14 THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



Fanatics and Legislation. 



In recognizing the fact that the blood of the martyrs sprinkles the 

 pathway of sentimentalists as well as reformers and that the spirit of fan- 

 aticism only grows when actively opposed, it might seem the wiser plan 

 to pass over in utter silence the recent endeavor of the anti-vivisection 

 cranks to force the District of Columbia into the shackles of its prejudiced 

 ideas. 



The matter is of interest to pharmacists because as scientific men they 

 are deeply concerned with pharmacologic research ; and the high-handed 

 measures of the anti-vivisection factions would entirely stop all forward 

 work in the scientific investigation of the physiological action of drugs. 

 This country might better, as far as its medicine and pharmacy are con- 

 cerned, go back to the Middle Ages with its crudest superstitions, if the 

 views of the anti-vivisectionists should obtain for any large number of 

 people. As men interested in the broader view of humanity, we appeal 

 to brother pharmacists to put their shoulder to this rock of obstruction 

 and roll down a protest that will crush this one-sided, fanatical point of 

 view. Human life and human happiness are in the balance against a 

 maudlin sentiment in behalf of cats, dogs, guinea-pigs, rabbits and mice. 



These people that pet one cat and drown its kittens, that trap mice and 

 eat hares ; do they imagine that it is a species of ghoulish amusement 

 that leads men to experiment on lower animals for the good of man ? 

 They are not capable of appreciating that, among other things, there are 

 many drugs whose chemical analysis gives but little clue to their physi- 

 ological relations nor does such analysis afford any help in the way of 

 standardization of such drugs as ergot, for example. But a certain defi- 

 nite dose fed to one of the lower animals proves graphically what is to be 

 expected for man and thus puts in the hands of the physician some clue 

 to the use of many drugs concerning which they otherwise would be in 

 the dark. 



The investigation of new drugs cannot go on in a proper manner with- 

 out the use of the lower animals, and it certainly is wiser and more hu- 

 mane to end the life of a guinea-pig rather than that of a man, in order 

 that benefit to mankind may result. 



The editor desires to announce that a full and complete index for Vol- 

 ume VII. will appear as a supplement with the February number. 



Also, that in making up the Volume VI, attention is called to an error 

 in dates, viz., the November, 1899, number bears a cover dated Decem- 

 ber, 1899. 



