Sydney Bulletin

Southland Times, Issue 19324, 11 April 1904, Page 4

Sydney Bulletin

SLASHING COMMENTS ON A RECENT CASE OF QENEKAIi INTEREST. The Sydney Bulletin, iii its L characteristic styleY has just attacked a very commori piece of dishonesty, taking for its text a law case in Melbourne the previous week 1 . The Bulletin, whatever ts faults may be, is always ' fearless and independent. It has a .well-deserved reputation for sizing a case up in a few words, and its editor bios done so hero :— *' Chemist John Digby, who has several ' " shops scattered " over suburban Melbovir- '': ne,'bas been up to one ol the oldest " and riskiest tricks of his very tricky " trade. He has been playing the old "game of substitution, and was burned " pretty badly in Justice's. Hood's court "the other day. For mouths h° had •".been bamboozling his pink pill custom"ers with the well-worn story that he " had in bulk some pills which were " 'just the same as.' Dr Williaans', at a " fraction of the price. Wonder why this "piece qf fraudulent impertinence thrives "so well in the drug trade *? It is much " the same as if one asked at p. book- " stall for a ljovel by Gieorge Meredith, ' ' and was urged by the beardless youth " behind the counter to take one by "Marie ,CorelU instead. 'It, is really "just, as good, and ever so -much more " for -the money.' V The impertinence oi " the insinuating chemist's clerk is just " about as ybsid in i^ts.way. Digby gave "his, customers tho imitation, but Justice Hood gave Digby the genuine arti**.<=2e. T-bt-ei-e were JEutlf-a.-<lozezi vrltnesees j .'" in court ready to s^*ear, with dates [ "and all the details complete, that the "fraud had been perpetrated repeatedly "by Digby himself and his assistants. " The official analyst was also on hand "to testify that his 'just as good' " pills contained only one or two of tho " ingredients, and had none of the niedi- " cinal properties of the genuine. When " Digby saw the array of evidence he " sought a settlement. The pink pill " people then Ifet him down lightly. Jus- ■■'.' tice Hood granteid the injunction and " awarded, them Y_so damages and costs, '." which will probably run into several " hundre'e. pounds. Time was given to "Digby to pay. . If imitatora generally '.'got more of this sauce there would "soon be a roaring trade for Judg? ""Molesworth and his bankruptcy associ- " ates in the other colonies. There is " some prospect of this, as Dr Williams "intimated that there were a couple I.V more chemists to put through their "facings at orice, and more evidence is I." being collected against others who are ' ' adopting the plan of getting rich " quickly by living . on the other fellow's "reputation." Til these days, when -everything from I soap to steam engines and from pills to pianos are sold under the proprietary name of a maker whose name is a guarantee of high quality, it it necessary to be constantly on guard against the unscrupulous imitator with some thing *' just "as good." The fact that the majority of dealers , are honest makes it all the easier for the others to score on those customers who let themselves be cajoled into taking substitutes. The Melbourne judgment, reported by the Bulletin, now establishes the interesting point that a shopkeeper must give "the genuine pills" of Dr Williams* manufacture if - a customer asks simply for " pink pilla "— as these two- words are held to have become a trade mark by (continual usage. In connection- with the same line, by the way, there are a great/ ; many complaints in -New Zealand just now about some shops palming off on their customers a bare-faced but worthiest, foreign substi..tute in -glass bottles.. It it only to be 'expected that. these people ,will be proceeded against next. .;•'-. -. '