154 DEPAKTMENTAL REPORTS. 



the ability and honesty of these experts, and j^et it is onlj^ human that 

 we should assume that in cases of doubt the benefit is universallj'^ 

 jijiven to the emploj-er. Again, it may be said that in certain investi- 

 gations which have been made in regard to the effect of borax, there 

 is room for suspicion that bias has not been entirely absent. It is 

 believed that in the investigations which are contemplated in this 

 Bureau it will be possible to eliminate the element of bias, in so far as 

 human nature is capable of so doing, and to conduct the examination 

 in such a way as to reach conclusions which are not influenced in any 

 manner, neither by the person manufacturing the products, the desire 

 of the person consuming them, nor the purpose of the chemist conduct- 

 ing the work. While it is not claimed that the results obtained in 

 such a W' ay are absolutely free of error or not subject to revision, it is 

 claimed that they will rest upon a basis which, at least, will not be open 

 to criticism. These experiments, in order to have convincing results, 

 must be made with care, must be repeated frequently, and the data 

 obtained must be carefully studied and collated. It is expected that 

 this work will be thoroughly inaugurated before the end of the current 

 year. 



The second line of work which the Bureau will undertake will be in 

 tne studj^ of drugs. The object of this studj^ is to determine the com- 

 position of the drugs sold upon our markets and of the adulteration 

 to which they are subject. Drugs which fail to come up to the stand- 

 ard set b}^ the United States Pharmacopoeia or drugs of a poisonous 

 nature which have a higher percentage of the poisonous principle than 

 is recognized by established authorities must be considered as adultera- 

 tions. Drugs in order to be efficacious must have a certain composi- 

 tion; otherwise, in the exhibition of remedies, neither the pliysician, 

 the i^harmacist, nor the patient has any idea of the quantity of the 

 active principle employed. 



This work will l)e undertaken in hearty collaljoration with the 

 American Pharmaceutical Association, which alreadj^ has a committee 

 studying drug adulterations and the best methods of ascertaining 

 them. The work will be divided into two portions — first, a study of 

 the best methods of assaying drugs, and second, a study of the di'ug 

 I^roducts bought in the open market, to determine their composition 

 and the degree and extent of their adulteration. It is exj)ected that 

 this work will be fully inaugurated during the present year. 



CLERICAL' WORK. 



A large increase in the amount of clerical work necessary in the 

 Bureau lias naturalh" resulted from the enlargement and extension of 

 the scientific work. Although during the present year a stenogra- 

 pher has been added to the clerical force, it is still entirely inadequate 

 to handle the work necessary to keep the records of the Bureau up to 

 date and to do the calculating and other work required in connection 

 with the publication of the bulletins of the Bureau. The mass of cor- 

 respondence, together with the regular routine work, keeps the cler- 

 ical force occupied to its fullest capacity, and it necessarily follows 

 that much of the work in connection with the permanent records of 

 the Bureau is in arrears. As in the other Bureaus, the services of a 

 chief clerk are necessarj^ and I have included an item for this pur- 

 j)ose in the estimates submitted. 



