Drug companies have been busy pushing opioids and doctors think that every pain should be treated with narcotics. When I fractured my foot, Urgent Care offered me Oxycontin. I said ibuprofen was sufficient.
In the nineteenth century patent medicines were full of unadmitted ingredients, contributing to a massive problem with drug addiction.
Therefore, on that same Frederick News page of June 1,1895, I noticed this ad, I was suspicious:
Sure enough, a quick Internet search revealed what was calming the babies so quickly: morphine.
