3676. Misbranding of Mile Deep mineral water. U. S. v. Jesse L. Rogers. Plea
of nolo contendere. Sentence of 6 months' imprisonment suspended
and defendant placed on probation for 6 months. (F. D. C. No. 30577.
Sample No. 3052-K.)
INFORMATION FILED : June 18, 1951, District of Columbia, against Jesse L.
Rogers, president of R. & S. Nutrients, Inc., Washington, D. C.
ALLEGED VIOLATION : On or about July 24,1950, the defendant sold and delivered
in the District of Columbia a quantity of Mile Deep mineral vxiter, a drug;
and between the approximate dates of July 24 and August 23,1950, the defend-
ant caused to accompany the drug a number of booklets entitled "Mineral
Water from the Mile Deep Maple Well."
NATURE OF CHARGE: Misbranding, Section 502 (a), certain statements in the
booklet entitled "Mineral Water from the Mile Deep Maple Well" were false
and misleading. The statements represented and suggested that a spoonful
daily of the article would provide the user with good health; that the article
would be efficacious in the treatment of sores on the face and body; that the
calcium chloride content of the article enabled it to produce red blood; that
its magnesium content acted as a cleansing agent; that many major diseases
are caused by deposits of inorganic minerals in the body (joints, blood vessels,
etc.), and that the article would put such minerals to work for health; that it
would be efficacious in preventing stiffening and excess depositing of minerals
in the tissues, and thus would be efficacious to prevent or relieve arthritis, high
blood pressure, or other ailments; that it would be efficacious to render water-
soluble the deposited or crystallized minerals and metals in and on the tissues,
making these more flexible; that it would be efficacious to cause the body to
assimilate minerals deposited in or on the tissues; that it would be efficacious
to dissolve tissue waste and thus benefit the sick; that it would be efficacious
to prevent poor health as a result of metal or mineral poisoning due to trace
elements ingested in larger quantities than the body can use; that it was a
wonderful aid to arthritic patients by reason of its ability to break down exces-
sive calcium deposits in the joints; that it would be efficacious to move poisons
in the body; that it would remove the cause of high blood pressure, gallstones,
and scores of other ailments ; that it would be effective to restore health and to
provide the necessary elements for the structure and vitality of the organs; that
it would be efficacious to maintain health and strength by supplying inorganic
salts; that it would be effective in curing long standing chronic diseases brought
on by overdosing and excessive use of such medicines as quinine, mercury,
etc.; that it would be efficacious to remedy the chronic forms of nervous debility,
rheumatism, asthma, anemia, diabetes, goiter, organic heart disease, neuralgia,
paralysis, varicose veins, catarrh, and dropsy; that by reason of its content
of sulfate of calcium, it would be efficacious to prevent cell disintegration and
suppuration, and would be effective in the third state of all suppurative
processes, including catarrhs, lung troubles, boils, carbuncles, ulcers, absecesses,
pimples and pustules of the face, and all cases of true suppuration; that by
reason of its content of chloride of potash, it would be efficacious in the treat-
ment of glandular swelling, discharges or expectoration of a thick, white,
fibrous consistency, white or grey exudations, and would be excellent in catar-
rhal conditions with those symptoms; that it would be effective to remedy /
croup, diphtheria, dysentery, and pneumonia, and would be effective to
control plastic exudation; that by reason of its content of chloride
of soda, it would be effective to act on the blood, liver, spleen, and
every mucous membrane of the body; that by reason of its content of chloride
of soda, it would be efficacious in the treatment of headache, toothache, face-
ache, stomach ache, vomiting of water and mucus, catarrhal affections of
mucous membranes with secretion of transparent, frothy, watery mucus,
small watery blisters or blebs on the skin, diarrhea, slimy, transparent stools,
inflammation of the eyes, and leucorrhea; that it would be efficacious to wash
the tissues and eliminate drugs from the system; that by reason of its silica
content, it would be effective to promote suppuration and ripen abscesses; that
it would be effective to cure chronic, gouty, rheumatic affections and restore
suppressed foot-sweats, thus indirectly remedying diseases resulting from sup-
pression of foot-sweat, such as amblyopia, cataract, paralysis, etc.; that it would
be effective to prevent atrophy; that it would favorably affect the central and
peripheral nervous systems, and thus it would be efficacious in the treatment
of languor, sleepiness, anxious dreams, nervous irritability, depression, head-
aches, trembling, and paretic symptoms; by reason of its chlorine content, it
would be effective to aid in the regulation and stimulation of muscular action,
would be effective to aid digestion, and would activate; that by reason of its
magnesium content, it would favorably affect muscular activity, nerve stability,
and bone structure, and would have a laxative effect; that by reason of its
sodium content, it would be efficacious to maintain normal heart action; that
it would be effective to prevent rapid disintegration of cell tissues; that by
reason of its radium content, it would have beneficial effects; that it would be
effective to render the user free from all symptoms of rheumatism ; that it would
be efficacious to remedy diabetes mellitus, and that where the pancreatic
gland is not too much destroyed, it would be efficacious to restore the gland to
its normal functions; that it would be efficacious in the treatment of tubercu-
losis ; that it would be efficacious in the cure of high blood pressure; that it
would be efficacious in the treatment of severe cases of laryngitis accompanied
by an ulcerated mouth; that it would be efficacious to remedy unbearable pain
in the legs; that it would be effective in the treatment of pyorrhea; that if
used as a rinse for the mouths of children, it would be efficacious to decrease
their aches and pains and ill health caused by pyorrhea; that it would be
efficacious to relieve external itching; that it would be efficacious to give quick
recovery from an alcoholic "binge"; that it would be efficacious in the treat-
ment of hemorrhoids; that it would be efficacious in the treatment of the com-
mon cold, la grippe, and bronchitis; that it would be efficacious to produce a
healthy pink color in the face; that it would be efficacious in the treatment
and cure of disease conditions in cases of all sorts, such as hives of long stand-
ing, high blood pressure, diabetes, ulcers of the stomach, arthritis, leg pains,
kidney and bladder trouble, and loss of appetite, where no response had resulted
from the usual medical and hospital treatment, various diets, and/or drugless
treatments; that it would be efficacious to enable the diabetic to abandon the
use of insulin; that it would be more effective in getting the average patient
back toward health than vitamins; that when applied externally, it would be
efficacious in the treatment of ulcers; that it would supply mineral salts which
would not be obtainable in food because of depleted soils and cooking; that it
would be efficacious in the treatment and cure of duodenal and pyloric ulcers;
that it would be efficacious in the treatment and cure of gastric ulcers, and
would render the user stronger and more buoyant; that it would supply energy
and pep, and would make the user feel like one, half his age; that it would be
efficacious in the treatment of dizzy spells and weakened condition, and would
enable the user to sleep; that it would be efficacious in the cure of nausea re
suiting from a nervous stomach, and would be efficacious to shorten the course
of la grippe and the "grippy" cold and "achy" feeling accompanying that con-
dition ; and that it would be efficacious to prevent the loss of sense of smell or
taste during a cold. The article would not be efficacious to accomplish and
would not accomplish, nor be effective to accomplish, the results and purposes
represented and suggested.
DISPOSITION : December 7, 1951. The defendant having entered a plea of nolo
contendere, the court sentenced him to prison for 6 months, but suspended the
execution of the sentence and placed him on probation for 6 months.