If  the  patentees  of  these  remedies  were  satisfied  with  a  reasonable  profit,  we  might  not
complain.  It  might  be  claimed  that  the  great  expense  of  advertising  and  introducing
these  preparations  necessitates  high  prices;  but  does  it  cost  more  to  advertise  these
goods  in  this  country  than  it  does  in  Germany  or  England  or  Canada,  where  the  prices  are  so
much  lower?  And  is  it  not  a  fact  that  most  of  the  advertising  is  free?  Do  we  not  see,
month  after  month,  communications  in  the  medical  press  on  the  action  of  the  new  syn-
thetics in  certain  affections?  This  is  the  most  effective  kind  of  advertising,  and  it  is  im-
possible to  imagine  that  the  journals  in  which  these  articles  appear  would  receive  pay  for
their  publication.  There  is  no  reason  for  the  high  prices  charged  for  these  goods,  but
the  knowledge  of  the  patentees  that  with  the  process  and  product  patented  and  the  name
copyrighted,  they  have  an  absolute  monopoly,  and  can  charge  just  what  they  please.
What  we  want  is  that  the  patent  laws  be  changed  on  the  lines  of  German  laws,  which,
while  safeguarding  the  public  from  extortion,  gives  ample  protection  to  the  patentee.
We  should  demand  that  products  used  in  medicine  should  not  be  patented,  and  that  the
names  by  which  they  are  known  in  commerce  should  not  be  copyrighted.
