Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

The Cluthe Truss soon overcomes such complications. We have countless letters-- from people formerly suffering from such troubles brought on by wrong trusses-- telling how the Cluthe Truss has given them a new lease on life-- made them feel many years younger.

Among patients who came to us wearing spring trusses, we have often found evidence of injury to the spine.

For such trusses press against the spine-- the delicate center of the nervous system-- just as cruelly as they dig into the abdomen and the pelvic bone in front.

And frequently, when patients came to us wearing belt trusses, we have found the tender skin all cut and bruised where the belt fits around the body. And nearly always the cruel leg-straps had made the wearer's legs raw and sore.

The sufferer who wears a truss like these can scarcely have a moment's comfort.

Thousands of belt and spring trusses have been thrown away by new patients at our Institute, after we had fitted them with Cluthe Trusses.

And among all these discarded trusses we have never found one that could be properly adjusted-- the pressure couldn't be properly regulated.

There is by far too much pressure at times when only slight pressure is needed.

And, at times of strain, when more pressure is needed, there is no increase in pressure to meet that need.

This unregulated pressure tends to _stretch_ the weakened muscles at the point of rupture-- distends and enlarges the opening.

That is one reason why a rupture grows constantly worse when a leg-strap or spring truss is worn. Such trusses are a _crime_-- wearing them is simply slow suicide.

We keep a record showing the history of every rupture we treat.

This record shows that every severe rupture with which we have had to deal has grown into a serious case solely through the wear of some form of the belt or spring truss.

Just judge of all this by your own experience. Probably, in spite of the trusses you've been wearing, your rupture has grown constantly worse instead of better.

And then-- for the sake of comparison-- just read some of the letters you'll find at the back of this book; see the verdicts of people who have had experience with both the Cluthe Truss and with other kinds.

_+Trusses Like These Are A Crime+_

So-called "Appliances" are Usually Merely a Slight Adaptation of this Style of Truss-- Merely the Most Worthless Kinds of Trusses Masquerading under Misleading Names.

The only way to give leverage to the pad is to tighten up the belt and the leg-straps. The tighter they are, the farther they pull the pad away from the rupture opening. The leg-straps pull the pad down on the pelvic bone, where its pressure squeezes the life-giving spermatic cord.

Whenever the wearer coughs, sneezes or is under strain, the bowels leave their natural position, working out and in through the rupture opening (due to flexibility and stretching of straps), and the bowels when out are repeatedly pressed between the pelvic bone and the pad.

The Cruel Spring Truss

It is impossible to keep the spring truss in position. Due to the force of the springs around the waist, the pads dig against the pelvic bone with terrible pressure, sapping the vitality. The previous chapter shows how most ruptures grow constantly worse when trusses like these are worn.

Dotted lines in lower illustration show Spring Truss coiled up before applied. Try to hold springs apart as when on the body as shown for half a minute. Then you will know what criminal pressure the spring truss gives.

_+Law Should Stop the Sale of Drug Store Trusses+_

We believe the day will soon come when laws will be passed forbidding any one either to fit or sell trusses without a legal license.

Just as physicians, surgeons and dentists must all have licenses. So must oculists and opticians, in most states. Also druggists, before they can fill prescriptions.

And, unless a man has made a specialized study of rupture-- unless he has a thorough knowledge of it-- he should no more be allowed to sell or fit trusses than a schoolboy should be allowed to practice medicine.

Ruptured people seriously risk their health when they trust their cases to any one who hasn't made a thorough, specialized study of rupture. That is almost as dangerous as having a prescription filled by an inexperienced clerk, instead of by a registered pharmacist. For a wrong truss can cause immense harm.

[Sidenote: Trusses Should Be Sold Only Under License]

When the time comes when trusses can be sold only under license, we'll see most of the self-styled "Hernia Specialists" driven out of business.

We'll also see an end to the selling of "stock" trusses by general Mail-Order houses where an order for a truss is handled in exactly the same way-- and often by the same man-- as an order for groceries or hardware.

And, when that time comes, mighty few drug-stores will be able to sell trusses.

Let us show why.

Take the following as an example:

A man might _think_ he had only a bad cold.

And might go to a drug-store.

Now, a druggist doesn't pretend to know _disease_-- he simply knows _drugs_.

So about all the druggist could do would be to hand out some patent medicine-- some cure-all.

But if the man went out to a good _physician_--

The _physician_ might find, after asking a few questions and thus making a diagnosis, that the patient had _La Grippe_, or _Pneumonia_, or _Pleurisy_ (instead of merely a _cold_, as the patient _thought_).

The physician would find out what the patient _needed_, then write a specific prescription-- and seldom the same prescription for any two patients. For the requirements would always _differ_.

Or a man might have poor _eyesight_.

He might go to an _optician_.

Now, an _optician_ doesn't know much about _eyes_-- _he_ has made a special study of _lenses_-- _he_ merely _fits_ glasses-- just as a _druggist_ merely _fills_ prescriptions-- neither pretends to _diagnose_ or _prescribe_.

And an _optician_ is just as likely as not to fit a _near_-sighted man with _far_-sighted glasses.

[Sidenote: A Truss Fitter Should Know as Much About Rupture
as an Oculist About the Eyes]

But if the man with poor eyesight goes to an _oculist_--

The _oculist_ finds out what the _trouble_ is-- and what kind of glasses are _needed_-- then _prescribes_ that kind of glasses.

And then the _optician fits_ the man according to the _oculist's prescription_. Just as a _druggist_ fills a _physician's_ prescription.

Now our method of fitting you by mail is precisely like the physician's method.

From your answers to the simple questions we ask on our information blank, we first decide the _needs_ of your case-- then we _prescribe_-- then we _fill_ our prescription by making especially for your case exactly the kind of truss you need.

A physician never asks _you_ what _kind_ of medicine _you want_-- he _prescribes_ for you the kind which _he_ knows you _need_.

But if you go to a _drug-store_ for a truss, the clerk behind the counter asks you what _kind_ of truss you _want_!

You must be your _own_ doctor.

[Sidenote: Druggists Know Nothing about Rupture]

Neither the drug clerk nor the druggist knows enough about _rupture_ to know what kind of _truss_ you _need_.

And, usually, his knowledge of _trusses_ is confined to the difference in _prices_-- he'd rather sell you a $10 truss than a $3 truss.

His knowledge of _fitting_ is not much greater.

If you measure 36 inches around the hips, he gives you a 36-inch truss-- which, in everything except size, would be exactly like the truss he'd sell at the same price, to a man with a rupture only _half_ as bad as yours, or to a man with a rupture _twice_ as bad as yours.

A drug-store sells trusses in exactly the same way that the old-fashioned shoe store sold shoes.

It was solely a matter of how much the customer wanted to _pay_, and the _style_ the customer _wanted_-- _not_ what the customer _needed_.

Thousands of people have been "all crippled up" because their shoes were too _short_, or too _narrow_, or the _wrong shape_. The old-fashioned shoe clerk knew his _stock_, but he didn't know enough about the customer's _feet_ to know when the customer was _properly fitted_.

Just as thousands of people have trouble with their glasses because they were fitted by an _optician_-- "over the counter,"-- instead of having an _oculist prescribe_ for them.

And, partly because improperly fitted at drug-stores, and partly because drug-store trusses are usually mere makeshifts, thousands of people are to-day wearing trusses which are doing immense _harm_ instead of good-- trusses which cause the rupture to grow constantly worse.

Even if there is any druggist in the country who _does_ happen to know much about rupture and about fitting trusses, he'd have to be a mighty bright man to be able to fit you at all properly with the kind of trusses sold in the average drug-store.

Practically all the drug-store trusses are simply some form of the old belt or springs and leg-strap truss-- though sold under hundreds of different names as "improvements." They are usually cheaply constructed-- turned out by machinery in immense quantities.

And they are always ready-made "stock" trusses. Each kind made in only one model or style, and the pads in only a few different shapes and sizes.

Making mighty scant provision for the wide variation between the ruptures of different people; making mighty little allowance for the fact that what will do for one man won't do at all for another.

[Sidenote: Each Man Requires Something Different]

Your rupture, when out, may be the size of a hen's egg; your neighbor may have a protrusion almost as big as his head; and a lot of other men with protrusions ranging all the way from one extreme to the other. To say nothing of big differences in other ways besides size.

Each of you should have a size and shape of holding pad especially adapted to the needs of your case-- each should have a truss put together especially for you. Else there can be no such thing as continuous, comfortable holding of the rupture.

So you see the absurdity of trying to get a comfortably fitting truss at a drug-store, or of expecting to get one that will do much good.

Might as well expect all men to be properly fitted in a shoe store which carries only one size and shape of shoe. Or in a hat store which carries only one size of hat. Might as well expect both near-sighted and far-sighted men to see better if both wore the same kind of glasses. And might as well expect common window-glass to improve the eye-sight as to expect common drug-store trusses to do any good.

[Sidenote: Just Like Getting Glasses]

There is just as much difference in different men's ruptures as in the size and shape of their feet or heads.

Just as much variation in rupture as in failing eyesight. And everybody knows that one man may need very powerful glasses, while another needs glasses which magnify only slightly; one may need a double lens, while another needs only a single lens; one may need convex lenses, while another needs concave.

All this doesn't mean that it is hard to fit ruptured people, but merely that ample provision must be made for the different requirements. As a shoe store does for men's feet.

We have found it necessary to make the Cluthe Holding Pads in 115 different styles, shapes and sizes. And frequently we have to make a special style or size.

Thus, no matter what your rupture is like, we can fit you with a Cluthe Truss-- one put together especially for you-- one that will meet your requirements just as well as a shoe store can fit you with shoes, or an oculist fit you with exactly the kind of glasses you need.

* * * * *

It is for these reasons-- their ignorance of rupture-- that we have never sold the Cluthe Truss through druggists.

Trusses are simply a _side-line_ in the average drug-store. Just as _cigars_ are, or "_soft drinks_."

A druggist knows all about _drugs_.

He has made _them_ his special _study_.

But he _doesn't_ know much about _rupture_-- doesn't pretend to-- and can't be expected to. Because he _hasn't_ made a _study_ of it.

It took _us_, here at the Cluthe Rupture Institute, over _forty years_ to learn all that we _now_ know about Rupture.

_Forty years_ of day-after-day _concentration_ on the _study_ and _treatment_ of Rupture.

And during those forty years, we have learned things about Rupture which no one _else_ has _ever learned_-- we have gained knowledge which is exclusively our _own_.

And it took many years of scientific study and experiment to perfect the _Cluthe Truss_, and to design the hundreds of different _kinds_, _sizes_, and _shapes_ of Holding Pads which adapt this truss to every form and condition of Rupture known to-day.

We have told you this, Reader, to show that placing yourself in our care is vastly different from going to a _drug-store_, or to a mere _dealer_ in trusses or _manufacturer_ of them.

And the following chapters will show that even more conclusively.

_+Physicians Advise Cluthe Truss Instead of Operation+_

Until they know of something better, most physicians, because of their training, naturally believe in hospital treatment for rupture-- naturally favor operations.

But few good physicians would ever advise an operation if they knew of the Cluthe Truss and the world of good it has done.

Just as no conscientious physician would ever think of sending anyone to the drug-store for a truss if he knew how much more beneficial a Cluthe Truss is.

Too bad, for the sake of their ruptured patients, that more physicians don't know the facts about this truss. Too bad the good news hasn't yet spread among all the profession.

However, thousands of physicians all over the country are already familiar with the facts-- thousands have seen the folly of expecting ordinary trusses to do any good-- thousands now know that getting a Cluthe Automatic Massaging Truss and our professional care and attention in connection with it, is a vastly different thing than going to a drug-store for a truss.

Just as calling in a physician and having him prescribe exactly what you need for typhoid, grippe, nervous trouble, rheumatism or other sickness, is a hundred times more likely to give you relief than if you go to a drug-store for some patent medicine "cure-all."

So far as we know, every physician who has impartially looked into the merits of the Cluthe Automatic Massaging Truss and the care and attention we give has from that time on (unless operation was absolutely necessary) been advising a trial of the Cluthe Truss in all cases of rupture which come under his charge.

Among such physicians are many connected with hospitals, who almost invariably advise a trial of the Cluthe Truss instead of an operation; just as they would prefer to cure appendicitis without an operation unless an operation seemed imperative.

And many physicians (you'll find the names of some of them in the book "Your Neighbor's Word") are themselves wearing Cluthe Trusses, or have worn them until cured.

_+Ruptured People Swindled Out of Thousands of Dollars+_

Look Out for the Deceitful "Don't-Wear-a-Truss" Arguments and the Tricky "Not-a-Truss" Claims

Get-Rich-Quick Quacks are year after year humbugging ruptured people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The traps they set are cleverly baited. But the bait always consists of misrepresentation and tricky subterfuges.

Some style themselves "doctors"-- an insult to the medical profession.

Some call themselves "Captain" or "Colonel"-- an attempt to get the sympathy of Civil War veterans.

Some try to work on your sympathies by telling you they were themselves formerly ruptured-- that they got their knowledge of rupture by studying their own cases-- that they made a special "appliance" for themselves. But a doctor or surgeon can't set his own arm. And no one can make a scientific study of his own rupture any more than he can perform an operation on himself.

And some call themselves Rupture or Hernia "Specialists"-- but never specialized in anything except swindling ruptured people.

Some of them make offers like "Free to the Ruptured"-- so worded as to make a man think it means free cure. But all they send you free is a cheap little folder or circular. People who write to them soon learn to know better than to expect something for nothing.

[Sidenote: Don't be Fooled by "Appliances," "Methods," etc.]

And some try to snare their victims with deceitful "Don't-Wear-a-Truss" talk.

Try to hoodwink you into thinking they have no truss to sell.

Try to fool you with things they call "Appliances," "Methods," "Discoveries," etc.

But the man who puts any faith in such claims soon finds that these so-called "Appliances" and "Methods" are nothing but an adaptation of the old-fashioned truss with belt, band, leg-straps, springs, etc. Nothing but the most worthless kind of a truss masquerading under a misleading name.

Some of these "Method" concerns throw in some absurd kind of liniment, salve or ointment-- tell you the secret lies in this "lymph" or whatever they call it rather than in their appliances.

But that is nothing more nor less than the rankest kind of fraud.

It is folly to suppose any salve, liniment or medicine can possibly cure rupture. Might as well expect them to cure a broken bone. Though they can probably do as much good as the worthless "appliances" they come with.

[Sidenote: The Liniment Fraud]

When you first apply this "lymph" or liniment, you may feel some stimulating effects; for these lymph-sellers are always careful to tell you to _rub_ the stuff _in_ thoroughly. But the stimulation lasts only a few minutes; and is due to the _rubbing_ and not to the liniment. If you rub with your fingers alone-- without any liniment-- it will do just as much good.

This rubbing, while the stimulation lasts, simply proves the value of _massage_. For rubbing with your hands is, in a way, like the massage which the Cluthe Truss gives automatically. But the massage given by our truss is a hundred times more invigorating and strengthening to the ruptured parts than any amount of hand-rubbing. Our truss is giving the _massage_ all day long, while rubbing with your hands can be done only once or twice a day at most, only when flat on your back, and only for a few minutes at a time.

Some of these people claim they can cure rupture by means of a plaster-- like the kidney plaster which proved worthless long ago.

These plaster venders are careful to avoid saying out and out in plain language that their plaster will positively keep your rupture from coming out-- they make no direct promises or guarantee whatever of holding the rupture.

If they cannot guarantee holding, it is nonsense to think any plaster can possibly overcome any weakness like rupture, no matter what kind of _magical_ ointment there may be in the plasters.

We have talked of these kinds of people in plain language; we have called a spade a spade.

For it is nothing less than a crime the way these men have grown rich by defrauding ruptured people.

It is worse than the way wildcat "mining" men have robbed the unsuspecting public. For these rupture swindlers take advantage of people's suffering.

[Sidenote: How to Save Yourself from Being Humbugged]

But it is easy enough to avoid being fooled-- easy enough to guard against frauds and fakes.

And it is easy enough to save yourself from throwing money away on drug-store trusses and other things which may be sold without wrong intent-- but which are utterly incapable of doing any particular good.

Simply make up your mind not to put any faith in anything whatever for rupture unless you can get the sellers to agree to let you test it on _Sixty Days' Trial_ and under the protection of a _Money-Back Guarantee_.

Make sure that everything is clearly understood-- see that all agreements are plainly worded-- insist on a signed guarantee that your rupture will be held or your money refunded.

Any concern which makes or sells a truss or anything else good enough to stand _that_ test doesn't need to resort to misleading claims or subterfuge or trickery of any kind.

And _that_-- a sixty days' trial under the protection of our iron-clad money-back guarantee-- is the test we ask you to make of the Cluthe Automatic Massaging Truss.

_+Showing How the Cluthe Truss is Held in Place Without Leg-Straps or Other "Harness"+_

These illustrations show the free action of the rear or Suction Pads of the Cluthe Truss.

The sole work of these pads is to support the frame which passes around the body. They hold the Truss in position, so the Rupture Pads in front can't slip up or down or away from the rupture opening.

These pads rest against the cushion of muscles behind the hips (the muscles forming the rump). The pads are hollow on the under side. This forms a vacuum or suction, which makes slipping or displacement impossible in any position.

_+What We Have Done For 290,000 Others+_

At this writing we have treated at our Institute, over 290,000 ruptures.

These included all kinds and conditions. Some of them the worst cases in history.

Many of these people, in despair, were at the point of undergoing an operation. But the Cluthe Truss made operation unnecessary-- saved the big expense-- saved the terrible risk.

Among those we have fitted by mail are many infants from a few months to a few years old.

And even these little ones wore the Cluthe Truss in absolute comfort while being made better, while being cured.

We don't need to tell you it would be cruelty to put any other truss on children.

[Sidenote: From Infants To Men Over 80]

We have fitted by mail men and women over 60, 70 and 80 years old.

People who had been ruptured for from twenty to fifty years.

People who had tried dozens of other trusses. But never found one that would hold.

Some were in such bad shape-- in such pain-- that they hadn't worked for years.

Some of them, before getting Cluthe Trusses, couldn't walk more than two or three blocks without resting. Could hardly get around at all for fear of bad effects on their rupture.

And the Cluthe Truss, with its strengthening massage, has worked thousands of cures in cases apparently hopeless like these.

While in those cases where cure wasn't brought about-- or hasn't yet been-- this truss kept the rupture from coming out, and made the rupture better.

We keep in touch with all our patients-- our interest doesn't cease until we know they are getting along all right. Yet we have known of only a few cases, including the worst ones, where the rupture ever came out after the first few days' wear of this truss.

Think of that-- you who had almost given up hope.

You can see for yourself what the Cluthe Truss has done by reading a few of the letters-- all voluntarily written-- which are printed at the back of this book. These letters are only a few out of the thousands we have received.

_+Costs More to Do Without It Than To Get It+_

You will find it many times cheaper to get a Cluthe Automatic Massaging Truss than to try to do without one.

As long as you put up with worthless makeshifts, you are paying the price of a Cluthe Truss over and over without getting any of its benefits.

Probably paying its price again and again in time lost from work or business.

For if your rupture never keeps you from putting in a full day-- if you never find it a handicap-- if it never keeps you at home in bed when you should be earning money-- then you are far more fortunate than most ruptured people who don't wear Cluthe Trusses.

And as long as you try to get along with worthless makeshifts, you have to keep buying truss after truss, paying out dollar after dollar for new trusses to take the place of those which don't last and those which don't do any good. Thus throwing away in a little while many times more than the price of a Cluthe Truss.

[Sidenote: Ordinary Trusses Are a Waste Of Money]

As long as you go without a Cluthe Truss, your rupture keeps getting worse-- probably worse now than a year ago-- been getting worse every day.

Thus again, you are constantly paying far more than the price of a Cluthe Truss; paying it in wear-and-tear on your health, in the drain on your strength and vitality, in the loss of many of the enjoyments which help make life worth living.

Without a Cluthe Truss, your rupture is a constant worry. For a man has to be more optimistic than most ruptured people if he can look into the Future without dread when he knows his rupture isn't getting any better.

No man, especially one with a family to provide for, wants to let his rupture make him more or less helpless if there is anything he can do to prevent it.

No man wants to be disabled for active work, no man wants to be dependent on others.

That has been the fate of thousands who never knew of the Cluthe Truss, or who didn't have the wisdom to try it.

But you who read this, now that you know the facts, have absolutely no excuse for ever letting rupture get the best of you.

[Sidenote: Don't Let Rupture Get the Best of You]

No one's fault but your own, if you now let your rupture keep on growing worse.

No one but yourself to blame if you don't take the chance we give you to find out, by trial at our risk, just what the Cluthe Truss can do for you.

It will be _our_ loss and not yours if this truss doesn't at least make you a whole lot better. But _your_ loss, not ours, if you neglect to _try_ it.

Unless you have already let your rupture become permanently irreducible the probabilities are that the Cluthe Truss can entirely free you from the clutches of rupture, just as it has thousands of others.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying a Cluthe Truss.

If it doesn't do any good, we'll take it back and you won't lose any money.

[Sidenote: Ends all Expense on Account of Your Rupture]

If it does prove beneficial, it will in all probability last as long as you have any need for a truss. For it is mighty seldom that any part of a Cluthe Truss ever gives out, even when, as in incurable cases, it is worn year after year.

So once you get a Cluthe Truss, you'll probably never have to pay out another dollar on account of your rupture.

The Cluthe Truss costs so little-- only $9 to $14-- that every body not a pauper can easily afford it. Costs so little-- when you consider the good it does-- that no one can afford to go without it.

You can get lots of trusses that cost less and some that cost even more-- but one Cluthe Truss is worth a dozen of them.

Every thrifty man knows that good _shoes_, for instance, are more economical than cheap ones; for the cheap shoes soon go to pieces, soon get shabby; one good pair would outlast three or four of the cheap ones.

Every man knows that good shoes-- shoes that keep the feet dry-- are less expensive in the end than shoes which leak and bring on colds and sickness.

[Sidenote: Like Buying Shoes]

And every man knows that properly fitting shoes, shoes you can wear with comfort, are worth three or four pairs of shoes which hurt the feet. For no matter how little the uncomfortable shoes cost, you can't get your money's worth out of them if you can't wear them.

Lots of people have common-sense enough to think of all these things in buying shoes.

But lots of them let their common-sense go on vacation when it comes to buying trusses.

Yet a truss is a hundred times more important than shoes.

Think how much depends on a truss-- your comfort, your ability to make a living, your safety when working, even your very life sometimes, all depend on your truss.

If your truss is no good, if it lets any little strain throw your rupture out, there is constant danger that some sudden wrench, some slip, some fall or misstep, may throw the rupture out so violently as to cause _strangulation_ of the rupture. And that usually ends in quick death.

But the man who wears a Cluthe Truss has nothing whatever to worry about.

For the Cluthe Truss keeps the rupture from coming out, takes all danger out of work or exercise, takes all strain off the weak ruptured parts, rests them, and-- by automatically massaging them-- daily strengthens them.

As the result of this constant hold and in constant strengthening, rupture is not likely to give any more trouble from the day a Cluthe Truss is put on. Just as weak eyes won't bother you any more after you get the right kind of glasses.

[Sidenote: Does More for Rupture Than Glasses do for the Eyes]

The Cluthe Truss or Cluthe Automatic Massager is the only truss in existence that can be depended on to do for rupture what good glasses do for the eyes.

In the majority of cases, it does far more.

About all that glasses can do is to keep the eyes from getting worse-- take the strain off them-- rest them, so they won't be further weakened.

No one expects glasses to _cure_ weak eyes, no one expects them to improve the sight so much that glasses won't need to be worn.

But the Cluthe Truss, in many cases, _does_ cure rupture.

You will see proof of that by reading some of the letters at the back of this book.

And in those cases where it doesn't result in complete cure, it almost invariably makes the rupture better. If it doesn't do that, we are always ready to refund the purchaser's money, as fully explained in a later chapter.

_+X-Ray View of Cluthe Truss+_

Note that there is no Belt, Elastics or Spring around the Waist, and no Leg-Straps

This Truss Can be Worn in the Bath, or when Swimming-- All Parts Are Water-Proof

This X-ray view shows how simple the Cluthe Truss is-- how few parts it has-- its freedom from uncomfortable "harness"-- and just how it looks when on.

This view is taken from above-- what is called a "Bird's Eye" view. The rear pads (Suction Pads) are level with the pads in front (the Automatic-Acting Holding or Rupture Pads), though they seem higher in the picture.

Bear in mind that the frame you see in the picture is no way a spring or belt or band. It leaves the hips and spine free-- doesn't press against the body at any point. (This is shown more clearly by the Cross-Section View on page 58.) The Suction Pads in the rear-- which rest lightly on the rump-- hold the truss in proper position, keeping it from slipping, shifting or moving the least bit out of place. The only purpose of the frame is to connect the Suction Pads with the Rupture Pads in front, so the truss can hold you together.

The truss shown here is for a severe case of right-side Groin or Scrotal Rupture. Has Automatic-Acting Holding or Rupture Pad on the ruptured side, and a free-acting Protection Pad on the side not ruptured, thus protecting the well side against strains, etc.

For Double Groin Rupture, another Holding Pad would be fitted where the Protection Pad is shown here.

The Cluthe Automatic Holding Pads are made in over 115 different shapes and sizes, and are selected as the severity and nature of each case may demand.

We determine the true nature and real needs of the case from the answers given to the questions on our Order blank, and then shape frame of truss so hips and spine will be left free from pressure, and select Rupture Pad or Pads of the right size and shape, and "set" or adjust the truss so it will be self-regulating in the way necessary to automatically seal the rupture opening to give proper support, and to hold the rupture properly in place.

_+The Special Advice You Get in Connection with the Cluthe Truss+_

In every case, we give our complete _Professional Services_.

[Sidenote: Like Being Under a Physician's Care]

Just as the physician gives thorough study and attention in connection with the medicine he prescribes.

Our Professional Service gives you knowledge of your trouble, based on Nature's laws, mechanical laws and common sense, which we have learned during our forty years of day-after-day experience.

As a part of our Professional Services, we give Special Instructions-- confidential advice-- based on the individual needs of each case.

This confidential advice has to do with your general health, the length of time you have been ruptured, and other conditions having a direct bearing on your rupture.

All this costs you nothing extra. And our Special Instructions and Advice are no trouble whatever to carry out.

_+Showing How the Cluthe Truss Can't Rub, Hug, Pinch, Squeeze, Chafe, Bind or Irritate+_

Cross Section View, showing how the frame of the Cluthe Truss doesn't press against the body at any point. The Cluthe Truss comes in contact with the body only at the rupture opening (where the Holding Pads support the rupture)-- and at the rear, where the Suction Pads rest against the muscles of the rump.

While the frame doesn't press against the body, it fits so closely around the body that the truss won't "show" in any way under the clothes-- no one can tell you have a truss on. Won't even "bulge" a woman's corset-- won't interfere with the corset. Many acrobats wear this truss under their tights when performing, yet no one can see any sign of it.

_+Showing the Simplicity of the Automatic-Acting Rupture Pads and of the Massaging Device+_

Illustration at left shows Holding Pad in normal position.

When you cough or strain, your abdomen naturally expands, pushing upper end of pad (where finger points in illustration at right) outward, thus forcing the lower part of pad (where arrow points) in against rupture opening. Because of this automatic action of the Holding Pad, your rupture can never come out.

The simple mechanism shown on the inside of this pad-- a device so small it would almost go in a watch case-- is what makes the Cluthe Holding or Rupture Pad automatic in its action (self-adjusting, self-regulating).

And at the same time, this little device causes the Holding or Rupture Pad to give the strengthening _massage_ to the weak ruptured parts-- all _automatically_ or _mechanically_, like the running of a watch. But-- unlike a watch-- this massaging device doesn't need to be wound up-- never needs any attention whatever; and also unlike a watch, so strong and simple that it can never get out of order-- never fail to work properly.

_+Forms and Conditions of Rupture+_

The illustrations on following pages show various stages of the four common varieties of abdominal Rupture.

Groin Rupture (Inguinal) is the most common form.

Scrotal Rupture (Inguinal) is simply a worse stage of Groin Rupture. The intestines have descended into the scrotum.

Navel Rupture (Umbilical) is that form in which the opening occurs at or near the navel.

Thigh Rupture (Femoral) is that form of rupture which appears at the upper part of the thigh.

Any of these forms of rupture may appear on the right or left side or on both.

Our experience has taught us that out of one hundred cases of rupture about eighty-six are Groin or Scrotal Rupture. Thirteen out of each hundred are about evenly divided between Thigh and Navel Rupture. And the remaining one may be one of several uncommon forms not mentioned here because they are usually the result of accident.

About half of the cases of rupture occur in childhood. But there are many cases which occur between the ages of 30 and 40. And it is a well known fact that two-fifths of such cases become Scrotal because of neglect, or because a truss is worn that does not keep the rupture from coming down.

All ruptures at the start are usually very mild in form. But if the ruptured parts are not held in place, the sac will gradually grow larger because of the failure to seal the originally small opening through which the intestines at first escape.

[Sidenote: Warn Those Recently Ruptured]

This is something about which you who have been ruptured any length of time, you who know how rupture gets worse if not properly taken care of, should warn any one you may know who has only recently been ruptured. You can save them years of suffering by telling them about the Cluthe Truss.

For it so often happens-- due to the general ignorance about rupture-- that newly ruptured people don't know their danger until too late. The rupture often gives so little trouble at first that they think it nothing to worry about. Or perhaps-- also due to ignorance-- they are ashamed to ask anyone's advice. So they go to a drug-store and get a worthless makeshift; and, of course, wearing the cheap contraptions sold by drug-stores, they soon find themselves in a serious state.

There are six conditions of rupture.

When the rupture can be pressed back into the abdomen by the ordinary manipulation of the fingers, it is a Reducible Rupture. This is the first condition, but without a proper truss it soon grows worse.

When only a part of the contents of the lump or rupture sac can be pressed back into the opening, it is known as a Partly Reducible Rupture. This condition is generally the result of neglect of the Reducible Rupture or the use of an improper truss.

When at times the contents of the lump or sac cannot be pressed back into the body with the hands, it is known as a Temporarily Irreducible Rupture. This temporarily irreducible condition can often be cured and always prevented from growing worse if the proper truss is fitted and worn.

The foregoing condition sometimes becomes so bad that it is known as Permanently Irreducible. But even then it can usually be controlled-- prevented from growing worse-- if the right kind of truss is worn.

The condition bordering on strangulation is known as Incarcerated Rupture. The only help for a person in this condition is an immediate operation.

The worst condition of rupture is the strangulated form. This is a condition where mortification has already set in. If an operation is not immediately resorted to, the sufferer will die.

* * * * *

These illustrations show Groin Rupture as it first appears, and how it gradually grows worse and descends into the privates (both male and female) when neglected or not properly protected, as when a worthless truss or other appliance is worn which frequently or occasionally lets the rupture come out.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 show the first three stages of Groin Rupture.

Figure 4 shows Groin Rupture descended only to the privates.

Figures 5 and 6 show the rupture _after_ it has descended _into_ the privates.

Figures 7, 8, and 9 show advanced stages of Scrotal or Groin Rupture (getting worse all the time because not properly protected, because not kept from coming out) after it has descended into privates. (The different stages are the same in Females as in Males.)

Figure 10 shows Thigh or Femoral Rupture, which comes out on the upper part of thigh, just below the crease or depression between abdomen and thigh. Femoral Rupture never appears higher up-- never appears in groin, and never descends into privates.

Figures 11 and 12 show two stages of Navel Rupture. (For Cluthe Navel Truss, see page 64.)

We make the Cluthe Truss with special Holding Pads that meet the requirements of every one of the foregoing conditions of Rupture, save Incarcerated and Strangulated. With the exception of these two forms we guarantee that the perfect truss with Automatic Massage Treatment will constantly hold any rupture in place.

Navel or Umbilical Rupture (which appears at or near the navel) demands immediate treatment.

[Sidenote: Navel (Umbilical) Rupture]

Neglect or Mal-Treatment is liable speedily to treble the size of the rupture.

We make a special Cluthe Navel Truss which has never in any case failed to improve the condition from the moment it was applied.

Our Navel Truss does not bind the abdomen-- allows perfect freedom-- is light, clean and comfortable even in the hottest weather.

It is the only successful holder for Navel Rupture-- the only one that supports the overhanging weight in front without the use of torturing elastic fabrics.

Cases of Navel Rupture demand special care, for hardly any two are alike. So we cannot prescribe for Navel Rupture until we know your condition.

Simply write us stating whether the rupture can be fully reduced. If it can't, give size of part that cannot be reduced.

If none of the forms of Navel Rupture shown on the order blank seems to be about the size of your rupture, and in the same location, please mark on the picture as nearly as you can the size and location of your rupture.

On receipt of such report, we shall advise you as to the appliance needed, and its price.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: After Operations]

For recurrence of Rupture after an operation, we make the Cluthe Truss with special frames and pads. For the requirements in each case are usually different.

Simply fill out the order blank, and we will tell you just what you need, and the price.

_+Let Us Send You A Cluthe Truss On 60 Days' Trial+_

Won't Cost You a Single Cent if You Don't Get Better

We don't ask you to risk a single cent of your money in finding out what a Cluthe Truss can do for you.

We have so much faith in our truss-- we know what it has done for so many others-- that we are willing to make a Cluthe Truss, as explained below, especially for your case, and let you wear it sixty days on trial.

Think of that, Reader! When you get a truss at a drug-store or truss dealer's, the only chance you have to make a test is _while trying the Truss on_.

But the sixty days' trial we allow you certainly gives you plenty of time to make an absolutely thorough test-- plenty of time to see whether the truss is doing any good-- plenty of time to make sure that, with this truss on, your rupture can't come out-- plenty of time to prove the wearing and water-proof qualities of our truss.

_Sixty days_ is longer than lots of trusses or "appliances" would last!

[Sidenote: 60 Days Is Longer Than Lots of Trusses Would Last]

Longer than you could stand to wear any truss which pinches or squeezes or hurts in any way!

We'll protect you by giving you our signed guarantee (this paragraph in itself is a guarantee) that this truss will keep your rupture from coming out and improve your condition when put on and worn according to our simple directions; guarantee it to prevent protrusion, not for just a few minutes at a time, but for all day long, including when you are working, exercising, taking a bath or swim.

If, after fair trial-- whether at the end of ten days, thirty days or sixty days-- you find that the truss isn't holding your rupture, isn't helping you, simply let us know what the trouble is and if we can't correct it we'll promptly refund your money.

Our willingness to let you try a Cluthe Truss sixty days entirely at our risk is the best proof in the world of its merits.

We could never afford to send you a Cluthe Truss on such a long trial if there were any likelihood that it wouldn't prove beneficial, any likelihood that you would want to return it.

But the Cluthe Truss has been put to the test so many times, including hundreds of seemingly hopeless cases, that we know our faith in our truss is justified.

[Sidenote: Benefits 199 Out of Every 200]

Counting all the thousands of people who have placed themselves in our care, our records show that the cases in which a trial of the Cluthe Truss failed to prove beneficial have averaged only one out of each two hundred.

A really remarkable record. For among the people who have tried the Cluthe Truss, among those cured by it, are hundreds who had been ruptured over 50 years. Note letters in back of book and the 5,000 names you'll find in "Your Neighbor's Word."

The law of averages always holds good; it is one of the most certain things in the world.

And when 199 out of every 200 who have tried this truss were benefited, and many of them cured, you can see that there are mighty few people who can't expect a Cluthe Truss to do them a lot of good.

Bear in mind that we aren't claiming that every one who has tried a Cluthe Truss has been completely cured by it. We would rather err by claiming too little than claim too much. Even a common cold, about the simplest of all human ailments, can't always be cured, can't always be so much as relieved or checked; that is why a cold, in spite of everything that can be done, so often develops into pneumonia, bronchial trouble, etc.

But we do stand back of the Cluthe Truss with an absolute guarantee that it will keep the rupture from coming out, enable you to work without danger, and result in improvement. Surely no man can expect a stronger guarantee, especially after what many have gone through with other trusses.

Note that our guarantee is in plain, straightforward language-- you know exactly what it means-- no evasions, no subterfuges-- an iron-clad and absolutely legal guarantee.

[Sidenote: Our Guarantee Protects You Absolutely]

It is nothing like the tricky, hoodwinking guarantees which so many other concerns give. Beware of a so-called guarantee which merely reads "This truss fully guaranteed." A guarantee-- as any lawyer will tell you-- isn't worth the paper it's printed on unless it guarantees something specific, such as holding. And it gives you no protection unless it guarantees your money back in case of failure.

But our Guarantee is a positive Money-Back Guarantee.

If the Cluthe _Truss_ fails to "make good," then _we_ will "make good" by refunding your money.

You don't need to worry about that for a minute. No one dependent on the good will of the public could remain in business as long as we have, now over 40 years, and constantly gain new friends through the old, unless every customer received a square deal. Dishonesty would have driven us out of business long ago.

We believe that our reputation for absolute fairness and honesty is as firmly established among people who have had dealings with us as the reputation of Wanamaker's or Marshall Field's.

We are so seldom asked to refund money that it would be the height of folly to risk injuring our reputation for the sake of the few dollars represented by a Cluthe Truss or even a thousand trusses.

If we were selling automobiles or shoes or hardware, our honesty would be taken for granted. But there has been so much trickery in the sale of trusses and other things for rupture that it is only in justice to ourselves that we mention our reputation.

[Sidenote: Your Money Simply Held on Deposit]

Remember that we protect you at every point. And our interest in your case won't cease until we know you are getting along all right; you'll always find us ready at any time to do everything within our power.

So don't let another day go by without trying this truss, this truss which has done wonders for others.

Remember that all money you pay is simply held on deposit until you have made the 60-day test.

If you have any doubts about our responsibility, have your local bank look us up in Bradstreet's or Dun's.

_+See How Little it Costs to Get Relief+_

If you had to pay for the world of good a Cluthe Truss does, the price would be many times higher.

But we charge only for the materials and time which go into the truss, plus a legitimate profit.

There is nothing fancy about a Cluthe Truss, for you don't wear a truss for ornament. But the minute you see it, you will know you are getting your money's worth.

It is the strongest truss ever made-- and at the same time the lightest; also the cleanest, neatest-looking.

Made of the best materials we can buy-- materials which will last.

So well made that the cost of making a single part-- such as one of the Holding Pads, the massaging device or the self-adjusting feature-- is greater than the cost of making most other trusses complete.

So strongly made and so simply made that there is nothing about it likely to get out of order.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: About Prices]

We make the Cluthe Truss or Cluthe Automatic Massager in two grades.

Both are precisely the same in principle and in action.

Both are fully guaranteed to hold your rupture securely.

Both are perspiration-proof and both water-proof. The Cluthe Truss-- either grade-- is the only truss made that you don't have to remove while taking a bath or swim and that insures perfect holding at _such_ times as well as at all other times.

Our Grade A is the best wearing truss-- the most durable truss made. If you get this truss, you'll probably never need to pay out another dollar on account of your rupture.

Frames and pads are both covered with water-proof Vulcanized Rubber (unless you prefer water-proof Cushion Holding Pads).

And now note that the Cluthe Truss costs little or no more than many other kinds which are nothing but makeshifts.

The price of Grade A, for single rupture, is $12. For double rupture, $14.

Grade B, for adults with hip measurements 28 inches or larger, is $9 for a single rupture. For double rupture, $11.

For children, up to 27 inches hip measurements, this grade for single rupture is $6. For double rupture, $8.

[Sidenote: Only $9 to $14]

Grade B will outlast a dozen ordinary trusses. But it isn't as durable as Grade A. The frame is covered with special Waterproof Casing.

Holding Pads on Grade B Truss are the same as on Grade A-- vulcanized rubber or water-proof Cushion Pads.

We advise Grade A, simply because this is more durable.

Both grades are for Groin or Scrotal Rupture only. For Navel Rupture, or After Operation, see page 64.

In fitting either grade, we give equal attention and care-- give you our complete Professional Services, special instructions and our confidential advice.

And on both grades give you sixty days' trial and the protection of our money-back-guarantee.

* * * * *

The prices quoted here are for Mail Order Fitting only. Our charges for Fitting by appointment at the Institute will be furnished upon request. Previous appointment for personal fitting at the Institute is _absolutely_ necessary.

Our terms are Amount with Order. As explained elsewhere the amount is simply held on deposit until you have made thorough trial of the truss.

_+Don't Let Yourself Keep on Getting Worse+_

There's no Better Time Than Right Now to Put the Cluthe Truss to a 60 Days' Test

Don't wait till the last minute-- don't wait till your rupture makes you absolutely helpless-- don't wait till good-for-nothing trusses cripple you up so you can scarcely drag around at all-- don't wait till it's too late for a Cluthe Truss, an operation or anything else to save you.

Don't cheat yourself out of making a sixty-day test of the Cluthe Automatic Massaging Truss-- don't rob yourself of this chance to get relief without having to risk a single cent of your money.

Even though you may think your condition is hopeless, don't let that keep you from trying a Cluthe Truss-- don't let anything whatever keep you from finding out what this truss can do for you.

[Sidenote: You'll Begin to Get Better Right Away]

Unless you are far worse off than most others who have tried this truss, you'll begin to get better from the day you put a Cluthe Truss on.

You'll have nothing more to worry about-- you can work your hardest every day in the week-- take any kind of exercise-- take your bath or swim, etc.-- all without the slightest danger of forcing your rupture out.

[Sidenote: No More Torturing Harness]

And no belt, band or springs around the waist, no leg-straps, no pressure on the spine or the pelvic bone. Nothing that can squeeze, pinch or bind, nothing that can heat, chafe, itch or cut the skin, nothing that can irritate in any way.