VOL. XI.

No. II.

THE

have drugs-at your hands, if they can; without you, if

In the extraordinary popularity of the Kneipp remedies lies a wealth of meaning which our medical friends would do wisely to heed. A well known firm of German drug dealers' points out the significant fact that vegetable drugs have enjoyed an extraordinary increase of favor during the last five years as a result of the general introduction of the Kneipp cures and other so-called natural methods. The vegetable remedies of the Kneipp cure in particular are gaining ground from year to year in all parts of the world. And such a striking reaction is always likely to result when the skeptical and nihilistic theories about the action of drugs, prevailing amongst medical practitioners, drive the great public to the opposite extreme in its imperious craving for medicine.

Gentlemen of the medical profession, the people will

can any third party not entirely disinterested, we believe that it is far better for all concerned that medication shall be directed by competent, educated physicians, and that the demand therefor shall not be forced into such channels as the patent medicine, the exaggerated hygienic fad, the nostrum missionary, or the hydropathic cure-all. All this we say without disparagement of the benevolent, wise and successful healer whose recent death comes as a personal bereavement to many whose tottering feet he guided back to health and happiness.

We feel in duty bound to bespeak the cooperation of our readers on behalf of a mission undertaken by Mr. Alexander J. Wedderburn at the instance of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Chemistry. By direction of Congress the Department is investigating the character and extent of the adulteration of foods and drugs. Naturally it is desired to secure all the information possible in the form of concisely stated facts susceptible of proof as far as possible. We trust that our readers will answer the following queries in the measure of their knowledge and opportunities: If yes,

1. Do you know of any new adulterant? state what, and how used.

2. Would a national food and drug law assist in preventing adulteration?

3. Would uniform food, drug, and pharmaceutical laws tend to promote efficiency and purity?

4. Please suggest what would best promote the interests of consumers and legitimate manufacturers and dealers.

5. What is your opinion as to the extent of damage done legitimate business by imitation of brands, packages, etc.?

6. To what extent do sophistication, misbranding, and injurious adulteration exist?

tion?

7. Have State laws aided in preventing adulteraTo what extent ?

8. Would a national law assist State officials in properly executing the local laws?

9. Have adulteration, sophistication, and misbranding increased or decreased?

THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE N. W. D. A.

Mr. Charles F. Weller, the newly elected President of the National Wholesale Druggists' Association, is one of the best known and most popular men in the organization. He was born at New Alexandria, Ohio, May 16, 1844. His early life was spent in Western Pennsylvania, Western Ohio, and what is now known as West Virginia. His father was one of the old pioneer Methodist ministers in the West, and was compelled by his calling to move frequently from place to place. In 1857 the family removed to Jefferson City, Mo., whence, on the breaking out of the war of the rebellion, they returned to Pennsylvania. Soon afterward Mr. Weller, then a youth of 17 years, entered the Union Army, and served until the close of the war as a member of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. He remained in active service until the close of the war, campaigning in Virginia and Maryland, later with the Army of the Cumberland and the Army of the Tennessee, and marching with Sherman to the Sea. During the three years of army life he was never seriously wounded, although he participated in all the general engagements of the armies under Sherman, Rosecrans, and Thomas. During the three years spent south of the Ohio River he never had a furlough, preferring to remain on duty until the war was

over.

On September 28, 1865, he was married to Miss Kate McElwain, of Beaver, Pa., and shortly thereafter removed west and accepted the position of traveling salesman in the employ of a wholesale drug house at Quincy, Ill. In a few years he was admitted to the firm, and remained until the winter of 1873, when he retired from the business in Quincy, accepted a position of traveling salesman with the great St. Louis drug house of Richardson & Co., and remained with them in that capacity for a number of years. When the firm was merged in the Richardson Drug Company, Mr. Weller was made a director, but continued on the road, having charge of the outside business.

In 1887, when it was decided to open a branch house in Omaha, Mr. Weller was chosen vice-president and general manager of the new concern, and by his judicious management has built up a business second to none in the entire West. When he left the road he enjoyed the distinction of being one of the most successful traveling men in the country, and was also recognized as one of the oldest travelers in the drug line, having been on the road for over twenty-two years.

Mr. Weller's connection with the National Wholesale Druggists' Association began many years ago, when he represented his firm during his traveling days. Since entering on the management of the Omaha house he has been constant in his attendance, and has occupied several important positions as chairman of various commitHe has won distinction, however, as chairman of

tees.

the Board of Control, a post which he has filled with rare ability for a number of years.

In his adopted city of Omaha Mr. Weller is very popular. He was president for one year of the Commercial Association of that city, and accomplished much in promoting the welfare of the city. This association was merged in the Commercial Club, and Mr. Weller became its president for two years. He was also president for two years of the Union Club of Omaha, a prominent social organization.

Mr. Weller is now a member of the Directorate of

the Trans - Mississippi Exposition Association, and is active in the work of preparing for the great fair to be held in that city in 1898. Mr. Weller has a lovely home and a most interesting family of capable sons and beautiful daughters.

Our frontispiece portrait is an admirable likeness, and conveys a just impression of the power, energy, resolution, and talent which have made Mr. Weller a notable figure in the drug trade of the United States.

ANYBODY CAN SEE IT.

Anybody who is not a chump can see that higher standards of education for the ranks of pharmacy must benefit every one concerned, except the dishonest individuals who are always ready to undertake to do things which they are not competent to do. Our readers should give their attention to the article contained in this number concerning State Board examinations. If such examinations are adopted as are suggested in said article, and if college education in pharmacy be made compulsory, the public, the medical profession, the pharmacists already in business, the pharmacists hereafter engaging in practise, the colleges of pharmacy, the State Boards of Pharmacy, and pharmacy itself, will all be benefited.

The reasons why graduation in pharmacy should be one of the essential qualifications for registration are so strong and so clear, and the objections to compulsory college training in pharmacy which have been mentioned are so flimsy and ridiculous, that it is a wonder that nothing has been done to bring it about. Whenever, in conversation with persons having no knowledge of the condition of pharmacy in the United States, the fact is mentioned that registered pharmacists and registered assistant pharmacists in the United States are not obliged, by law, to have any pharmaceutical education, but that they can secure their licenses by simply cramming sufficiently to pass the State Board examination, indignation and astonishment are expressed.

The public must favor compulsory pharmaceutical education because it would afford better protection to the public health.

The medical profession should favor it because com

The "ins"-that is, the pharmacists and assistant pharmacists who already have their licenses and are now in business-must favor it because it unavoidably lessens the fearful evils of cutting and competition from which the whole craft suffers.

The "outs," or persons who hereafter may enter the ranks of pharmacy, will be benefited because compulsory pharmaceutical education will render the profession of pharmacy more respectable and give the honest, well educated pharmacist a living chance.

The pharmaceutical colleges and schools must favor it because it will of necessity increase their classes, make them more nearly self-supporting, and enable them to give more substantial courses of instruction.

The Boards of Pharmacy will be benefited because they will not be overburdened with such large numbers of applicants for registration, nor by such unfit candidates as to render the rejection of three-fourths of them a necessity, as now.

Can anybody give a valid objection to the immediate adoption of amendments to the pharmacy laws requiring that every applicant to become either a registered pharmacist or a registered assistant pharmacist must be a graduate in pharmacy before he is entitled to any consideration or examination by the Pharmacy Board?

MORE COMPETITION IN PHARMACY.

The very serious abuse of medical charity is another source of injury to the practise of pharmacy. The New York State Medical Association at its recent meeting listened to papers and reports from various members, concerning the abuse of medical charity in the city of New York. Free dispensaries and outdoor relief stations are patronized to an enormous extent by people who can well afford to pay for both medical treatment and medicine. It was shown that in 1895 no less than 837,971 persons applied for and received free medical treatment at the 105 free dispensaries of New York; that 1,416,247 gratuitous visits were made by these applicants, and that out of the whole number 78,000 received, in addition, free board, lodging, nursing, surgical dressings, and treatment. Dr. Frederick Holme Wiggin read a paper which introduced the discussion, and he stated that, according to a conservative estimate, more than 50 per cent. of the money donated for the support of free dispensaries and other similar institutions was diverted from the purpose for which it was intended and filched from the poor to whom it rightfully belonged, by persons who could easily afford the services of a physician and procure their own medicines. It is easily seen that this matter seriously affects not only the charitably inclined who contribute the money,

intended, encourages fraud in those for whom it was not intended, seriously interferes with the just compensation to which medical practitioners are entitled for their services to the community, and wrongs the pharmacist as well, who is obliged to qualify himself for the services he renders to his fellow men, but who is necessarily dependent upon the meagre compensation derived from the profits on medicines sold by him. Public and private charity dispensed in that reckless and demoralizing way ought not to be tolerated.

It would be interesting to know whether the medicines dispensed at the 105 free dispensaries of New York City are prepared and dispensed by qualified pharmacists.

ANOTHER INSTANCE OF THE BEAM AND THE MOTE.

From a paper, violent in its denunciation of the retail druggist, read by Dr. Charles O. Gates before the Medical Society of Santa Clara County, California, we copy the following passage:

"Many proprietary preparations are put upon the market to our detriment, for the druggist prescribes them to the laity, describing their several virtues (if they have any) and sells them, bottle, label, and all. By this means the layman becomes his own physician, while the doctor sits in his office and wonders why business is so dull."

This will prove highly edifying to every druggist, and to any physician who has once had a glimpse of a prescription file. Does Dr. Gates realize where proprietary compounds begin their pernicious career? We shall tell him in the offices of those physicians who prescribe by far more proprietary than pharmacopoeial drugsthere and nowhere else. Only the veteran prescriptionist can realize how much and how generally physicians are addicted to the prescribing of proprietaries. The latter are cordially detested by the drug trade, and the average druggist would rejoice to see every proprietary compound buried leagues under the sea. For these products yield an insignificant profit; often they are sold at a sacrifice; and every bottle consumed represents a disproportionate loss of prescription trade.

We repeat, proprietaries multiply and thrive on the hospitality of the medical profession. Once fairly launched on the favor of the physicians, the testimonials of the latter are made to yield good service in the newspapers and public prints. The scheme is: "First 'work' the doctors, then the public."

The physicians are alone to blame. Every prescription calling for a proprietary is a plain admonition to the patient: "You don't need me; here's the remedy; buy it yourself." And the patient seldom fails to act on so broad a hint. Indeed, he usually keeps on acting, until he has dosed all his friends and all his wife's rela

tions. The most amiable side of human nature is displayed in a man's (or woman's) eagerness to play the amateur prescriber. What cranks these mortals be! Let a hobby-rider once dose you with his sure cure, and he is your slave forever. To ask an ignoramus for his medical advice is as adroit a bit of flattery as to beg a housewife to "give you her recipe for this delicious dish!"

No, Doctor, the druggist may have sinned, but he doesn't deserve this. Hold him strictly to account for real shortcomings, but do not lay the proprietaries at his door.

JOHNSON VS. BAUER.

A most interesting decision is that of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, as delivered by Judge Jenkins October 4, on appeal from the United States Circuit for Northern Illinois, in the suit brought by Johnson & Johnson against Bauer & Black for infringement of trade-mark right.

The trade-mark of J. & J. is a red Greek cross, in addition to other insignia. B. & B. use a Maltese cross in white and gilt, with a red circle thereon and the letters "B. & B. trade-mark."

In the final decision Messrs. Bauer & Black are restrained from using the Maltese or other cross of red color upon their goods and packages, on the ground that their device promotes confusion and interferes with the legitimate trade of their competitors. It is partly conceded that the drug trade would not be deceived, but the casual observer might easily be mistaken, and imposition would be rendered easy. The goods of the appellant have come to be known as "Red Cross Plasters," and to that designation he has a full and prior claim.

The doctrine is clearly laid down that the purchaser must be protected; that he should not be compelled to discriminate cautiously and study closely the distinguishing marks of different brands; that in the absence of opportunity for comparison, the purchaser can only be expected to use ordinary care under such circumstances. Indeed, some decisions go so far in protecting the buyer as to permit him to be careless, on the double ground of public policy and of the possible injury to trade-mark property which may be rendered precarious by the purchaser's inattention. The decision is illustrated by citations from a number of parallel cases.

WE MUST AGREE TO DIFFER.

On October 14 the National Wholesale Druggists' Association, then in session at Richmond, welcomed to its floor Messrs. Sourwine and Anderson, who were present as delegates from the Michigan Pharmaceutical Association for the purpose of enlisting support in favor of Mr. Sourwine's Anti-Cutting Plan. The features of this ingenious scheme are familiar to the readers of the

BULLETIN, and they received the formal approval of the State organization.

In acquitting himself of his errand, according to one of the reports, "Mr. Anderson was very polite, but pointed, in his remarks on behalf of the plan, speaking for the retail druggists. He mentioned a movement originating in Detroit some time ago which turned out, he said, to be a swindle, yet in this scheme the retail druggists of the United States sunk $30,000. This fact ought to show that the retailers were in earnest in their desire to correct the cutting evil."

Mr. Anderson continued: "My business has brought me in contact with a great many retail druggists, and I can assure you that in view of the present distressing situation the one word of salvation with them is substitution. The worm has got down to the last turn now. It is no longer a question of right or wrong, but a question of making a living. He has got to live, and he is going to substitute or do anything else. It would seem that the superior intelligence of the Wholesale Druggists' Association might help the retailer to evolve some plan for his relief."

We dissent utterly from Mr. Anderson's statement of facts, and we repudiate his inferences. We deny that any considerable number of retailers regard substition as their sole salvation-nay, the great majority shrink from it as from a deeper perdition. That many druggists are pushing their own specialties we admit; but that is fair competition, not substitution; and we are eager to see more druggists do the same thing so long as they refrain from dishonest imitations. To fight the goods which yield no profit with articles bearing the druggist's label is perfectly proper, and by no stretch of definition can such a defensive and legitimate measure be termed substitution.

Going farther, we deny that in any conceivable distress will substitution ever become to the druggist anything more than an unqualified disaster. Woe to the retail druggist who seeks salvation in substitution! Woe to the man who becomes blinded by his necessities to the plain considerations of right and wrong! Everybody recalls the reply made by the immortal Samuel Johnson to the rogue who defended his shady practises with the plea: "But a man must live." "I don't in the least see the necessity," rejoined the contemptuous Doctor. The retailer who "must live" by substituting and cheating is the very one who can't die any too soon! If the condition of a retailer be indeed a desperate one, the worst thing he can do is to substitute. A shipwrecked sailor, expiring with thirst, might as well drink salt water. The distressed retailer must labor and labor and labor. He must make and push his own specialties in legitimate competition. He must evolve by day and by night schemes for enlarging his sales. But he must be honest, fair, and trustworthy; the very last thing he can afford to do is to substitute.

J. H.