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Show us. abuse to certain a were we if paper weekly hiring Enquired Some Facts Of course every time a spot light is turned on from any source It offers a splendid chance to talk about the merits of the products, but pon honor now, we are not hiring that Weekly. The general reader seldom cares much for the details of scraps. A few may have read lately some articles attacking us and may in the following : interested be Some time ago a disagreement arose with a Weekly." They endorsed our foods by letter, but wanted to change the form of advertising, to which we objected. The Weekly discontinued inserting our advertisements while they were negotiating for some changes they wanted in the word- ing and shape of the advertisements, and during this correspondence our manager gave instructions to our Advertising Department to quit advertising altogether in that Weekly. Quite a time after the advertising had been left out, an editorial We replied in newspapers and the scrap was on. trtpi-l-r came. Then came libel suits from both sides, and some harsh words. Generally tiresome to the public. That Weekly has attacked many prominent men and repu- table manufacturers. Our Company seems prominent enough for a sensational writer to go after, hunt for some little spot to criticise, then distort, twist and present it to the public under scare heads. Distortion No. 1 stated that we have been accustomed to advertise Grape-Nut- s for everything. and Postum as "cure-all- s been the never policy of this It has or PosCompany to advertise Grape-Nut- s tum to cure anything. days, but six months on that food alone, and we do not hesitate to say from our long knowledge of the sustaining power of the food that a man at the end of sixty days would be of practically the same weight as when he started, if he be a man of normal weight. We sav that in cases where grees and is causing sickness its dismissal will remove the cause of the trouble, and we suggest the use of l'o tuin fur the reason that it furnishes a hot palatable morning beverage, and contains natural elements from the grain which can be used by nature to assist in rebuilding nerva centers that coffee may have broken down. We will suppose that from his work he lost a pound a day and made up a pound each day from food. If that premise proved to be true the man in sixty days time would make sixty pounds of tissue to replace what .had been lost, and this would be done cm Grape-Nutand milk with half the nuriiber of calories of which one can sustain no blitter, upon coffee disa- food does not Likewise Grape-Nut- s cure anything, but it does assist nature tremendously in rebuilding, provided the undigestible food that has been used is taken in its discontinued and Grape-Nut- s place. Charge No. 2 states that the passage of the National Food & Drugs Act compelled us to drop from the packages some assertions regarding the nutritive value of Grape-Nutto We HaviT never been 'compelled make any change. Since the beginning It has been a universal rule to print clearly on every package exactly what the contents are made of. Before the passage of the Pure Food Law the packages stated that Grape-Nut- s too d was made of wheat and barley. i We did not esteem the small amount of salt and yeast as of value enough to speak of, but after the new Law came In we became as technical as the officials at Washington and added the words although we have yeast and salt, no recollection of being asked to. We believed that our statement that Grape-Nut- s will supply elements to nourish the brain and nerve centers is true and bring authorities to support the fact. Some state chemists believed this a exaggeration and inasmuch as the at Washington could easily Ess Dept, grocers, pending a trial on the disputed question, we concluded that much the better wav would be to eliminate from our packages such claims, however certain we may be that the claims are true. Another statement objected to read as follows: "The frygrru will absorb a greater mount of nourishment from one pound than from ten pounds of of Grape-Nut- s meat, wheat, oats, or bread. Some chemists deceive Department themselves as well as the public. "Caloried is the word which defines a unit of heat determined by the amount necessary to raise one kilogram of water one degree centigrade. On this basis a table of calories is prepared showing the of different kinds of fool. percentage Grape-NutButter shows 8.60; 3.96; .milk 0.70. Remember the statement on t the package spoke of the would absorb, but did not speak of calories of beat contained in it, for the heat is not nourishment, and the nourishment cannot be judged by the number of heat units, notwithstanding the fact that certain chemists would have the public believe so. s noqri-dirpcn- As an illustration: Attempt to feed a man sixty days on butter alone, with its 8.60 calories. The man wonld die before the experiment had run sixty days. with 3.96 and Then, take Crape-Nut- s milk with 0.79, the two combined equal f 4 66 about the number of calories contained in butter. The man fed for sixty da vs on this food would be well nourished, aDd could live not only sixty one-hal- s life. So an attorney from New York spent more or less time for months in Battle Creek hoping to find impurities in our foods, or dirt in the factories. After tireless spying about he summoned of our workmen and tock their testimony. Every twenty-fiv- e testified one that the foods are made of exactly the grain and single ingredients printed on the packages ; the wheat, barley and com being the choicest obtainable all thoroughly cleaned the water of the purest, and every part of the factories and machinery kept scrupulously clean. That all proved disappointing to the Weekly." There are very few factories, hospitals, private or hotel and restaurant kitchens that could stand the close spying at unexpected times and by an enemy paid to find dirt or impurities of some kind. In any ordinary kitchen or factory he would find something to magnify and make a noise about. But he failed utterly with the Postum Works and products. Twenty to thirty thousand people go through the factories annually and we never enquire whether they are there to spy or not. It makes no difference to us. He next turned to discover something about our advertising that could be criticized. An analysis of the methods and distorted statements of the Weekly may interest some readers, so we take up the items one by one and open them out for inspection. We will chain up the harsh words and make no reference in this article to the birth, growth and methods of the Weekly but try to coufine the discussion to the questions now at issue. from men and women as to the means by officials are honest, and on the other which they recovered health as of tre- hand we are firmly convinced that some mendous value to those in search of it. of their conclusions cannot .be substanOur business has been conducted from the tiated by facta in scientific research. very first day upon lines of strict integThey never criticize the purity of our rity and we never yet have published a foods, for so much we are thankful. false testimonial of human experience. Many of these letters covered numerous sheets; some, if printed, would spread over half a page of newspaper. If we would attempt to print one such letter in every one of the thousands of papers and magazines we use, tle cost for printing that one letter woulfun into many thousands of dollars. We boil down these ' letters exactly as a newspaper writr boils his news, sticksacredly to fhe important facts and Therefore, we have reason to believe ing detajU about the family and that our contention iM right that con- i eliminating matters. This work other unimportant , centrated food like Grape-Nutswhich lot boiling down! or editing, is done is partly digested and 'ready for easy asand with a full knowledge of similation by the body, presents more honestly, but notice the art responsibility, nourishment that the1 system will ab- our of the "twister In the way he presents sorb than many other forms of food, and to his readers this matter of testimonials. we will further say thait in cases of digestive troubles where meat, white bread Distortion No. 4. This is a bad one. and oats cannot be digested, that Grape-Nut- s It reads as follows: The only famous and milk contain more nourishwhose name was signed to a physician ment that the svstem will absorb than testimonial was produced in Court bv many pounds of these other foods. Colliers and turned out to be a poor old brokendown homeopath, who is now work- Distortion No. 3 charges that onr tes- ing in a establishment. He retimonials were practically all paid for ceived ten printing dollars ($10.00) for writing his and in Battle Creek. testimonial. These testimonials were demanded bv t the opposing lawyers. We will wager ten thousand dollars Naturally this demand was refused, for they are held in ($10,000.00) with any investigator that we vaults and kept safe to prove the truth, have, subject to inspection of any fair and are not to be delivered up on demand committee, upwards of three hundred of enemies. Testimony at the trial brought out the fact that we never printed a single testimonial that we did not have the genuine letter back of. Many of these letters came spontaneously. A record was kept of twelve hundred and four (1204) letters received in one month from people who wrote that they had either entirely recovered their health or been benefited from (300) communications physicians, many of them expressing the highest commendation of our products, but these will not now or ever be turned over to the publisher for his use. If our conclusions in regard to its betheirs, and rather the advantage, because under the law they can order us to eliminate from the packwith age any statement if it disagrees their opinion. Otherwise they would ing a brain food .differ from we are both honest, they have harass grocers. Battle Creek, Michigan, December 30, 1910. 'We the undersigned certify that never to our knowledge has a testimonial letter been printed by the Postum Cereal Co., Ltd., which did not have behind it a genuine letter signed, and believed to be an honest statement. To the best of our knowledge and belief the Company has receive upwards of fifty thousand (50,000) genuine testimonial letters. This company has never knowingly made nor permitted an untruthful statement regarding its products or its methods. M. K. L. (With Company about HOWE, Treasurer. J. LAMSON, Inspector of Advts. CHESTON SYER, Advt. Writer. A good scrap is more or less comforting now and then, if you know you are right. In the case lately tried, an appeal has been taken to the higher courts. We have unbounded faith in the ultimate decision of our American Tribunals. Our suits against the weekly have not yet been tried. They are for libel yearsj (With Company about 5 years.) HARRY E. BURT, General Supt. (With Company about 13 years.) H. C. HAWK, Assistant to Chairman. (With Company about 7 years.) C. W. POST, Chairman. in due time. for it. TVe suggest (With Company 16 years, from the beginning.) the reader look t Post spends Prevarication No. 8. nearly a million a year in advertising andrelies on that to keep out of the newsthe dangerous nature of the fraud Eapers perpetrating on the public. The Postum Company does pay out upwards of a million a year for trade announcements. Newspaper men believe our statements truthful or they would not print them. Large numbers of newspaper men use our products. They are capable of telling the public whether or not we bribe11 theim It may have escaped notice that we did not "bribe that particular weekly. Taka-Diastas- well-know- well-know- n It may be remembered that we were first attacked and have since defended ourselves by placing facts before that great jury The Public. 13 (With Company about 3 years.) CHARLES W. GREEN, Advt. Writer. ' os (With Company about (With Company d d jX years.) Dept. STERRETT, M. D., Physician in charge of Scientific about 4 years.) The most dan Spasm No. 6 say: gerous thing in the world for one threatened with appendicitis is to eat any food whatever. Notwithstanding he knew that No. 9 states that the amount of the verdict will be devoted by the 'weekly' danger, C. W. Post advertised Grape-Nut- s at fifteen cents a package for those so to expoipm fraud " threatened. This is almost real humor. We have two suits pending against the This is intended to muddle the reader into believing that we put out Grape-Nut- s "weekly, total, $500,000.00. as a cure for appendicitis. We havent "devoted the sum to any Mr. Post, himself, has had probably as particular purpose yet. wide experience as any other man in Item 10 is a "discovery that wheat America in the study and observation of bran is a part of Postum. food as related to the digestive organs, But the criticism neglected to mention and we proved in Court by the physicians that for years every Postum package anand surgeons on the witness stand that nounced in plain type that the outer covthe predominating cause of appendicitis ering of wheat (bran), made part of the is undigested food, and that, it is necessary to quit eating food, and when the beverage. They ignorantly fell into a trap here, body requires food again, use a food, or at least one easy of diges- not knowinge enough of food value to know that the article used by tion. physicians the world over for starch inDr. Orhsner in his work on appendicitis digestion" is made from wheat bran. n refers directly to the use of the So we use that part of the wheat berry foods that can be because it contains the element needed obtained on the market. He also brought to develop the valuable diastase in manout the interesting fact that in "after ufacture. is impossible Good Postum treatment it is advantageous to take without this part. on a food. These critics do make ignorThe price of the package (referred to sortie laughable blunders through by the weekly) is not known by us to ance, but be patient. have any relation to the question. Item 11 is an illustration of the squirming and twisting of the sensational writer Our advice to stop using indigestible food in bowel troubles and to use Grape-Nut- s delivering distorted matter to his readfood has been a great blessing to ers. tens of thousands of people, and we hope While on the witness stand Mr. Pot will continue to bless a good many more testified to his studies in Anatomy, Physiin the succeeding years. ology, Dietetics and Psychology, all relating to the preparation and digestion of No. 7 is a live wire. It refers to C. W. food. Asked to name authorities studied he mentioned six or eight from memory, Post and his .studies and experience in and on some clinical expeor Mental riencecommented several Suggestive Therapeutics. covering years in annual Healing which further lead to a most to Europe. careful and systematic study of the ef- journeys Now notice the distortion. (Copy from fect of the mind on the digestive and oththe printed criticism.) er organs of the body. "He (Post) pointed out a pile of books He attended clinics in Europe and in of his attorneys as the very fitted himself for a future career in which onespossession he had read. he has become known as one of the food the very ones he had read, (Notice, experts of the world, fitted to judge both from the material as well as the mental leading the reader to believe that they were the only ones.) side of the question. Did you consult the books from these For about eight years previous to 1C9I editions? was asked. be was an invalid. In that year, after From those and various editions, anbeing under the care of several swered Post. physicians, he was quickly healed, The attorney "picked p book after by what to him was a curious and not book from the pile and shewed the title method. Sufficient to sav ages to the jury, all except two had be became a well man, weighing about 185 een published since 1905. pounds. This is an example of distortion and false coloring to produce an unfavorable This experience challenged his investigation into causes of disease and their impression. Those studies and experiamelioration. The facts are Mr. Post purposely introences developed a very profmmd rever- duced the latest editions that could be ence for a Supreme Powpt which directly obtained of prominent- authorities to prove operates upon the human locing, and this bv them the truth of his statements rereverence for the Infinite became to him garding appendicitis and the analvsis of a form of religion which included honesty brain, alo the latest conclusions in reA gard to the action of the digestive organs. of purpose towards his fellow-man- . These works are: statement which will be indorsed by every- Notice the statement in this charge: "The only famous physician whose name was signed to Postum testimonial, etc." The truth is, this Dr. Underwood was one of a great many physicians who have by following our suggestions on food not onlv written commendatory words and beverages. about the value of our foods, but every On three or four occasions in the past now and then some phvsician writes an ten or twelve years we printed broadcast article on coffee or on food, and sends it in papers offers of. prizes to users of to us with a suggestion of compensation Postum and Grape-Nuttwo hundred for his time and medical knowledge. $1.00 prizes, one hundred $2.00, twenty Previous to the time when we employed' we oc- of $3.00 and five of $10.00 each, sitting physicians in our own business, a doctor to write fVisf ech mut be an honest letter with casionallv emplo'-eon coffee, always insisting that name and address. We agreed not to pub- an article article be an honest expression of his lish na mos, but to furnish them to en- the opinion and research. quirers by letter. These letter writers The Weekly hunted up this physician, very generally answered those who wrote to them, and verified the truth of the and because he seemed to be poor, and statements. as it says, had him brokendown, to Court to be exposed before a Under this agreement not to publish brought as the onlv physician that had ever names literally scores of letters o"ia jurv endorsed Grape-Nutbut much to the fnom doctors. We kept our word ami chagrin of the Weekly, when onr attorneither printed their names or surrenhim aked if the art;c' he wrote neys dered the letters. about coffee was true he replied, yes. Right here notice an imitation spasm. statement No. 5 reads: "The health eoklv says: "Post got those testiThe Mich., Miine, Penn., New monials by advertising for them. In New officers of and other states in' their official York he used for that purpose the New ITnmp., for rears been denouncing have bul'etins York Migazine of whose editor is now in the Federal Penitentiary for as preposterous and fraudulent the claims by the Postum Cereal Company. fraudulent ue of the mails. For exam- made We do not recall any criticism exempt ple. Post announced in that magazine in from Mich., Penn., Maine and S. Dakota. 1907, etc., (then follows our prize competition). The average reader might think that We used nearly all of the papers and the opinions expressed by the State Offiin New York and the rest of cials are always .correct, hut, that contnnea-inclusion is not borne out by facta. America, but the sensational writer gives the impression to his 'ndors that the As an illustration: About thirteen rears onlv magazine we used was one whose a p the Dairy and Food Commission of editor is now in the Federal Penitentiary, Michigan for some personal reason etc., something that we know nothing a severe criticism on us for makingprinted Posof the truth of now, and never did. tum of Parley (according to his official Fpaee was bought in the mngaz.ine spoken chemist at market price and selling too of on a business basis for the reason that TTe was shown there was never a one who knows him closely. it went to a good class of readers. The high. incident seems to have furnished an op- grsjn of barley used in Atum. Ills reHe will make a public announcement and t w"s fihe misleading. The govportunity for a designing writer to de- pot in detail rf these facts, and the Postum ernor dismissed him. ceive his readers. Company will cause that statement to be We look upon honest human testimony Wa believe that most of the state published in newspapers and magazines ' (With Company about F. G GRANDIN, Advertising Manager. R. M. 14 years Human 'Physiology, by Raymond. Physiological Chemistry, bv Simon. Digestive Glands, bv Parwlmv. Hand Iiook of Appendicitis, by Physiological Chemistry, by Hammar. sten. Biochemic System of Medicine, by Carey. eliminates from The Weekly carefully its printed account testimony regarding the years of research and study by Mr. Post in fitting himself for his work, and would lead the reader of the distorted article to believe that his education began since 19U5. Distortion No. 12 reports Mr. Post aa a dodging witness. His eye is not of the shifty kind ob- served in the head of one of his chief critics. On the witness stand Mr. Post looks quietly but very steadily straight into the eyes of the haggling, twisting lawyer, trying by all bis art to ask double e and conbarreled questions and fuse a witness. The "dodging it seems consisted of replying, "I dont know. Opposing counsel holds a book in his hand while he queries, I want to know if there is a single thing in your whole book here that suggests any particular kind of food." Then followed some discussion between attorneys. When Mr. Post was allowed to reply, he said, 1 dont know until I read the book over to see." bull-doz- This book, it turns out, was written by Mr. Post seventeen years ago and probably has not been read carefully by him in the last fifteen years. It would require a remarkable memory to instantly say yes or no as to what a book of 147 pages did or did not contain, without reading it over, but such conservative and well balanced answers are construed by sensation seekers to be dodging. The attorney sought by every art to impress the Jury with the fact that Mr. Post's belief in the power of Mind in relation to the body branded him as unreliable and worse. The following is quoted from one of the questions: (The lawyer reading from the book.) The writer of these pages desires to say nothing of himself other than as a simple instrument through which the Divine Principle chooses to manifest itself by precept and example. "Skill in mental practice is gained in the same way as skill in any department of science bv observation, study, experience and the ability to evolve correct conclusions. Read carefully, thoughtfully no more than twenty pages daily. Afterward seek an easy position where you will not be disturbed. Relax every muscle. Close your eyes, and go into the silence where mind is plastic to the breathings of spirit and where God talks to the Pon. The thoughts from Divine Universal Mind come as winged angels and endow vou with a healing power. If you go into the silence humble and trusting, you will come out enriched and grea4ly strengthened in body by contact even for a short time with the Father of all life and all power. You will feel refreshed in every way and food taken will diect readily as the stomach works smoothly when under the influence of a Higher Power. I sk you if you did not write that, and if you did not believe it when yon wrote it. For a moment the Court Room was in absolute silence. Mr. Post slowlv leaned forward over the rail, pointed his finger at the face to emphasize his reply and withAttys eyes that csuscd tho'e of the Attorney to drop he said, Yes, I am proud to say I did. and $500,000.03 is asked as damages, and may the right man win. After all the smoke of legal battle blows away, the facts will stand out clearly and never be forgotten that Postum, Grape Nuts, and Post Toasties are perfectly pure, have done good honest service to humanity for years, the testimonials are real and truthful and the business conducted on the highest plane of commercial integrity. THeres a Reason Postum Cereal Co., Ltd., Battl Creek, Mich. |