It has been said that we are a nation of dupes and the advertisements carried in some of the papers would indicate the truth of this statement. No manufacturer is going to advertise anything that does not sell well and bring a considerable profit. Men are not so altruistic as to be in business just for the good of humanity. The majority are in business for the money to be obtained from it. Somehow, women are very susceptible to the arts of these greedy manufacturers. A company commences to make a patent medicine and then, in order to derive any profits from the investment, large quantities of the preparation must be sold. In order to accomplish this they must convince possible buyers of their need of this particular treatment. The company employs an agent to write an advertisement, perhaps in the shape of an article purporting to be written by someone much interested in the human race. This advertisement or article describes some disease which may be cured by this one remedy. As there might not be enough people who know they have this given disease to make a profit for the manufacturer, it becomes his business to convince others that they have this disease. Therefore, he proceeds to enumerate a great many symptoms which he says indicate this disease. Perhaps they might! But they are just as likely to indicate any one of half a dozen other things. He details enough symptoms so that some are recognized by nearly every woman as relating to her condition, so she jumps to the conclusion that she has that certain disease and buys a bottle of the medicine. If you will study the large medical advertisements that appeal especially to women you will notice that they all have certain symptoms enumerated. No matter if the remedy advertised is for the kidneys, the bowels, or exclusively for women, the same symptoms are claimed to indicate the need of that certain remedy. One of the symptoms most commonly given is backache. Of course! For nearly every person has a backache at some time. It may be due to a strain, to rheumatism of the lumbar muscles (lumbago), to constipation, to a displacement, or to numerous other conditions. No one can tell the cause who is not properly prepared to do so and who is not fully acquainted with the physical condition. The sewing machine runs hard and perhaps makes a noise. It requires a mechanic who is familiar with the mechanism of the machine to find the cause of the trouble. So it is with the human body. It requires a mechanic who is familiar with the structure of the body to discover the cause of the trouble. And yet people will continue to pour into their bodies drugs, harmless and otherwise, that are manufactured by some enterprising firm and then advertised by an expert who knows nothing of disease except a few symptoms common to almost all diseases.