Bertha M. Urban

Text (OCR of the scan at left; may contain errors)

IN THE MATTER OF BERTHA M. URBAN <:COMPLAINT, FINDINGS, AND ORDER IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 15 OF AN ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED SEPT. 26, 1914 Docket 1,761. Complaint, May 15, 1942-Dccision, July 21, 191,3 'Where an individual, engaged In Interstate sale and distribution of her "Lakota" fruit-juice product; by means of advertisements In newspapers, circulars, etc., including excerpts from testimonial letters, directly and by implication- Represented that her said product constituted a cure and effective treatment for migraine or sick headache, high blood pressure, abdominal pains, constipation, and ulcers; and that it would remove the cause of migraine headaches and relieve J:he pain and discomfort that·eof;

'I'he facts being that, while said product had some nutritive value and might be considered a very mild laxative if taken in sufficient quantities, it would have no effect upon constipation In the dosage prescribed, and .It had no therapeutic significance In the other diseases and conditions listed; With capacity and tendency to mislead and deceive a substantial portion of thepurchasing public into the mistaken belief that said representations were true, thereby causing It to purchase substantial quantities of said product~ lield, That such acts and practices, under the circumstances set forth, were all to the prejudice and injury of the public, and constituted unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce.

Before Mr. J. Earl Oox, trial examiner.

Mr. Randolph W. Branch for the Commission.

Complaint Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said· act, the Federal !trade Commission having reason to believe that Bertha :M. Urban, an Individual, hereinafter referred to as respondent, has violated the pro- Visions of the said act, and it appearing to the Commission that a pro- ~eeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby Issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows: PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, an individual, maintains her office and Principal place of business at Ewing, Nebr. PAR, 2. Respondent is now, and has been for more than 2 years last. Past, engaged in the business of offering·for sale, selling and distrib- Uting in commerce, between and among the various States of the bnited States, a medicinal preparation designated as "Lakota." Re- Spondent causes said preparation when sold to be transported from heraforesaid place of business in the State of Nebraska, to purchasers thereof located in various other States of the United States. Respond- Complaint 37 F. T. C.

ent maintains, and at all times mentioned herein has maintained, a course of trade in said medicinal preparation in commerce between and among the various States of the United States. PAR. 3. In the course and conduct of her aforesaid business respond· ent has disseminated, and is now disseminating, and has caused, and is now causing, the dissemination of false advertisements co~cerning her said preparation, by United States mails and by various other means in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the F'ederal Trade Commission Act, and respondent has also disseminated, and is now disseminating, and has caused and is now causing dissemination of false advertisements concerning her said preparation by various means for the purpose of inducing, and which are likely to induce, directly or in· directly, the purchase of her said preparation in commerce as "com· merce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act. · Among and typical of the false, misleading, and deceptive state· ments and representations contained in said advertisements, dissemi· nated and caused to be disseminated as hereinabove set forth, by the United States mails, by advertisements in newspapers,' and by circu· lars, leaflets, pamphlets and other advertising literature, are the fol· lowing: ' RePJoves cause of migraine headache.

Fot· the relief of migraine headache.

-this safe, harmless rem.edy for migraine headaches. Get Lakota for the relief of those dreadful sick headaches. Migraine-! know its source-the laxative effect is to clear away the bile and mucus formation which "Lakota" does to give you the relief really needed_. Lakota gets your cause Jf you give It a good chance. 1 The new product-relieves the oversupply of blle-. But when the bile· pressure is intense it must be forced in laxative amounts as it must be clearedaway-. . I had high blood pressure and abdominal pains and since I began taking Lakota they have left me.

I was so constipated and miserable-! do not know what I should ltave done if I had not found your Lakota. After I had taken It tor a while I began tak:· ing Jess and Jess all the time I have taken lots of medicine for my headache and ulcers but never found such grand relief as with Lakota.

PAR. 4. Through the use of the foregoing statements and represen· tations and others of similar import not specifically set out herein, all of which purport to be descriptive of the therapeutic properties of respondent's said preparation, respondent has represented and now represents, directly and by implication, that her preparation "Lnr kota" is a cure and remedy for and constitutes a competent and ef· fective treatment of migraine headache or sick headache, high blood BERTHA M. URBAN 295 293 Findings pressure, abdominal pains, constipation, and ulcers; that said preparation will remove the cause of migraine headaches and relieve the Pain and discomfort thereof; that migraine headache is caused by an e:x:cess of bile and mucus formation, which is removed by the use of Eiaid preparation.

PAR. 5. The foregoing statements and representations are grossly ():X:aggerated, false and misleading. In truth and in fact, respondent's said preparation, is not a cure or remedy for and has no therapeutic value in the treatment of migraine or sick headache, high blood Pressure, abdominal pains, and ulcers. . It will not remove the cause of migraine headache, nor will it relieve the pain and discomfort ussociated therewith. While said preparation is mildly laxative if taken in large quantities, it does not constitute a competent and effective treatment ,for constipation. Migraine headache is not caused by an excess of bile and mucus formation, and the use of said preparation 1\>ill not remove bile and mucus from the system. . PAR. 6. The use by the respondent of the foregoing false, mislead- Jug and deceptive statements and representations with respect to respondent's said preparation, has had, and now has, the ·capacity and tendency to, and does, mislead and deceive a substantial portion of the purchasing public into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements and representations were true, and into the purchase of substantial quantities of respondent's said preparation because of said erroneous and mistaken belief. PAR. 7. The aforesaid acts and practices, as herein alleged, are all to the prejudice and injury of the public, and constitute unfair and ~eceptive acts and practices in commerce within the intent and mean- Ing of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

llEPOR'l', FINDINGS AS TO THE FACTS, AND ORDER Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, ~he Federal Trade Commission on :May 15, 1942, issued and subsebuentiy served its complaint in this proc~eding upon the respondent, ertha M. Urban, charging her with the use of unfair and deceptive acts and practices. in commerce in violation of the provisions of said act, After the issuance of said complaint and the filing of respond- ~nt's answer thereto, testimony and other evidence in support of and ~n opposition to the allegations of said complaint were introduced bef?re a trial examiner of the Commission theretofore quly designated lit, and said testimony and other evidence were duly recorded and led, in the office of the Commission. Thereafter, this proceeding regularly came on for final hearing before the Commission upon said Findings 37F.T.C.

complaint, answer thereto, testimony and other evidence, report of the trial examiner upon the evidence, and brief filed in support of the complaint (respondent not h11-ving filed brief and oral argument not having been requested); and the Commission, having duly con· sidered the matter and being now fully advised in the premises, finds that this proceeding is in the interest of the public and makes this its findings as to the facts and its conchision drawn there:from. FINDINGS AS TO THE Ji'ACTS PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent, Bertha 1\I; Urban, is an individual, and maintains her office~ and principal place of business at Ewing, Nebr. PAR. 2. Respondent is now, and for more than 3 years last past has been, engaged in the sale and distribution in commerce among and be· tween the various States of the United States of a fruit juice product designated as "Lakota." Respondent causes said product, ~hen sold, to be transported from her place of business in the State of Nebraska to purchasers thereof located in various other States of the United States. Respondent maintains, and at all times mentioned herein has maintained, a course of trade in said product in commerce be· tween and among the various States of the United States. PAR. 3. In the course and conduct of her aforesaid business, re· spondent has disseminated, and has caused the dissemination of, false advertisements coucerning her said product by United States mails and by various other means in commerce as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act; and respondent has also dis· seminated, and has caused the dissemination of, false advertisements concerning her said product by various means for the purpose of inducing and which are likely to induce directly or indirectly, the pur· chase of her said product in commerce as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act. Among and typical of the :false, misleading, and deceptive statements and representations contained in said advertisements, disseminated and caused to be disseminated as hereinabove set forth, by the United States mails, by advertise· ments in newspapers, !md by circulars, leaflets, pamphlets, and other advertising literature, some of which contain excerpts of testimonial letters, are the following :

Remove cause of migraine hendache.

Safe, harmless remedy for migraine headache. Oet Lakota for the relief of those dreadful sick headaches. I hnd high blood pressure and abdominal pain and since I began taking Lakota they have left me. ! I was so constipated and mi_serable and other laxatives would not give relied without I took double dose and yet got no relief. I do not know what I should have done if I bad not found your Lakota.

BERTHA M. URBAN 297 293 Order · I have taken lots of medicine for my headache and ulcers but have never~ found such grand relief as the Lakota.

PAR, 4. Through the use of the foregoing statements and representations and others of similar import not specifically set out herein, all of which purport to be descriptive of the therapeutic properties ?f respondent's said product, respondent represents directly and by 1tnplication that her product Lakota is a cure and remedy for, and ·constitutes a competent and effective treatment of, migraine headache or si.ck headache, high blood pressure, abdominal pains, constipation, and ulcers; and that said preparation will remove the cause of migrain~ headaches and relieve the pain and discomfort thereof. PAR. 5. Respondent's product is composed entirely of the liquid obtained from boiling dried prunes, ordinary brown or white sugar, and water, which liquid is strained and sealed, while hot, in sterile · bottles. This product has some nutritional value and might be considered a very mild laxative if taken in sufficient quantities. It has Iio therape11tic significance, and its use would have no effect upon migraine or sick headache. The cause of migraine headache is not generally known, and the usual treatment followed is the use of sedatives to alleviate the pain. Respondent's product will not reach the cause of •migraine headache and has no beneficial effect in relieving the pain attendant or associated with such condition. The use of this Product has no effect whatsoever upon high blood pressure, abdomi- ~al pains, or ulcers, and its laxative value in the dosage prescribed ls too small to have any effect upon the condition of constipation. PAR. 6. The use by respondent of the foregoing false, misleading, and deceptive statements and representations with respect to her said Product has had the capacity and tendency to mislead and deceive a substantial portion of the purchasing public into the erroneous and ~mistaken beli~f that said statements and representations are true and Into the purchase of substantial quantities of respondent's said prod- Uct because of said erroneous and mistaken belief. CONCLUSION The aforesaid acts and practices of respondent as herein found are an to the prejudice and injury of the public and constitute unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce within the intent and llleaning of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Order TO CEASE AND DESIST . This proceeding having been heard by the Federal Trade Commis- ::non upon the complaint of the Commission, the answer of the re- GeoeaT--44----22 Order 37F. T. C.

spondent, testimony and other evidence in support of and in opposition to the allegations of said complaint taken before a trial examiner of the Commission theretofore duly designated by it, report of the trial examiner upon the evidence, and brief filed in support of the complaint;· and the Commission having made its findings as to the facts and its conclusion that said respondent has violated the provi- . sions of the Federal Trade Commission Act: It is ordered, That the respondent, Bertha M. Urban, her agents, representatives, and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device in connection with the offering for sale, sale, or distribution of her fruit-juice product designated "Lakota," or any other product of substantially similar composition or possessing substantially similar properties, whether sold under the same name or under any other name, do forthwith cease and desist from directly or indirectly :

1. Disseminating or causing to be disseminated any advertisement by means of the United States mails or by any means in commerce as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act., which advertisement represents directly or through inference that respondent's product has any therapeutic value or beneficial effect in the treatment of migraine or sick headache, high blood pres~mre, abdominal pains, or ulcers; or that the use of said product will remove the cause of migraine headache or relieve the pain and discomfort associated with such condition; or that said product has any therapeutic value in the treatment of constipation. 2. Disseminating or causing to be disseminated any advertisement by any means for the purpose of inducing or which is likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase in commerce as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, of respondent's prod· uct, which advertisement contains any of the representations prohibited in paragraph 1 hereof.

It is further ordered, That the respondent shall, within 60 days after service upon her of thi:~ order, file with the Commission a report in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which she has complied with this, order.

ALBERT E. VOADEN 299 Complaint