Meyer Brothers Druggist PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THE ENTIRE DRUG TRADE. Sample copies sent free on application. Please remit in funds that are bankable in St. Louis. To discontinue a subscription, notice must be sent to office of publication and all arrears paid. ADVERTISING RATES. (WE HAVE BUT ONE PRICE.) One-fourth page, 3 months (2 5-6x4 1-4 inches). .$ 27 00 45 00 65 00 82 50 51 00 inches) inches) 87 00 125 00 157 50 One-half page, 1 year (4 1-4x6 inches) One page, One page, FABIUS CHAPMAN GODBOLD. Fabius Chapman Godbold, New Orleans, La., president of the National Association of Boards of Phar macy, was represented on the frontispiece of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST for December, 1906. Why the Boards Hesitated.-It was a disappointment to some and a surprise to a number when they learned that the boards of pharmacy handled in rather a rough manner the propositions which were so carefully elaborated by the chairman of the Section on Education and Legislation of the A. Ph. A., indorsed by that section, reindorsed by the joint conference of professors and board members, and indorsed in a modified form by the American Conference of Pharmaceutical Faculties. An industrious search for the bottom facts in the matter reveal a common sense proposition. The educational section was simply "resoluting" and without power to bind any individual college or board. In fact, it was frequently stated that the adoption of the ideal plan would do no harm and make a good appearance. The seven propositions ought to be possible, even if they are not and much emphasis was placed on the word “ought." | So firmly fixed were these lines of reasoning with the majority of the professors and their immediate followers that the expressions in opposition to the adoption of the propositions as read came upon their ears as a sacrilege, and it required time for them to catch their breath and understand the difference between what ought to be done and what actually can be accomplished. The Conference of Faculties is merely a conference, as demonstrated by the fact that colleges voted for requirements and then asked for several years in which to live up to them, so that much of the spirit of the Educational Section pervaded the meeting restricted to college professors. There was, however, a hesitancy on the part of some caused by the frank statements of conditions of affairs made by the Missouri delegation which, in conjunction with the pleadings from New York for a special dispensation, caused the conference to materially modify the one year high | school requirement and put off until the fall of 1908 for its adoption in a restricted manner. This was done with the feeling on the part of many that there is no knowing what may happen before the session of 1908-09 opens. When it came to the boards of pharmacy in executive session, conditions were quite different. While the association is thus far nothing more nor less than a conference, its members feel that the adoption of regulations would obligate them in an embarrassing manner. They first voted to table the entire set of propositions. This action seemed to be too tame for some, and the seven recommendations were again taken up for consideration and very materially modified-the one year high school requirement being entirely eliminated. It has, no doubt, become evident by this time to those who have carefully reflected over the transactions at Indianapolis that work for the advancement of pharmacy along educational and legislative lines must begin with the boards of pharmacy. We are confident that an entirely new campaign will be and should be organized before the 1907 meeting. The professors, who are taking the lead in these matters, must educate the boards of pharmacy up to their way of thinking. They must also overcome that quite apparent sentiment on the part of many board members to work out their own salvation in executive sessions and, if necessary, by holding their meetings entirely apart from the time and place of the A. Ph. A. conventions. The moral, as we see it, is: "Begin in the right place and go slow, and above all forget what ‘ought' to be done and try and learn what 'can' be done." This will bring about a united force working in the common interest of higher pharmaceutical education. Use Tact in the Drug Business.-The new year is the season for new resolutions and 1907 is a good time to resolve to use more tact in the drug business. It will, however, require execution as well as resolution to make apparent and effective a decision to profit by tact during the twelve months to come. It will demand constant study and careful observation to determine just what constitutes tact in the drug business and self-control in order to use it when the apportunity comes. You may be talented but destitute of tact. Talent knows what to do, but tact knows when and how to do it. Many persons in the drug business are talented pharmacists, but lack sufficient tact to make a success of their calling. They have the consciousness of being worthy for talent makes a person respectable, but tact makes a man respected. Talens is counted as wealth, but its market value fluctuates. Tact is always ready money. In professional as well as commercial affairs, tact out weighs talent many fold and this explains why some pharmacists soon past in the race for success their older and more talented competitors. People wonder why the talented pharmacist does not get along any faster and are astonished that the druggist with tact meets with success at every turn. There is no reason why both talent and tact should not be possessed by the same individual. In fact they are a very compatible mixture for the drug business. The talented pharmacist receives many compliments from those who have only compliments to give, but the one with tact has a busy cash register, and manages to make a profit on the goods that he sells. We meet both talent and tact at conventions where talent always speaks in a learned and logical manner, while tact speaks with assurance and often in a triumphant manner. We cannot in brief space even enumerate the opportunities in the drug business for the exercise of tact. Among the more important are the following which are but a few of those which will occur to the thoughtful and watchful pharmacists who keep both eyes wide open during 1907. First of all comes the good will and respect of customers. Then the confidence and favors of the physicians. The handling of drug clerks so that good ones can be retained. The dealing with salesmen in a manner which insures the best terms in buying. The planning so that life will not be a drudgery but time found for recreation and vacations. Tact never wastes time nor misses an opportunity. It does not carry dead weight and seldom makes a false step. Tact never refuses to listen to advice but has the faculty of judging of its value. Perhaps you used tact in 1906, but there is no limit to perfection and you can improve on the past. Tact will bring you trade and give you profits, for as Emerson said: "Tact clinches the bargainSails out of the bay; Gets the vote in the senate, Spite of Webster or Clay." Are We Ready for State Pure Food and Drugs Laws? There is no question about the intent and purpose of the national act of June 30 being for the betterment of mankind as far as his health and consequent happiness is concerned. The new law, however, is far reaching in its effect, some claiming that it is the most important document of a national character adopted outside amendments to the constitution of the United States. It certainly affects vast trade interests and will require time and patience to work out an harmonious enforcement of the new condition of affairs. Fortunately, commissioners are thus far disposed to be liberal in their interpretations of the law and promise to enforce the act with as little disturbance as possible to existing condition of affairs. They point out that the banishment of intentional misrepresentation and the protection of legitimate trade will be their guide. Differences of opinion, however, are certain to arise and the courts will be called upon to decide many important questions. While the entire scheme of food and drug control will require state laws, we suggest that our readers go slow in bodily adopting the national law as a model for state legislation. Wait and see what changes are necessary in the national law before states fall in line with local regulations. As is now generally understood, the national law applies only to interstate commerce, the one exception being the District of Columbia and the territories. We have reason to believe that no immediate effort will be made to enforce the law otherwise than as an interstate commerce act. When the states adopt similar laws, the druggists will at once come under new regulations governing not only the labeling of Pharmacopoeial and National Formulary preparations, but physicians' prescriptions as well. The proper control of the manufacture and sale of both foods and medicines will ultimately come to pass but the day will be hastened by slow and deliberate action at this critical period. Here, as in the raising of educational standards for retail pharmacists, the enthusiasts must remember the old adage, "Haste makes waste." too good for Albert E. Ebert." The Ebert memorial volume, provided for by an A. Ph. A. committee of which Dr. Carl S. N. Hallberg is chairman, will, undoubtedly, surpass all previous efforts in that direction. Historical matter relating to the life and work of Ebert will be collected by the Historical Section of the A. Ph. A., and parties interested should correspond with Dr. Edward Kremers, of Madison, Wis. Albert E. Ebert was a man who appealed to the love, admiration, esteem and confidence of those who knew him by correspondence as well as those privileged to feel the warm and firm grasp of his hand of friendship. His nature was such that even strong men were led to depend on him for counsel, advice, co-operation and frequently for leadership. Thus comes the expression so frequently heard since his death, "What will we do without Ebert?" Under such conditions we feel that no apology is due our readers for the space devoted in the December and January issues of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST to the life and work of the laeder of his kind in American pharmacy. H. C. PORTER. H. C. Porter, Rockford, president of the Illinois Pharmaceutical Association, was represented on the frontispiece of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST for November, 1906. Albert E. Ebert died November 20 and was buried November 23. The passing of this retail druggist with a record of over one-half a century of activity in pharmacy has caused an unparalleled gloom in pharmaceutical circles. The expressions of sorrow and regret are not only genuine, but also world-wide. The letters containing expressions of esteem published in the pharmaceutical press are spontaneous, numerous Preliminary Education at the Beginning. The and from the most prominent men in pharmacy. Res- Minnesota Board of Pharmacy is following the good olutions are being adopted by numerous organizations. example of the Illinois board and requiring applicants These are addressed not to sorrowing relatives, for Mr. for registration as apprentices to pass a preliminary Ebert died without family, his good wife having pre-examination. This ensures a proper equipment at the ceded him only a few months. The resolutions are based on broader ties than those of consanguinity. They express a personal loss shared in by the pharmacists of every section of the country, and we will not be surprised to see similar action taken abroad. The decision to erect a monument to Mr. Ebert's memory meets with such expressions as that of the Pharmaceutical Era, which says, "No monument is start and prevents hangers on in pharmacy. Every teacher of pharmacy and every board member has had frequent occasion to wish that many of the young men who come before them had gone to a common school instead of into a drug store. The registration of apprentices and the requirement of preliminary education before registration are conditions which should exist in each state and territory of the Union. EDITORIAL COMMENT. Are Illinois Dispensing Physicians in Danger of losing their privilege? The Mercer County Retail Association has passed resolutions favoring a law which will practically prohibit physicians from dispensing their own remedies. No Change in Dues.-In answer to inquiries from several readers who were not present at the Atlanta meeting of the N. A. R. D., we beg to state that the annual dues remain at $4.00 as heretofore. The proposition to raise the amount to $6.00 was discussed but the plan failed of adoption. A Monument in Honor of Servetus is to be erected at Vienne in the department of Isère where he lived for twelve years. It will be remembered that Michael Servet, who was burned at Geneva in 1533 for his theological opinions, discovered the pulmonary circulation and made important contributions to geography. Much Depends Upon the Secretary.-Pharmaceutical associations are fortunate when they have secretaries who are competent, willing, and in a position to furnish the pharmaceutical press with desirable information. Among such associations must be classed the Northern Ohio Druggists' Association, with headquarters at Cleveland. The Metric System was in Use by Ancient Physicians who wrote prescriptions several hundred or thousand years ago in India. At least, so says the Druggists Circular which has as an authority the meter in some of the ancient prescriptions written in a poetical fashion. As Brother Hays sat at the editorial table industriously recording the proceedings of the A. Ph. A. meeting, no one would have suspected him of such a pun. The State of Maine and the Sale of Whiskey have attracted public attention during the past generation. Some of us remember the red-ribbon movement and the "Maine" law. It seems that after all of these years of experience the state pharmaceutical association has decided to make an effort to give pharmacists of the state the right to dispense liquor where it is necessary. The legislature will convene in January and will receive an earnest appeal from the pharmacists of the state. Early Closing is a Problem which springs up like mushrooms in all sections of the country, but unlike that fungus, it continues with vigor and promise of substantial formation. The Northern Ohio Druggists' Association is getting at the subject in a practical way. The members will be asked to vote in an informal manner on the proposition. Our readers will be anxious to learn what per cent of the retail druggists of Cleveland are ready and willing to put into practice the untried theory of early closing. In the Vermont Legislature Senate Bill 152 to amend the state Pure Food and Drug Law was passed The Reports Should be at Least Legible.--In these days of organizations pharmaceutical editors meet with varied and at times anything but pleasant experiences in looking over the reports furnished by secretaries. We refer particularly to those documents intended for editorial use. Some of them are written upon manifold paper, as thin as the ink which is used in writing. Others are on good paper but without sufficient ink to imprint more than ninety per cent of the characters. Others are written in a hand which requires a post-office expert to decipher. Editors become accustomed to paragraphing, re-writing and picking out the thought from a tangled mass of expressions, but even editorial good nature is strained when it comes to mechanical defects, which could be easily overcome with the exercise of sufficient care. The Western Pharmacist is as Appreciative of association work as his Eastern brother, at least so we must conclude when we read the following about the New York State pharmacists from the pen of Judson B. Todd, of Ithaca, who has long studied the situation and who lives in the shadows of the great Cornell University: "There are many who take so little interest in the state association that they refuse to pay $2.00 a year to its support. Those are the kickers, the pessimists, the back numbers, some of whom take no drug journals, belong to no associations, criticize their local organization, kick on the N. Y. S. P. A., swear at the pharmacy board and over the registration fee of $2.00, pooh-pooh the N. A. R. D., frown upon the A. Ph. A., scold their wives, whip their children, bite their tongues, have bees in their hair and the hives on their body." The Philadelphia Branch of the A. Ph. A.-Is scheduled to meet, Jannary 4, and consider the following program: The discussion on "The Debasing Influences of Fraudulent Nostrums" will be opened by: Dr. Solomon Solis-Cohen: "Secrecy and Fraud as Deterring Factors to the Progress of the Science of Medicine." Dr. Henry Leffman: "Known and Unknown Changes in the Composition of well known Nostrums." Dr. Henry Beates, Jr.: "Criminal Responsibility in the sale of Abortifacients." The subject will be further discussed by Dr. John B. Roberts, Dr. Henry W. Cattell, Dr. F. E. Stewart, Prof. I. V. S. Stanislaus, Prof. Chas. H. LaWall, and others, and will be followed by the presentation of evidence that some physicians, at least, are directly interested in the financial success of nostrums. STRAY ITEMS AND COMMENTS. A Complete and Useful Index to the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST for 1906 appear in the December issue. Charles E. Avery has retired from the retail drug business in Chicago, resigned as president of the local organization and taken charge of the organization department of the N. A. R. D, He is a very popular as well as exceptionally able man for the position and the N. A. R. D. will profit by his services. They Are Good For a Reason.-The pharmacists of Provo, Utah, have decided to observe the Sabbath day and close their places of business from midnight Saturday, until 7 a. m., Monday. The reason the five stores, of that city, are to be closed is found in the new ordinance which restricts the sales of goods in a drug store to those actually used for medical purposes. What a rest the pharmacists of this country would have if the same experiment was made for a few Sundays throughout the country. Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Godbold, of New Orleans, La., celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, October 27. Among the many tokens of appreciation from loving friends was a handsome silver service, accom. panied by a letter of conveyance signed by thirty friends, who, among other things state: "We sincerely hope that time shall record your golden anniversary, thus sparing to pharmaceutical affairs the help of one who has always proved tireless, ceaseless and ener getic in the elevation and promotion of the science of pharmacy." Washington Pharmacists belonging to their state association have on several occasions held their annual meetings afloat on the Pacific Ocean. We believe that the Florida association has once or twice met on board ship. The Virginia organization this year called the members to order while on a sea voyage. The Illinois pharmacists have held adjourned meetings while on lake excursions. The Wisconsin pharmacists propose to hold their 1907 meeting far from shore on Lake Michigan. It is a wonder that some facetious writer does not say that pharmacists take naturally to the water which plays an important part in their business. Simplified Spelling is now in the atmosphere and we occasionally meet with it in print. Some pharmacists take kindly to it, others are horribly shocked. Be this as it may, pharmaceutical organizations can simplify their names, if not the spelling, by eliminating the word State, unless it is necessary to distinguish a State from a city organization. The New York State Board of Pharmacy is very well and good but why write "California State Pharmaceutical Association." We suggest that State Pharmaceutical Asso. ciations follow the example of Missouri, which is officially known as "Missouri Pharmaceutical Association." Colleges of Pharmacy in England.-Many of them are private enterprises very much the same as the various business colleges and shorthand schools in this country. Recently, the proprietor of the Central School of Pharmacy, of London, has purchased the Metropolitan College of Pharmacy and will unite the two. The Central School has been furnishing about one-third of the total number of applicants passing the minor examination in London. In this country, colleges of pharmacy are either departments of universities or managed for educational purposes by pharmaceutical organizations. As an example, the property of such schools as the St. Louis, Philadelphia, Massachusetts and Brooklyn belongs to the organizations to be held in trust for educational purposes and could not be divided up among the members. At the A. Ph. A. Meeting.-Dr. Otto A. Wall, of St. Louis, read a paper containing a great deal of good, hard common, sense, and appealing to the reason of every thinking man. It was in the nature of a protest against the ultra-scientific element that are trying to force the "graduation first" idea through the heads of our legislators. Among other things, Dr. Wall asks why a young man who, by his own efforts and industry secures an education, at home, that enables him to pass any reasonable examination by the board of pharmacy, is not entitled to registration just as well as one provided with diplomas, etc.? He thought that any man who could prove his qualifications should be permitted to practice. Dr. Wall's paper called forth a shower of protests from educators of the "solar walk and milky way" sorts, and who, most of them, were roundly applauded, but in general session, where the membership was not quite so professional it was easy to see that they produced an excellent effect.-[ National Druggist, October, 1906. John P. Cobb is now manager of the traveling ser vice of E. R. Squibb & Sons, New York City. He was recently manager of the St. Louis branch of the H. K. Mulford Co. Mr. Cobb was born in Iowa in 1862, educated in that State, served his apprenticeship in the retail stores of Wise & Bryant, Cedar Falls, Ia. Was in business on his own account in Nebraska for two years. Was traveling salesman for Burrough Bros. Mfg. Co. for ten years, from 1886 to 1896. He was general representative in charge of the traveling service of the Kansas City branch and assistant manager for Park-Davis & Co., at Kansas City. He was vice-president and general manager of Vilden Judson Drug Co. at Salt Lake City from 1904 to 1906. He is a man of marked ability and has a host of friends who wish him a prosperous New Year in his new location. JOHN P. COBB. |