VoL ii., No. 2. 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST OF AUSTRALASIA. 
45 
great majority of them would eagerly agree to the proposal, 
more especially if the additional inducement of a slight in- 
crease in the wholesale prices, with the other considerations 
mentioned in my last, were placed before them. 
The plan seems to me to be so simple and so certain to be 
effective that I entertain the most sanguine hopes of its being 
taken up in all the colonies. With regard to Victoria I have 
not much faith in the prospects of a Trade Protection Society 
being formed under the auspices of the Pharmaceutical 
Society, as stated in your last issue, but the South Suburban 
chemists might easily carry the idea to a successful issue. 
Trusting that chemists as a body will put their shoulders to 
the wheel and shove their chariot out of the cuttiugj 
I am, yours, &c., 
“YTTBIUM.” 
To the Editor of the Ohemiat and Druggist of Australasia. 
Sir, — I wish to make a few remarks on the problem now 
engaging the attention of the chemists of Australia, viz.: — 
Can the encroachments of storekeepers, grocers, &c., be suc- 
cessfully resisted, to which I hope to be able to reply in the 
affirmative ? 
In the first place, individual freetrade must always prevail. 
Storekeepers cannot be restrained from selling certain commpn 
druggist’s sundries. No law will ever be passed. None would 
ever receive public sanction that was likely to interfere with 
the rights of the public to buy where they chose, or to create 
a monopoly of common requirements of every dSy consump- 
tion, especially if the public suspected, as they would 
probably, that the price was likely to be affected in 
the slightest degree. As reasonably might the grocer 
demand the sole privilege of selling tea ; the chandler, 
soap ; the hairdresser, hair oil ; as the chemist, glycerine, 
vaseline or painkiller. Almost every tradesman will assert 
that some other encroaches on his legitimate line. It is^a 
common grievance. Yet, who will pretend to say that each 
and everyone is to be protected from the other. As well es- 
tablish at once the caste system of the Hindoo, which is ab- 
surd, National protection is totally dissimilar, for, while al- 
lowing individual freetrade amongst the retailers of a com- 
munity, it aims at protecting the industrial pursuits from the 
excessive competition of foreigners, and even this is a moot 
question in the world. Chemists base their claiihs to special 
protection, on the ground that they receive special education 
to enable them to discharge the duties of their calling. They 
serve four years apprenticeship, they learn their business ; but 
so does the engineer, the blacksmith, and the carpenter. 
Chemists pass an examination it is true, but so do the tele- 
graph boys, the civil servants, and all ranks of Government 
officials at home, eventually no one can doubt the same rule 
will obtain in the [colonies, the days of interest and favour- 
itism will pass away. All men must learn their duties effici- 
ently in order to succeed in the vocation they have chosen. 
The more competent they are the more likely they are to get 
on. If people employ untrustworthy engineers, carpenters or 
chemists, that is their look-out. The public seem quite satis- 
fied to take their chance, please themselves, and buy where 
they like. They do not call for any protection for themselves. 
It is the chemist who calls for it for himself. Let him look 
to himself to protect himself ; he will get no assistance from 
either the State or the public. 
It has been proposed by some that- the wholesale chemists 
should be coerced into supplying chemists only. Even if it 
were possible to succeed in such an object, there are hundreds 
of storekeepers, importers and merchants quite equal to the 
occasion, and would jump at the chance. Every merchant in 
Australia would import, if necessary. Numbers do so now, 
which is one reason patents and heavy common goods are to 
be bought so much cheaper proportionately than fine chemi- 
cals 
It is, therefore, absurd to think of coercion or boycotting in 
this manner. Every wholesale house that I know does its 
best to sell as much as possible, no matter to whom. Their 
travellers call at every “Pub” to sell hop bitters, cordials, 
quinine wine, <fec., and are not such fools as to reject a line in 
anything else. Every store, large and small, “ good enough,” 
is visited, and importuned for a line in soda, acid, pills, or 
anything else. 
Whenever you see an advertisement pushing the proprietary 
articles of a wholesale house, such as eye water, fever cure, 
<&c., be sure that it is not among chemists they expect to sell 
these, but among storekeepers. If one house i^ushes its 
business in this manner, others are in a measure compelled to 
do likewise. The result is that almost all do it, sdtne of 
course to a greater degree than others. 
Co-operation amongst chemists is impossible. They volun- 
tarily keep their shops open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., and 
almost all day Sunday, and with the inconsistency of humai^ 
nature, grumble that they are slaves. Their neighbour, the 
grocer, shuts at 6 or 7 p.m., and goes home with a contented 
mind. For him the labours of the day are over. How can 
you expect chemists, since they cannot agree even in this 
small matter to conjointly taboo a wholesale house for the 
practices I have mentioned ? I am certain such an impractic- 
able, and as I have shown, useless plan will never be attempted. 
In my town there are say seven hotels and seven stores, all of 
these buy, the former, patents, bitters, cordials, d:c., the latter 
all sorts of things such as salts, senna, culinary essences, 
cream of tartar, soda, acid, patent pills, oils, hair restorers, 
Fellow’s syrup, homoeopathic medicines, children’s food, dis- 
infectants, Ac., &c. 
How am I, since I cannot prevent their being sold to benefit 
by the sale of these articles ? Simply by making a friend of 
the grocer instead of an enemy. If I can sell him these goods 
at a fair price in competition with the wholesale chemists, 
and put him up his culinary essences, glycerine, and carbolic 
acid, eye water, fever cure, &c., he will in almost every case 
give me the preference. It will be advantageous to him 
because he will not be compelled to keep such a heavy stock ; 
he will have no carriage or risk from breakages, Ac., and 
finally, get just as good stuff. Can chemists successfully com- 
pete with the wholesale houses for this trade ? I emphaticallly 
answer yes. The grocers’ sundries can be put up, sold at the 
same price, and sold at a profit by almost every chemist. To 
extend my trade in this line I must be prepared to import 
direct from the manufacturers and do away to a great extent 
with colonial go-betweens that eat the profit up. It is well 
known that every day manufacturers are coming more and 
more , to regard it as conducive to their interest to deal with 
first parties, even though the orders of these are necessarily 
smaller. Experience will soon teach the beginner the lines 
most suitable for operating on in this manner. There is also 
considerable advantage to a retailer in so much as he buys 
more largely and therefore cheaper. Of course the wholesale 
would make a bid for business by cutting. Even this w'ould 
be a boon to our smaller brethren, who would be unable 
through lack of means to import direct, and could scarcely 
effect the ultimate result. They must sell at a profit. Here, 
then, is the problem solved as satisfactorily as it is ever likely 
to be with reference to storekeepers. 
In this way the chemist can at all events make a virtue of 
a necessity, and instead of growling at what he is powerless 
to prevent, endeavour to secure at least a portion of the 
harvest so plentifully reaped by others. 
I am, Sir, 
• (EDIPUS. 
[We shall be very glad if (Edipus would favour us with a 
paper giving quantities, cost, selling price and methods for 
conducting this competition. We are sure our readers would 
welcome it as valuable assistance, and by the scheme itself it 
would not injure his interests. — Ed.] 
To the Editor of The Chemist and Druggist of Australasia. 
Hear Sir, — Let me give a hint to chemists how to deal with 
storekeepers who persist in selling patent medicines. Let each 
chemsst go largely into haberdashery and fancy goods, oil '* 
stores and groceries, especially good teas. Sell at low prices. 
I have found this plan not only profitable, but one that brings 
storekeepers to their bearings more quickly than any other. 
First make a careful inquiry into their most profitable lines, 
then go in for them and sell low. It is a pity that chemists 
will not amalgamate and open cheap stores in their line so 
to bring about an understanding. — Yours, &c., 
W.F. 
TINCT. NUCIS VOMICiE. 
To the Editor of The Chemist and Druggist of Australasia. 
Sir, — Having occasion to make Tr. Nuc. Vom. according to 
the B.P. *85, 1 found that after a few hours it had deposited 
