tHE ALUMNI JOURNAL T 



President Carter: — Gentlemen, you have heard this interesting 

 report presented by Mr. Main. Is there any discussion on it? 

 • M. N. Kline, Philadelphia: — I would like to say a word about 

 this report, which is excellent and very valuable. I want to say a 

 word or two especially referring to the objection of the National 

 Formulary being made a legal standard. Of course, as every 

 one here knows, it has proven to be full of trouble and annoyance, 

 and yet at the same time it has been of considerable benefit. The 

 annoyance and trouble has been mitigated by the manner in which 

 it appears in the national law, because you are all familiar with the 

 fact that, while articles put up under names used in the Na- 

 tional Formulary, if without any other statement, are required to 

 be of that strength and quality, deviations may be made provided 

 difference in strength or quality is mentioned on the label. 



There has been considerable pressure, it has come to my notice, 

 from two sides — one of our associate members wrote to me request- 

 ing that, as chairman of the Committee on Legislation, I recommend 

 in my report to this Association that all reference to this National 

 Formulary should be taken out of the Pure Food and Drugs Law. 

 That is one extreme, which perhaps I am safe in saying the majority 

 of us are hardly in accord with. I certainly was not and there 

 will be no such recommendation in the report. 



The other extreme comes from the idealists in pharmacy, of 

 whom I am glad we have some, who are ideal and far from prac- 

 ticable, but in the great State of Pennsylvania, which leads in 

 everything, we have these idealists and some of them have cer- 

 tainly got a degree of enthusiasm that you can hardly find matched 

 anywhere else, and they urge that in the State legislation there 

 should be no allowance provision made whatever for deviation from 

 the U. S. P. or N. F. Now, here is where our trouble comes in. 

 It is not worth while to discuss the imperfections of the National 

 Formulary, because it was hastily thrown together and certainly 

 needs revision, but I would have been glad if this report had em- 

 phasized the important fact that if the National Formulary is to 

 stand under this law, steps should be taken by which it would be re- 

 vised, not in the manner in which it is revised now, but certainly 

 in some way by which representatives both of the medical profes- 

 sion and pharmaceutical profession should be united in some body 

 or some committee having to do with its revision. As it stands 

 now, you know what has happened. ' 



