Vol. XXX.

THE

"' PATENT' MEDICINES.

During the last few years there has been a pronounced disposition on the part of the American Medical Association to wage war on the patent-medicine industry. One of its preliminary moves has been to ascertain the magnitude of the business. A certain medical journal is authority for the statement that in 1906 $165,000,000 represented the amount spent in the United States for this class of preparations, and that in 1914 this stupendous figure had been increased to $181,000,000.

"It has been estimated by good authority," the journal above mentioned continues, "that there are to-day on the market and being sold over the counter 27,000 different proprietary nostrums, and 3684 criminal prosecutions have been reported. Out of these prosecutions 2038 frauds have been exposed, their secrecy torn away and their deviltry shown up." The article

No. 3.

from which these sentences are extracted concludes with the statement that in order to get at the evils in the patent medicine business, as well as a number of others, it will be necessary to inaugurate "a campaign by which a medical man can be landed in the President's cabinet at Washington under the title of the Secretary of Public Health."

The fact of the matter is that the bill which would create the office of "Secretary of Public Health" was introduced by Senator Owen of Oklahoma eight years ago and has come up at every session of Congress since. Senator Owen reintroduced the bill in the present session of our national lawmaking body in January. There is a great deal of steady work being put back of the proposed measure, and it would not be at all surprising if at some future time such an office were created.

THE NEW YORK ORDINANCE

AN OUTCOME.

A great many druggists have felt that there was a connection between the propaganda of the medical association and the Goldwater ordinance in New York City, it having been pointed out from time to time that Dr. Goldwater is a member of the A. M. A. There are those, too, who have claimed to be able to trace a similar connection down in Louisiana, where the Goldwater ordinance was made to embrace the entire State-a measure which was never enforced, however, and which has been recently rescinded.

The chances are that neither Dr. Goldwater nor Dr. Haven S. Emerson, who succeeded him as Health Commissioner of Greater New York, would deny the charge, in so far as the local ordinance is concerned. In fact, according to the Pharmaceutical Era, material supplied by the A. M. A. has been extensively used in the Health Department's crusade, the statement being made pointblank that the Department "is coöperating with the American Medical Association in a campaign to educate the public away from patent medicines."

Thus we have the issue squarely joined. On the one hand we have the manufacturers of

patent medicines represented in an organization known as the Proprietary Association of America, and on the other hand we have the American Medical Association.

Both stand out pretty well in the open now and a determined fight is on. The Proprietary Association is itself drawing the lines pretty closely, and has established a set of requirements to which patent medicines should be made to conform, but it is not willing to go so far as the A. M. A. would like.

THE CONFERENCE

AND THE
HARRISON LAW.

When the National Drug Trade Conference met in January it was decided to send a strong committee before the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to protest against Treasury Decision No. 2213 and the first paragraph of Treasury Decision No. 2244, and a committee composed of Charles M. Woodruff, Dr. J. H. Beal and Samuel C. Henry was named. These arguments were duly made, Charles M. Woodruff, secretary of the Conference, appearing in behalf of the drug trade in remonstrance to the onerous provisions of T. D. 2244, and Dr. Beal championing the cause of the druggist in an attempt to bring about a modification of the ruling giving proprietary remedies and prescriptions a disproportionate standing. Very able briefs were filed in each instance. Treasury Decision No. 2213 relates to the classing of prescriptions containing any of the proscribed narcotics in any amount as Harrison law prescriptions, provided the physical action of compounding is involved. Such prescriptions, it will be recalled, cannot be filled without complying with all the restrictions imposed by the law and, consequently, cannot be refilled. Preparations already compounded are exempt from such classification; that is, prescriptions calling for U. S. P., N. F., private formula or proprietary preparations may be filled without regard to the Harrison law, provided they do not contain more than 2 grains of opium, 4 grain of morphine, grain of heroin, or 1 grain of codeine to the ounce. The physical act of compounding makes the entire difference.

tity of narcotic drug to the ounce, or, if the narcotic was contained in a tablet or pill, it was necessary to state the total number of tablets or pills, and the amount of the narcotic in each tablet or pill was to be made known in terms of grains. In deference to protests, however, this ruling was held in abeyance; was never made effective; and it was for the purpose of obtaining a modification of its provisions that Secretary Woodruff appeared before the commissioner at Washington.

The authorities have made known their final decision in the matter of T. D. No. 2244; the issues raised in connection with T. D. No. 2213 are still under consideration.

Beginning May 1, 1916, in ordering goods it will be necessary to observe the rules outlined above with this slight modification: if the narcotic involved is contained in a liquid or solid preparation which is an N. F. or U. S. P. preparation, then all that is necessary to do is to designate its official character by affixing the letters "N. F." or "U. S. P.," as the case may be. The narcotic content need not be stated. But in case the preparation is not an N. F. or a U. S. P. preparation, then the full provisions of the ruling must be complied with. Here is an example of what must be done if the prepWhite Pine Compound for Syrup, morphine aration is a liquid or solid: "Fluidextract of sulphate 1 grain per fluidounce, 5 pints."

ORDERING PILLS AND TABLETS.

***

When pills or tablets are ordered it will be necessary after May 1 to state the total number ordered, and the quantity of narcotic contained in each pill or tablet must be stated in terms of grains or fractions of grains-like this, for example: "Pill Anodyne (morphine acetate, 1/20 grain)."

Moreover, the official order form should be used only for narcotic drugs or preparations. It is not lawful to order physician's buggy cases or hypodermic cases, even though the cases are filled, on them. Separate sheets should be used; the narcotics on a government form, the case itself on an ordinary order blank. Official narcotic blanks are for narcotics alone, and should be used for no other purpose.

It is further stated in the ruling that even before May 1-beginning at once, in factmanufacturers and dealers, after they have received an order calling for a "complex" remedy or preparation from a druggist,

should write in red ink on the order the quantity of the narcotic to the ounce, or in an ounce of tablets or pills. The manufacturer or dealer is then to notify the purchaser so that the latter may make a corresponding notation on the duplicate order retained by him.

This is somewhat "complex" in itself and will need further elucidation. It will be noticed that the word should is used in the ruling, not the word must. At any rate, it is a matter which must be taken up by the jobber or the manufacturer; but in the meantime, however, should a manufacturer or jobber supply a druggist with the data indicated the latter should, of course, enter it on the duplicate he has on file.

THE BIG MERGER A REALITY.

*

The last obstacle that stood in the way of the consolidation of the Riker & Hegeman interests with those of the United Drug Company is said to have been removed when on February 4 the majority of the stockholders in both companies formally gave their consent to the merger. Ratification meetings were held in the home offices of the companies, one in New York, the other in Boston.

A new company has been formed, which has been given the name of one of the old corporations the United Drug Company. This company, organized under the laws of New York, is capitalized at $20,000,000, and its charter enables it to conduct a business in drugs, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, confectionery, stationery, tobacco, animal products in short, in almost every field of merchandising endeavor. The future of the corporation is well provided for in this respect; no coming trend of the drug business is likely to catch it unprepared.

A great deal of speculation is being indulged in as to what will happen when the new company gets thoroughly organized with all its forces in hand. In some quarters it is hinted that even now negotiations are under way having for their object the absorption of the Dow group of stores in Cincinnati and the Owl group on the Pacific Coast; but this, while not beyond the scope of future possibility, seems hardly reasonable just now. The merging interests have been altogether too busy removing obstacles which stood in the way of consolidation to have devoted much time to other considerations. Indeed, officers in both the old companies contend that the merger has been

brought about for the purpose of putting to an end the ruinous competition which existed between the Riker-Hegeman Company and the United Drug Company.

THE NATIONAL

The fifth annual meeting of ASSOCIATION OF the National Association of MANUFACTURERS. Manufacturers of Medicinal Products was held February 3 and 4 at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York. In a series of resolutions the association went on record as

opposed to amendments to the Harrison law and to the Food and Drugs act at the present time, and opposed to legislation which seeks to compel manufacturers to reveal trade secrets. Congress is asked to pass a suitable law admitting preparations containing poisons in therapeutic doses to the mails, and is also asked to enact proper legislation which will prevent foreign manufacturers from "dumping” merchandise in this country, the Canadian or Australian plan being suggested. The association pledges itself to exert every possible effort to secure the elimination of "Schedule B" from the permanent revenue act now being considered by Congress, and commits itself, further, to a belief in the principles of price-maintenance"legislation that will secure to any one having the exclusive right to manufacture or market any article the right to fix the resale price of such article."

Among the delegates from other organizations who addressed the convention were M. A.

Stout, president of the N. A. R. D.; Carl J. Balliet, Rochester, N. Y., representing the Proprietary Association of America; Professor James H. Beal, representing the American

Pharmaceutical Association; and F. L. Nason, representing the American Association of Pharmaceutical Chemists.

Charles L. Lynn, of Eli Lilly & Co., was elected president.

Calder Drug Company, and the individual members of the Buren, Rickey & Company, and of the firm R. W. Robinson & Co.-all these, as well as a number of others, are named as defendants.

The complaint asserts that the defendants combined, 'way back in May, 1904, to destroy the business of the Park Company, and to prevent competition in a general way, and that the conspiracy had been in existence ever since. It is alleged, furthermore, that the defendants, assisted by a number of national organizations, the N. A. R. D. and the associations of manufacturers and wholesale dealers in proprietary articles being specifically named, adopted various plans to make effective a boycott against the complaining company and other companies, resulting in a restraint of trade and the obtaining of higher prices.

The complaining company asserts that damages to the extent of $500,000 have been sustained. Action is brought under the Sherman law, according to the terms of which triple indemnity may be demanded-threefold damages, amounting to $1,500,000!

WHISKY, BRANDY, AND THE U.S. P.

The revision committee of the U. S. P. has voted not to reopen the Brandy and Whisky question, and it can now be definitely stated that neither of these products will appear in the new book. It is understood, also, that the committee in charge of the revision of the National Formulary has declined to go out of its way to mix in the mêlée, and those in favor of the recognition of brandy and whisky in the N. F. may expect no relief from that quarter. The matter may be regarded as settled.

Statements from both committees make it clear that the temperance issue was in no sense taken into consideration. Failure to agree on standards resulted in deletion from the U. S. P., and the N. F. committee, having troubles enough of its own, could see no reason why it should take on an added and altogether foreign responsibility.

been granted-and which now has been granted to military pharmacists in Canada, largely as a result of the efforts of the Canadian Pharmaceutical Association. "In connection with the hospital units at the front, dispensers of medicines are given the rank of lieutenant in the Canadian militia," is the way the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal phrases the situation; and the editor goes on to express profound gratification that "the first results in the uplift of pharmacy in the British army have been achieved in Canada."

ANNUAL

MEETING OF THE A. D. S.

*

At the annual meeting of the American Druggists' Syndicate, held in New York, Charles H. Goddard was elected permanent president, with full executive authority. Executive authority has heretofore been vested in the secretary, Mr. Goddard having been secretary of the company since he organized it about ten years ago. The other officers elected were: vice-presidents, Wm. C. Anderson, H. W. Merritt, E. W. Stucky, and G. H. Cherrington; secretary, A. L. Bailey; treasurer, G. W. Luft; directors, E. L. Weston, G. H. Cherrington, G. W. Hackenberger, W. G. Frailey, and A. L. Bailey. Resolutions were passed indorsing the Stevens bill and urging its passage. The syndicate now claims a membership of 24,500, and assets aggregating $3,850,000.

A NEW PRICE MAINTENANCE BILL.

The Stevens bill, which was pending in the last Congress and on which so much work has been done by a number of national organizations, was reintroduced in the present Congress by Representative Ayres of Kansas. This bill is now before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, and so far no arrangements have been made to get hearings on it.

There is, of course, strong opposition to this measure, and it may be possible that a little later in the session compromises will have to be made. Objection to the Stevens bill has been raised lately, it is said, by a number of public libraries. It is feared that should the bill pass the practice of purchasing books, or of disposing of them, at reduced prices might be interfered with.

Very recently a new price maintenance. bill has been introduced by Representative Stephens of Nebraska, and this proposed measure is intended to be more liberal than the