A QUACK SENT TO QUOD

NZ Truth, Issue 692, 21 September 1918, Page 5

A QUACK SENT TO QUOD

RUMBLE'S RHEUMATIC RUBBISH

Get-Rich-Quick Adventurer The Health Department Still Dozing

George Th.mas Rumble, a welldressed, intelligent-looking young man, who has been several times remanded at the Auckland Police Court op. charges of obtaining money from four different people by false pretences, had his case dealt with on September 12, before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M. Acting-Sub-Inspector McNamara prosecuted for the police, and accused was undefended. In outlining his case, ' the ActingSub, said that accused's methods w : ere that he advertised himself under, the name of L. MoLachlan, Ltd., Of Queenstreet, Auckland, and thathe was the" proprietor of a certain oure for rheumatics, whioh was known as "KNOWLES' RHEUMATIC- . CURE," and which' was sold at - a guinea a course, which consisted of 16 small packets of the remedy done up m a larger packet. It was asserted Rumble did a great business, and that a great profit came from each transaction, as on analysis it was found that the cure was nothing but Glauber salts, and could be produced at the cost of a penny— a marked difference between the cost. of production and the price obtained'tor it by the accused. The S.M.:' That applies tb all quack medicines. The first witness called was Rosanna Parr, of Green Lane, Remuera. ; She hobbled into the- witness-box, supported by a stick. She had seen the advertisement, and as it seemed to promise much she wrote and received a glowingaccount of the wonderful effects of "Knowles' Rheumatic Cure." The letter stated that a Mrs. Edge, of Onehunga, who was getting on to the allotted span, had taken a course^ and had been completely cured. She sent 21s, and received the parcel of the "cure" which contained sixteen doses. She got rid of ' the doses, ' BUT NOT THE RHEUMATICS. ' She then wrote to "L. McLaehlan and Co., Ltd.," stating that the "rheu" was still with her, and an answer came back expressing surprise that no benefit had followed the swallowing of the cure. It was suggested that another sixteen" should be taken, and another guinea went to accused, and sixteen doses came back and were taken religiously, but no effect on the patient's "screws." She was .satisfied then Knowels' Rheumatic Cure was too expensive to swallow with such barren results. ■ In answer to accused, she said she had suffered for years, but , had never tried any other remedy. It was understood that there was to be a refund if no cure followed the treatment, but she had made no application for a refund. Harriet Girvin, of Grey Lynn, an old lady of 65, was the next victim to fall to the Knowles' cure. She had to be carried m on. a chair. She said she, too, had seen the advertisement and sent along a guinea,- full of hope because a circular 'said another woman of 65 ha,d tried it, and had found it beneficial. She got' through the sixteen doses by following the instructions — one every day 1 ; but she neither felt better nor worse. She would have asked for her money back, but COULD NOT FIND THE ACCUSED.- - John Ryan, of Ponsonby, differed from the other.; two: witnesses, as he got into the witness-box without either limping or being carried there. He looked well enough, but did not give the credit to the Knowles' cure. He tried one lot of 16, and as it was not effective he communicated-, with the firm that sold it,' and got back' a letter, which said he ought to give, it a three' months' trial, as it would cure the most

obstinate case known if the patient would only persist. John deemed it cheaper not to persist. To accused: Had tried .other cures, but none had been effective. No other offered him a refund if they failed. Plain- clothes Constable Trotter- gave evidence as to the arrest. In a statement accused admitted ttiat •he was "L. McLachlan and Co.^' and he had the great American remedy for rheumatics. Though the letter-heads said the firm had a place m Queen- street he only did business from a letter-box m the GjP.O. He lived m Onehunga, and made the preparation up there. He had no medical training of any kind The constable said he had made a search of the accused's , bedroom, and found a file of extensive correspondence, and. also a notebook which contained the information that m three months he had paid SIX SHILLINGS FOR GLAUBER SALTS and' £10 13s 7d m other expenses, whilst the sales for the cure totalled £64 ISs. He had found him by watching his letter-box, having failed to locate him m Queen-street. Constable Hoyle said he was stationed at Onehunga, -but could not find anyone of the name of Mrs. 'Edge. Then the Crown produced Mrs. Edge, but she was not 65, and had only been Mrs. Edge about 12 months, having married recently. But she said she knew the accused when she lived at Onehunga, but she had never tried the "unfailing" cure, though she had known Rumble for three or four yeara.

Analyst Alfred J. Parker said he had analysed a sample of Knowles' neverfail. It was sodium sulphate, and \y f WORTH- ABOUT A PENNY for sixteen doses. Medically, it was a purgative, but it had no direct influence on rheumatism. To accused:- It could have no effect on uric acid. In fact, uric acid m connection with rheumatism was a fairytale. , The S.M.:- The sale of all quack medicines should be stopped. In. reply to the S.M., witness said -patent medicines were of two kinds. This was of the kind that if it did no good it did no harm. pr. William Henry Horton, a mediae 1 1 Practising m Auckland, said that Glauber salts could not be considered as a remedy for rheumatism. It is simply Epsom salts. It could be used as an indirect help, but 16,000 packets of the kind m court would not cure chronic rheumatism. He did not like the Idea of altogether running patent medicines down, as some were useful, but this one was not a cure for chronic rheumatism. Accused, when asked if he .desired to give evidence, said he preferred to make a statement.: He said he had seen cases, where Glauber salts had been successfully used m cases of rheumatism. He recognised that it had a commercial value, but said that it would not cure everybody, and for that reason he always stated he would . REFUND THE MONEY when cures failed. Some of his patients had got refunds. The S.M.: I have looked through this correspondence of yours, and can see no letters acknowledging refunds. The accused said he tried* to be honest. . The" S.M.: Do you mean to say it was an honest transaction when the only people who asked for refunds were told to keep on purchasing your treatment? Y t ou know no more about rheumatism than I do. You will /be convicted. , ....•'..■,-.,■.. Acting - Sub - Inspector McNamara then gave the. accused^ history. He came to New , Zealand five years ago. He put the "Finch Corpulency Cure" on the market m the American manner.. He had a stock, and to assist the sale he used to go into a chemist's shop and ask for. it. If they had not got it, he suggested they, should secure it : at the wholesale . store — Rumbles's. Then, lie went to Wellington and opened "a" branch there for the sale of. the corpulency cure. From 'Wellington he> came baok to Auckland. In the meantime, he, fell m love .with a young girl, and took her; name. .He had been recently tried at the Supreme Court on a criminal charge, but the jury acquitted him. Then he started m this rheumatic cure business. He had TAKEN IN. ABOUT 2000 PEOPLE according to the correspondence, and from every place — from Invercargill to Auckland — the police were receiving letters asking if they could get their money back f rom the accused. The man was an adventurer — -a get-rieh-quick adventurer. He could not even produce Mrs. Edge, whom he alleges to have cured. The accused pleaded hard to be treated as a first offender. The Acting-Sub.: He has been previously convicted of using abusive language. The' S.M. : Well, he has another conviction now. Three months' imprisonment. The accused was removed from court, and his victims followed, wiser, . _f not cured — having had a lesson m quacks and credulity. It might be-add-ed for the consolation of , his Wellington victims that Rumble is identical with Manners and Co., who advertised a corpulency cure. Under the provisions of the Quackery Prevention Act, the' Chief Health Officer is empowered to forbid the publication of advertisements "to promote the sale of any article as a medicine, preparation, or appliance for the prevention, alleviation or cure of any human ailment or physical defect, and which is false m any material particularly, relating to the ingredients or operation of that article, or to the effects which have followed or may follow the use thereof." This piece of valuable protective legislation m the interests of the. people is practically a dead-letter, because the Health Department seldom troubles, to investigate the genuineness of any of the numerous nostrums advertised m the press.