The 'Gold Cure' Scam
A medical investigation finds that the popular 'bi-chloride of gold' treatment for alcoholism is actually a mixture of sugar, water, and booze.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The British Medical Society has condemned Dr. Keeley's 'gold cure' as injurious, finding it composed of alcohol and atropine. A distinguished analyst found neither gold nor chlorides in the preparation, but rather a mixture of 64.31 percent water, 8 percent sugar, a small quantity of mineral salts, and 27.55 percent pure alcohol—as intoxicating as sherry. Dr. J. K. Fisher, of Melbourne, who visited Keeley's sanitarium, reported that the staff consisted of unsuccessful practitioners paid high salaries to administer the treatment, which involved injecting patients with atropine. He observed that many patients suffered from giddiness and visual impairment. The London Lancet, a standard medical journal, has endorsed this condemnation, stating that the remedy is opposed to the true principles of temperance reformation, which require moral, mental, and physical treatment rather than narcotic substitutions.
“They did not appear to be healthy; some of them seemed to be under the influence of an opium drug—atropine.”
This 1892 report highlights the long history of 'snake oil' medical entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest, mirroring modern battles against unregulated wellness influencers and dubious supplements. The critique of the Keeley cure resonates with contemporary scrutiny of how addiction treatment is marketed and professionalized.
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