—(Correspondence in The Journal A. M. A., Sept. 6, 1919.)
Details of the Alleged Endorsement of Proteogens
Our readers will remember the recent correspondence published in The Journal of July 26 and September 6, by Dr. A. W. Freeman, Commissioner of Health of the State of Ohio and the Wm. S. Merrell Co. The letters dealt with the use that had been made by the Wm. S. Merrell Co. of a letter, written on the official stationery of the Bureau of Venereal Diseases of the State Department of Health of Ohio, puffing one of the company’s proprietary remedies—Proteogen No. 10.
Dr. Freeman wrote to The Journal calling the attention of the profession to the use of this letter and explaining that the letter was merely the expression of opinion of an individual, and not an expression from the State Department of Health. The Wm. S. Merrell Co. took exception to certain inferences made in Dr. Freeman’s letter and in the course of a letter to The Journal regarding this, incorporated the contents of the testimonial letter. The Journal, in publishing the Merrell letter, omitted this testimonial on the ground that the contents of the letter had no bearing on the question under discussion.
We have now received a letter from the company protesting against this omission. The Journal, therefore, takes this opportunity of briefly restating such facts as it has been able to get regarding the entire matter and publishing the letter. The facts are as follows:
1. In February of this year a Cincinnati physician, Dr. C. J. Broeman, wrote to Dr. A. S. Horovitz relative to alleged results with Proteogen No. 10. The letter was written—without authority—on the official stationery of the Bureau of Venereal Diseases of the State Department of Health of Ohio.
2. The Wm. S. Merrell Co. had linen mounted photographs made of Dr. Broeman’s letter and distributed them to their Proteogen detail men. Accompanying these photographic copies was a communication to these detail men describing the photographed letter as one written by:
“... a Cincinnati physician who is now Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. Public Health Service, cooperating with the Bureau of Venereal Diseases of the Department of Health of the State of Ohio.”
3. The right hand top corner of the official stationery, as can be seen by the reproduction, bore the name of “James D. Bauman, Deputy Commissioner.” Dr. Broeman’s signature was rather illegible and could easily be mistaken, by those not knowing the handwriting of either man, for the signature of Deputy Commissioner Bauman. In at least one instance it was so mistaken, and the physician who was misled wrote to the Director of the Bureau asking whether the testimonial for Proteogen No. 10 which had been shown him by the Merrell detail man was really an official communication.
4. On May 15, 1919, Commissioner of Health Freeman wrote to the Merrell Co. stating that he had been informed that one of the Merrell representatives was using as an advertisement a letter bearing the letterhead of the Bureau of Venereal Diseases of the State Department of Health and what purported to be a report signed by “Mr. Bauman, Deputy Commissioner.”