THE STATE LAWS COVERING THE FRAUDULENT ADULTERATION OF DRUGS AND MEDICINES FOR THE PURPOSE OF SALE, READS AS FOLLOWS.
"Section 10, Chapter 38 of Hurd's Revised Statutes of Illinois for 1903. Whoever fraudulently adulterates, for the purpose of sale, any drug or medicine, or sells or offers or keeps for sale any fraudulently adulterated drug or medicine, knowing the same to be adulterated, shall be confined in the County Jail not exceeding one year, or fined not exceeding $1,000, and such adulterated drugs and medicines shall be forfeited and destroyed."
After the great mass of evidence had been gathered it was submitted to the Chief of Police, Francis O'Neill, who instructed Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge to lay the matter before John K. Prindiville, Justice of Peace, and if he would issue warrants to go ahead and search the premises and make arrest.
Desk Sergeant Mike White looked upon as an expert by the police Department drew the complaints and warrants which were duly signed and a detail of 20 picked men was assigned to Detective Wooldridge with instructions to go ahead, and on Oct. 29, 1904, they were divided into four squads and they swooped down on the five Medicine concerns at one time without giving them any warning.
The following is a list of the parties arrested:
W. G. Nay, alias S. B. Soper, 1452 Fulton street; over $2,000 worth of spurious stuff seized. Nay and wife arrested.
Burtis B. M'Cann, alias George A. Barton, 6113 Madison avenue, $2,500 worth of stuff seized. McCann arrested.
J. J. Dean, 6123 Ellis avenue; $5,000 worth of spurious medicines seized; Dean and wife arrested.
J. N. Levy, 359 Dearborn street; $500 worth seized.
Edward A. Kuehmsted, 6323 Ingleside avenue, and Isabella Kuehmsted were arrested; over $12,000 worth of spurious drugs were seized by Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge, Sergeant William M. McGrath, Sergeant Thomas Fitzpatrick, Officers Terence N. Kelly, Mathew J. Reilly, Michael O'Neill, Thomas Ready, Michael McGuire, August C. Dolan, Patrick Quinn, Thomas Daly, Bernard Conway.
V. Goldberg, a partner of Edward Kuehmsted, appeared on the scene and tried to prevent the officers from taking the goods. He was locked up on the charge of disorderly conduct and on the following morning entered a plea of guilty before Justice John R. Caverly and was fined $1 and cost. John G. Campbell, alleged attorney for Edward A. Kuehmsted, appeared upon the scene and tried to force his way into the house while the drug was being removed. He also tried to prevent the officers from taking the drugs and threatened to whip them, pulled his coat off and assaulted Detective Wooldridge. He too was sent to the Harrison Street Station and locked up.
The prisoners arrested in the raid were sent to the Harrison Street Police Station together with eleven wagonloads of drugs seized, which were valued at $30,000.
Upon the arrival of the prisoners and the drugs, a United States warrant was served upon them, charging the defendants with using the mails to defraud, also a duces tecum subpoena was served for the drugs seized in the raid to be brought into the United States court forthwith, was served upon Detective Wooldridge, and other officers by United States Marshal.
The two ex-convicts were Levy, who was also known under the aliases of Charles Meyers, R. Waldron, and R. Cassat and George Edwards. Under the latter name he served a year in Joliet. Hass was the other ex-convict. His Sing Sing number was B 5574. Yet under the administration of the law under the justice shop system these men, who sold chalk and water mixed with idorn oxides for an antiseptic, finally managed to get out of the clutches of the law on a compromise adjudication, concerning which the State's Attorney alone knew the details.
Then the insolent vendors of fake drugs thought they saw a chance to get back at the officers of the law. They found a nice little loop-hole in the fact that when the raids were made a few chemicals, which were not contraband had been seized, in the rush and scurry of the raid.
Therefore a suit was brought against Detective Clifton R. Wooldridge, Charles M. Carr, editor of the N. A. R. D. Notes, a police publication, Henry D. Morton, Chief of Police Francis O'Neill, the Farbenfabriken Co. and Wooten. The suit called for heavy damages. After going over the evidence the court of first resort awarded damages of $1.00. Rather than be put to the cost of an appeal this $1.00 was paid by the defendants.
But the business of vending fake drugs in the city of Chicago had been broken up and the city made unsafe for this most detestable class of swindlers, who prey upon the sick and wounded and endanger human life by the sale of their nostrums. "It was worth $1.00 to put the rascally crew out of business," said Detective Wooldridge afterward in discussing the matter. "It is surely worth a dollar to a man to know that he has been instrumental in saving thousands of human lives." And there the matter rested.
[BUCKET-SHOP.]
Every day the American people squander $100,000 in fictitious speculation in grain.
There are 1,000 bucket shops operating in the United States at this time, their geographical distribution marked by the boundaries of the country.
For each of these 1,000 shops an average of $100 a day gross income is necessary to meet its expenses, chief of which are for wire and ticker service and blackboard writers.
Thus, in order that 1,000 of these shops may live and remain open, they must have $100 a day each, which, in a year of 300 days, means an income of $300,000,000 annually. Many of these bucket shops fail for lack of money, while others "fail" in order that they may keep the money of the investor. While $100,000 a day as the losses of the people in the illegitimate speculation in grain is very conservative, one must add another $100,000 a day as tribute which the gullible pay to the fake "get-rich-quick" and kindred sharper concerns of the country.