cut from the paper, and sent to the countess, asking if she had so spoken of this medicine, and, if so, did she, a strong total absti- nence woman, know that this mixture contains a large percentage of alcohol.
She responded as follows :
" Thank you for asking me about the enclosed. A white- ribbon lady came and asked me if I would do her the great
kindness to recommend compound (made up of the
juice of celery). I said I could not personally recommend it as I neither use, nor want, medicine. But some very reliable
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