Page images
PDF
EPUB

*

*

tion, held last month, plans were put under way to secure the complete organization of Westchester county (which is just above Greater New York), and to put the N. A. R. D. plan into operation. At the recent annual meeting of the Philadelphia association Mr. Perry, who, as chairman of the Executive Committee, has done such admirable work during the past year, was presented by the members of the association with a handsomely engraved gold watch in recognition of his unselfish service. Mr. Walter A. Rumsey was elected president of the Association, and Mr. Perry is again chairman of the Executive Committee. A decided innovation in the management of local work has been inaugurated; henceforth the city will be divided into seven sections, and a member of the Executive Committee will be in charge of each. By this plan the work of the ward chairmen will be done under the immediate supervision of a responsible head, who will select his own chairmen and who will be responsible for their work, thus doing away with the old method whereby there was no particular responsibility for any one. During his attendance in Chicago at the meeting of the National Executive Committee, of which he is also a member, Mr. Perry described the situation in Philadelphia by saying "that all the department stores have discontinued the sale of drugs and but one cutter remains, and he is suing everybody in sight because he can't get goods."

THE N. A. R. D.: CHICAGO AND OTHER PLACES. The regular quarterly meeting of the Chicago association happened to be held during the presence in the city of the members of the National Executive Committee, and the latter attended the meeting in a body, each making addresses reporting upon the conditions in other places-conditions with which our readers are familiar. As to local conditions, it was reported at the meeting that the work of ward organization is progressing satisfactorily. Local associations have been formed in eleven of the districts into which it has been found expedient to divide the city, and the work is being pushed as rapidly as possible. Wherever organizations have been formed and price lists put into effect the druggists have been very satisfied. In almost every case they have found their profits increasing from 10 to 15 and sometimes 20 per cent. Through the diplomacy of Mr. Holliday, the jobbers of Chicago have all signed an agreement to refuse goods to any one who, under the terms of the tripartite plan, is "reported" by Secretary Wooten. The chief cutter of the city has cast in his lot with the association, and a price schedule will doubtless soon be put into general and uniform operation throughout the city. In Troy, New York, an association has recently been formed, and the following price schedule adopted: All five-, ten-, fifteen-,

* * *

*

and twenty-cent articles to be sold at full price; all twenty-five-cent articles to be sold for not less than twenty-one cents; all fifty-cent articles to be sold for not less than forty-two cents; and all one-dollar articles to be sold for not less than eighty-four cents. All articles not included in the list will be sold at full prices; and the agreement affects not only medicinal proprietary articles, but infant foods and beef extracts as well. In Albany, New York, which is across the Hudson River from Troy and only six miles distant, plans are being made for similar action; and the matter is being agitated also in Schenectady, which is but a few miles distant from both Troy and Albany and, in a sense, in competition with them. It was announced some time ago that the Columbus, Ohio, association had outgrown its old arrangements, and a meeting was held last month for the purpose of reorganization. The members of the Minneapolis association enjoyed a successful banquet last month, and incidentally improved their social and therefore their business relations. At this writing arrangements have been perfected in St. Louis for the operation of the N. A. R. D. plan again, and before this number of the BULLETIN reaches its readers a price schedule will be established.

* * *

*

*

* * *

TARRANT & CO. HELD RESPONSIBLE.

The coroner's jury sitting last month on the Tarrant explosion case decided "that said explosion was occasioned by the storage of combustible chemicals in excess of the quantity permitted by law, and we hold Tarrant & Co. criminally responsible for the deaths of the deceased." It was proved by testimony that over 32,000 pounds of sulphur and about thirty-five tons of potassium chlorate had been stored in the building at the time of the fire; and Professor Chandler and other experts testified that these chemicals had undoubtedly caused the explosions. An investigation of the case which occurred in England (and which was mentioned in the December BULLETIN) showed, said Professor Chandler, "that a portion of the chlorate stored there had become so heated by the fire, [which was in turn] fed by the oxygen from the chlorate, that it actually exploded." At this writing Mr. Thomas F. Main, the well known president of the company, and William A. G. Powers, one of the directors, are each under $5000 bail awaiting the action of the grand jury, which, it is thought, will indict them. Mr. Main pleaded ignorance before the coroner's jury of the storage of such amounts of combustibles in the building, saying that the storage business had been in the hands of an employee so trusted, and of so many years' service, that he was left in entire charge; but ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law and did not save the company from being adjudged guilty. It may be stated inci

dentally that the employee mentioned lost his life in the fire, and that his testimony was therefore not available. The results of the disaster were appalling. Seven lives were lost; ten buildings with their contents were totally destroyed; thirty-five buildings were damaged considerably, and 200 others had windows and plate glass broken by the concussion. The damage by fire and explosion is estimated at $1,000,000, partly covered by insurance. The question as to who shall pay this insurance is also involved in the case against Tarrant & Co. The drug trade in New York, in which Mr. Main is a prominent figure, has shown its regret at his misfortune and extended sympathy to him from every hand.

THE EARLY CLOSING MOVEMENT.

We are glad to see that in several places the early closing movement is gaining ground. During the last few weeks we have seen references to an early closing agreement among druggists in several towns, and some of these may be mentioned here. Through hard work and perseverance on the part of several of the "east side" druggists in Minneapolis an early closing movement has been inaugurated in that portion of the city. Practically all of the druggists with the exception of but one or two have signed the agreement and are now closing their stores at nine o'clock in the evening. Unless unforeseen difficulties arise this will be continued until about the middle of April or until the soda-water trade makes it necessary for them to remain open later in the evening. In Brewer, Maine, the druggists have agreed to keep their stores open on Sundays only between the hours of 8:30 to 10 in the morning and 4 to 7 in the evening. In Kingston, New York, the druggists have arranged that all of them shall close their stores on Sunday save one, and each takes his turn in keeping open. In Fulton, New York, the same arrangement has been made, but in addition it has been decided to close week-day evenings, save Saturday and Monday, at eight o'clock! These are only a few instances out of the many that have come to our notice, but they show that druggists are at last getting to realize that such long hours of service as they have been giving are entirely unnecessary.

A NEW SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY.

At the recent annual meeting of the stockholders of Parke, Davis & Company it was voted to increase the capital stock of the corporation from $1,200,000 to $1,500,000, the main purpose being to provide means with which to build an elaborate and separate laboratory for purely scientific work-experimental, analytical, bacteriological, pharmacological, medical, and botanical. These various scientific departments have previously been scattered over the several existing laboratories

given up mainly to manufacturing, and each has grown until the available space and conveniences have become entirely inadequate. The present plan is to bring them into a coordination which is essential to best results, and to provide them with every facility which modern scientific progress makes necessary. The dimensions of the new laboratory have not yet been finally determined upon, but the building will probably be 160 feet long, 60 feet deep, and three stories high.

PHARMACISTS IN PUBLIC OFFICE.

We have been much gratified recently to note the numerous instances where pharmacists have been elected to positions of public trust; and we hope the day may ultimately come when the various branches of government, municipal, State, and national, will be entirely in the hands of Knights of the Pestle and Mortar. Not until then, we fear, will Messrs. Quay, Platt, and Croker, together with their friends and relatives, be sent towell, to private life. Among the positions to which pharmacists have recently been elected is the mayoralty. This honor has fallen to John Larrabee, of Melrose, Mass., the well known member of the State Board of Pharmacy; to Frank Wright, of Cave Spring, Georgia; and to Charles F. Brown, of Cortland, New York. Then, at the last general election, Fred A. Hubbard, of Newton, Mass., was given aldermanic dignities; while Daniel Kiley, a member of the Boston Board of Aldermen, was reelected to the presidency of that body. Several pharmacists are also to be found this year in the Massachusetts House of Representatives-Irving P. Gannon of Boston, Harry C. Hunter of Marlborough, and J. J. Desmond of Lawrence. Doubtless there are many such instances scattered throughout the country, but these particular ones have happened to fall under our notice.

THE BROSIUS BILL.

It is hoped and quite confidently expected that the Brosius Pure Food Bill will this year finally succeed in passing Congress. It has been so amended that the opposition which was formerly arrayed against it has been largely avoided, and there seems no good reason why it should not become law, especially since a general sentiment in favor of it has been developed during the past two or three years. If anything were wanting to prove it, the investigation carried on during 1900 by Senator Mason's committee showed how urgent a need there was for effective National and State legislation to prevent the wholesale sophistication and adulteration of food. So far as the drug sections of the Brosius measure are concerned, these have been amended to suit the pharmaceutical interests and are satisfactory to them.

ADMISSION OF THE UNFIT.*

Views of Representative Pharmacists and Teachers on the Vital Subject Treated in the November
Bulletin - What the Colleges Should Demand of Every Beginner-Whom They Should

Exclude The Right Measure of General and Preparatory Education-The
Grave Evils which Spring from Low Entrance Requirements.

(Continued from page 16 of the January BULLETIN.)

EDSEL A. RUDDIMAN, Ph.M., M.D.,

Professor of Pharmacy and Materia Medica, Vanderbilt University.

There is no question that every one who teaches in a school or college of pharmacy is honest in his desire to have better prepared men to whom he can impart knowledge. The statement is equally true that there are but few of us who have not had a feeling of depression, to use a mild term, when observing the blank stare that some of the students give us while putting forth our best efforts to explain a comparatively simple thing. We know that a wrong has been done in admitting them to college. We labor to help them make up this deficient preliminary education, but in so doing we are changing the college into a preparatory school at the expense of those who are qualified to do college work, and at the expense of our own professional calling. The reasons why we should demand of our studen's a good commonschool education are so numerous and so patent that there is no room for argument. The remedy is with the schools and colleges of pharmacy. We can demand a better preparatory education if we will, and it is here. that the boards of pharmacy, the druggists, and the people themselves can help us.

WHERE WE MAY LOOK FOR THE REMEDIES.

It has been well said that the "American Conference of Pharmaceutical Faculties can select no nobler task than the establishment of a proper and moderate standard for entrance to the pharmaceutical curriculum." In my opinion this is the more important of the two main objects that the conference had in organizing; the second object being a unification of the work given after matriculation. If the conference fail in these two particulars it would have been as well had it not been formed. A committee should be appointed to study the question of entrance requirements and have some proposal to make at the next meeting, defining the studies and the degree of advancement in each that should be demanded; then the faculties should unite in requiring at least that amount. Just what this amount shall be at

* It has not been found possible to give space in this issue, as we had expected, to a number of contributions which came in late. These will appear in the next BULLETIN, however, and are from the pens of Henry P. Hynson, E. H. Bartley, J. Eugene D'Avignon, Oscar Oldberg, and W. Simon.-THE EDITORS.

first can be determined only after careful study of the question, not only in one section of the country but in many sections. Since the passing from the grammar school to the high school seems to afford the most natural and frequent opportunity for interruption in a boy's education, it would be well in this connection to determine what is given by the grammar schools, and what is required by the best high schools, and to use this as a starting-point. Certainly we can begin by requiring as much of the applicants as the high schools do. The standard should be raised as soon as possible so as to require the equivalent of two years' instruction in a high school, and eventually graduation from a high school. Let us willingly take the lead and not wait until we are forced to raise the standard.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Our first thoughts are all of sympathy, and with a sense of satisfaction that the matter has been so plainly and so clearly put; but when we awaken from this reverie to inquire "What of its effect?" they are unfortunately not so pleasant. Not all of those who say "Amen!" will say it in the same spirit. Some will do so in sorrow, regretting the necessity and looking wistfully for a practicable way of bettering the unfortunate condition; but there are others who will approve with cynical satisfaction, ruminating on the feeling that it is the very possibility of this condition to which they owe the continuance of their existence. They depend upon a class of studentpatronage which looks only to securing the right to engage in the practice of pharmacy; to this class all their appeals are directed, and the character of the appeal matters to them but little. They are like the old-clothes dealer whose customer, having donned a coat, was smell

ing at it suspiciously as though he detected a bad odor, when the proprietor, stepping quickly forward, exclaimed, "Oh, no, Meester! It is not de coat vot you smell. Id is me. I hav a pad smell myself; but de coat is all right." They care little for the bad odor in which they find themselves, provided they can dispose of their goods, and reap their sordid advantage.

INSTITUTIONS WITH A BAD ODOR.

It is doubtful whether a majority of the great body of prospective pharmacy students do not belong to the class to whom such appeals would be successful, in the absence of some special consideration. Some years ago there would have been no doubt of the truth of this statement. Now there is, and with the present upward tendency it is certain that a few years hence the statement would not apply at all; but at the present time there is a favorable opportunity for charlatans in pharmaceutical education, and they know it. What is to be said of those institutions which appeal to barbers, waiters, conductors, and others of the kind, to take a six weeks' course in pharmacy, and then assist them in deceiving the board, going to the very verge of criminality in the process? It is true that such cases are extreme, but there are those throughout the country. which differ only in the extent to which such principles are carried. What will be the effect of your editorial upon those seeking such opportunities, other than to lead them to inquire, "Which are the institutions that offer the advantages to which the BULLETIN OF PHARMACY refers?" It would not surprise this writer if these institutions were to reprint your editorial, and, after the illustration of the old-clothes dealer, append the statement "We are the people to whom this editor refers. Send in your applications! They will not be rejected."

THE PLAIN DUTY OF THE SCHOOLS.

All this of course does not change in the least the plain duty of the legitimate schools of pharmacy. They must be continuously and conscientiously urged, even harassed, into "keeping up the bars," courageously facing the situation and enduring with fortitude any temporary pecuniary loss which such action must entail. If the loss falls, as it must, upon the members of their faculties, the latter must cheerfully accept the sacrifice. Fortunately, they are mostly of a class to whom manhood is a more valuable thing than emolument.

OTHER ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS.

But, supposing such action to be conscientiously taken, and the required sacrifice made by all of the better class of colleges, what then? I am disposed to exceed the limitations set by your editorial, and to suggest some other conditions which are absolutely essential-conditions without which such action would fail

completely of its intended effect. completely of its intended effect. If the schools agree in closing up the fraudulent entrance examinations over which they have control, there must be concerted action in closing up the means of egress at the other end. To make serious sacrifices blindly and without suitable precaution is madness. Rash action here would prove as disastrous to the cause of pharmaceutical education as to the immediate sufferers. To put out of existence or to seriously cripple the only element which shows disinterestedness is certainly not to the interest of the cause itself.

What is the situation to-day? There is a demand for pharmacy clerks which cannot be supplied-if the applications made for graduates of the institution with which the writer is connected is a correct indication. While it is true that this demand is chiefly for competent men, it is also true that there is a vast number of pharmacies throughout the country whose proprietors are quite ready to accept men, on condition of a small salary allowance, who have merely the qualifications which the law demands. Supplementing this, we have great numbers of would-be clerks who are quite ready to take their chances of fitting themselves for better things after entering the ranks, if only they can secure for the present the necessary legal standing. This condition establishes the first link in the evil chain. We cannot expect to correct it by cajoling or upbraiding its subjects, as they have only the business end in view and are not farsighted enough to see that the best pays best in the end. There is but one way to restrain them, and that is to deprive them forcibly of the opportunity for putting their unscrupulous designs into practice.

DIPLOMA MILLS SHOULD BE TAKEN IN HAND.

What machinery exists for accomplishing the latter object? So far from there being any tendency on the part of the diploma mills to withhold these opportunities, they dangle them before the eyes of their victims with every tempting device, genuine and fictitious, that is known to them. This class is as insensible to moral considerations as those to whom they pander. They, in turn, know no other restraint than that of force, and there is but one force which can reach them, the legal statute. This form of restraint we find to be expressed by a single word, chaos. No discussion of this subject is called for, as the facts are known to every one and will suggest themselves at this point. That the operations of pharmacy boards are manifestly ineffective in controlling the situation is admitted by all. In one of the populous central States it has recently been demonstrated that pharmaceutical officialdom, including the judiciary, was corruptly engaged in defeating the ends of justice, as expressed in pharmaceutical legislation. In one of our neighboring States, where the execution of the pharmacy law has been deemed most rigorous, and where the board as a whole is unquestionably pure, the official

utterances of that board have recently been directed toward advertising one of the very class of institutions against which the BULLETIN OF PHARMACY directs its editorial.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.

Certainly, in bringing forward these objectionable considerations there is no intention of attempting to weaken the force of the presentment of the BULLETIN regarding the plain duty of the colleges of pharmacy. The writer desires merely to fix the attention of the reader upon the absolute importance of concert of effort along different lines. Serious as the difficulties are, there is no warrant for any other than the most hopeful feeling. The work of the American Pharmaceutical Association in the direction of pharmaceutical legislation, that of the Association of College Faculties, recently organized, and the earnest and courageous efforts of groups of workers in the several States, are certain to achieve success, and that at no distant day. There are numerous college executives who are conscientious enough, but with whom timidity acts as an effectual deterrent. Only show to these executives a reasonable hope of success, and they will seize upon it with alacrity.

CONDITIONS IN NEW YORK STATE.

Fortunately, we in New York State appear to be in a fair way to solve the problem. On theoretical grounds, there could be no more promising arrangement than that of having both entrance and graduation requirements

under the control of a central educational board, and that one in control of the entire educational interests of the State, as is the case of the Board of Regents of the State of New York. Once it can be made to appear to the satisfaction of all those interested that this Board is properly constituted, that it is itself subject to effective judicial control, and that its duties will be performed with honesty and impartiality, it would seem as though pharmacy in this State might congratulate itself upon an almost perfect condition of affairs. This condition we believe will be attained in the near future, and we believe furthermore that its success will partly encourage and partly compel other States, especially our near neighbors, to place themselves upon a similar footing.

New York, November 12.

J. N. HURTY, M.D., Phar.D.,

Secretary Indiana State Board of Health; Member Indiana Board of Pharmacy.

With respect to the views set forth in the editorial in the November issue of the BULLETIN OF PHARMACY, "This is the Least that the Colleges Owe to Pharmacy," I approve every word you have said. I wish it were

possible for me to express my approval at some length. I am at the present time, however, crowded to the very earth with work.

Indianapolis, November 12.

ELIE H. LA PIERRE.

Being fully in accord with your views therein expressed, as far as the preliminary education is a feature of it, but feeling that that alone will not mitigate the evil that the pharmacists complain of, and believing that the word

"ADAPTABILITY"

should be inserted in the requirements of a college training, I have taken the liberty of making the suggestion. This may seem visionary, or impracticable perhaps, but I believe it is a question whether it is not of more importance than, or at least of as much importance as, a preliminary education: I think it impossible for any one, who has given the subject much thought, to deny the fact that without this adaptability all the education one may acquire amounts to naught, so far as success in this calling goes. On the other hand, we have abundant evidence of the marked success of individuals without preliminary education, due to the very fact of their adaptability to and love for their calling.

I know I am treading on dangerous ground by even suggesting that one might get along without preliminary desirability of "adaptability," considered in its full light. education; but I am only doing so to illustrate the Whether the colleges will ever see their way clear to assume the censorship in this respect is an open question. As for myself, I believe it to be their duty. Cambridge, Mass., November 12.

VIRGIL COBLENTZ, Ph.D.,

Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, New York College of Pharmacy.

In the main I agree with the BULLETIN editorial of November relating to the deficiency in common school arithmetic of candidates seeking admission to colleges of pharmacy. However, this is not confined alone to candidates for entrance to our colleges, but is notably the case among the applicants for examination by our various State boards of pharmacy. Among this latter class we find those who seek to avoid the tedium and expense of a college training. They consider pharmacy from a purely trade standpoint, and, therefore, have no inclination to qualify themselves to any greater extent than the letter of the law demands.

WHAT THE EFFECT OF A HIGH STANDARD WOULD BE.

An exacting entrance examination, or its equivalent, a high-school diploma, or a fulfilment of the requirements

« PreviousContinue »