250 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION^ 19L2. 



propaganda initiated. Next, a host of clinicians and practitioners 

 must be called into requisition, so that what has been evolved in the 

 silent workshop will be conducted on a stanch ship into the wide sea 

 of publicity. And, finally, it is the calculating salesman's turn; 

 he must bring in enough to cover all the expenses of the innumerable 

 experiments that have been made if the new drug, which has swal- 

 lowed so much money, is to survive and prosper. Truly, all this is a 

 task which only too often is misunderstood and insufficiently appreci- 

 ated. If, however, a great hit is made — an event almost as rare as 

 the Greek calends — then the envious, the patent and trade-mark 

 violator, and even the smuggler, cling to our heels and seek to rob us 

 of our profits, which, taking everything into consideration, are really 

 not large. But despite all this, and though unfortunately opposed 

 by druggists and physicians even to-day, the pharmaceutical industry 

 serenely pursues its task. For, besides certain economic aims, we also 

 have ideals to strive for. We combat systematically the symptoms 

 of disease and are the faithful auxiliaries both of the doctor and the 

 harassed nurse. The agonizing pains of the patient we allay Avith 

 narcotics and anesthetics. When sleep flees the couch of suffering, 

 we compel it to return; fever, we banish. We destroy the minute 

 organisms which cause and spread diseases. Thus we add to the 

 store of what is valuable and perfect what already exists. We also 

 isolate the active principles of various di-ugs and thus assure exact 

 dosage and freedom from imdesirable or even dangerous by-effects. 



In the chemical works of Germany pure chemical science receives 

 its due. In every branch of inorganic, organic, and physiological- 

 biological chemistry we are working with an army of scientifically 

 trained men. In synthetic chemistry, brilliant achievements have 

 fallen to our share. Quite recently Stolz succeeded in building up 

 adrenalin/ Decker m making hydrastinm, and Emil Fischer and 

 WUhelm Traube in producing purin bases. AU of these are magnifi- 

 cent accomplishments, and many of them have been effected in the 

 laboratories of the industry. 



That even yet, as at the beginning — the antifebrin period — we 

 must trust to chance is shown by the discovery of atophan, the latest 

 valuable antiarthritic, which is due to a fortunate accidental observa- 

 tion. In the subject of the old ergot problem, research work is 

 gradually bringing more light and makes the possibility of syntheti- 

 cally producing a substitute a thing of the near future. The publi- 

 cations on this subject show that hemostatic alkaloids possess a com- 

 paratively simple constitution. That sedatives have their place in 



1 1 kilogram adrenalin, which is now prepared synthetically, and has heen introduced under the name of 

 "suprcranin"by tlio Farbwerke of Houclist, requires for its production the adrenal glands of -10,000 oxen. 

 This product, as well as numerous other glandular iirexjarations, is nowadays manufactured by the large 

 American slaughterhouses themselves. 



