The Indian Root Pills obviously claimed a more lofty stature than other, common proprietary remedies. The exclusive representation scheme was also a partial substitution for newspaper advertising; the company was aggressive in soliciting additional agents—aiming at one in every town and village—and then in encouraging them to push the pills by offering prizes such as watches, jewelry, and table utensils.
What were the ingredients of the Indian Root Pills and the other Comstock preparations? Originally, the formulas for the various remedies were regarded as closely held secrets, divulged only to proprietors and partners—and not even to all of them—and certainly never revealed to the purchasers. But despite this secrecy, charges of counterfeiting and imitating popular preparations were widespread. In many cases, the alleged counterfeits were probably genuine—to the extent that either of these terms has meaning—for it was a recurrent practice for junior partners and clerks at one drug house to branch off on their own, taking some of the secrets with them—just as Andrew B. White left Moore and joined the Comstocks, bringing the Indian Root Pills with him.
In the latter years, under the rules of the Federal Food and Drug Act, the ingredients were required to be listed on the package ; thus we know that the Indian Root Pills, in the 1930s and 1940s, contained aloes, mandrake, gamboge, jalap, and cayenne pepper.
Aloe
is a tropical plant of which the best known medicinal varieties come from Socotra and Zanzibar; those received by the Comstock factory were generally described as Cape (of Good Hope)
Aloe
. The juice
Aloes
is extracted from the leaves of this plant and since antiquity has been regarded as a valuable drug, particularly for its laxative and vermifuge properties.