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Norman Baker was wed, and he sued back, at least a doxen limes. He spent tremendous amounts of money in sensational court litigations, hot nothing stopped him. Ho was a bold and a shrewd man. Sometime* he wa* too hold. Hk© the ttae be caDed Iowa's attorney general a “damned coward” over the radio. Norman Baker said Muscatine was his borne. He made calliopes there for awhile; then discovered what he called a “cure for cancer”He established a hospital there to 1929. and decided the new media of radio was a wonderful way of spreading the gospel clt; his “cancer cure.' His powerful station. KTST. and hi* con-vincing voice, brought hundreds of sick to Muscatine to receive what was called “the needle treatment.”Peppermint 'Cure'He claimed to cure, but *• American Medical AssoctiOTi charged that Baker was inje«lt;-Ing into patents nothing but a quack solution o' peppermint. gl cerin and carbolic add.Baker continually harped ngamst ihc AMA in general andearly 1930’s:The way to treat appendicitis Is with hot onion poultices. Rub the abdomen downward and if the appendix l« kinked It wtll straighten ont.” Then, Baker Interjected that for $1 JO h© would send a booklet on the appendix.Although he wasn't a physician. he made dangerous broadcast* in 1930 claiming that smallpox vaccinations were “merely eowpuss” that could cause sypMb. 'BanEventually. KTNT was banned from the air by the FCC as “ondesirable.” Baker wasn’t to be stopped. He moved his trans-nutter taclities to Neuvo. Lar-deo. Mexico, and began operating XTNT. It was plainly re cetved Hue at night in most of the United States.About this time, Baker got politically minded and unsuccessfully sought the office of governor and 5.hut in Iowa. He was the Farmer-Labor party nominee lor governor, and ran on the Republican ticket when he sought the nomination for U.S. Senator.In the latter race, he equippedSue* , ** tAt the height of his fame In 1932, Baker brought a half-million doDar libel suit against the American Medical Associate* because of articles published in the association's journals.Tried in Federal Court in Davenport. the case toe* an entire month and was one of the most sensational ever beard in Davenport.What caused Baker to bring the big lawsuit? Here's why: Tlic AMA called attention to the Baker institute as being operated by a business man who is selling a cancer cure, with dgars and magazines as a sideline.”“This nostrum is beamed over •he air by Mr. Baker. He has even claimed the American Medical Association offered him a million dollars for his cancer cure with the intent of forcing it from the market Hie lie is so obviously false to any person with intelligence above a moroc that it needs light thought to convince its hearers of its fallacy. the AMA publications said.”A furor developed during the trial when newumcn noticed * •trane© bulge under Baker’*
Newspaper Details
Morning Democrat
Davenport, Iowa, US
Thu, Oct 13, 1955
Page 61
Full Page
Clipped by
Arkansas S.
AR, USA 07 Oct 2016
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