The Patent Medicine Hustle on Front Street
A Seattle reporter investigates the miraculous 'medical inhalations' of an advertising physician, uncovering a trail of dubious health claims and desperate patients.
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.
A reporter who had been in poor health for some time and had received no benefit from the treatment of several physicians was attracted by an advertisement in this paper. He accordingly called on Mr. M. O. Bullock in the Allen room of the Llewellyn and Dodge building. The reporter asked, 'I understand that you have been treating with Dr. W. Norton Davis at 911 Front Street. What success has he had in your case?' Mr. Bullock replied, 'I was afflicted for about 30 years with catarrh. The mucous would pass back from the nose into my throat and recently the trouble began to extend down into the bronchial tubes, causing a shortness of breath and a wheezing as if I had asthma. The short time I have been treating with Dr. Davis has been sufficient to stop the wheezing and I am improving in every way so fast that I feel confident that I shall soon be well.' J. H. Cole, contractor and builder, corner of Eighth and Weller streets, was the next one interviewed. Mr. Cole stated, 'I believe the doctor can do all that he claims. I would have attacks of hemorrhage nearly every day, which weakened me down so that I had scarcely any strength left. I had a slight attack the next day after I commenced treatment, but have had none since for now more than a month.' A young man working in the Electric Light Works said, 'If you knew the feelings of one who fears that he is about to lose his mind you would understand my case when I put myself under Dr. Davis’ care. I was so absent-minded that when one would speak to me I would answer at random or not at all. My back was very weak and my nervous system was so unstrung that I would be startled by the slightest sound. In less than two months I am happy to say that my fears are gone and I am sound and well once more.'
“I put myself under the doctor's care, having but little faith, but from the immediate improvement I was satisfied that he understood my case.”
This 1889 investigative piece shows how long Seattle has grappled with the 'hustle' culture of medical quackery. While modern snake oil is now sold via social media algorithms rather than Front Street newspaper ads, the cycle of selling hope to the vulnerable remains a permanent feature of the city's economic landscape.
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