570 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\   December,  1910. 
mercial  element  has  evidently  invaded  the  pharmacies  of  our  Con- 
tinental confreres  to  a  most  unfortunate  extent  in  recent  years, 
and,  like  English  pharmacists,  they  are  desirous  of  having  as 
interest  on  their  capital,  as  pay  for  their  labor,  as  indemnity  against 
bad  stock,  and  as  an  honorarium  for  the  use  of  their  diploma,  some 
profit  on  the  articles  which  they  sell  (Pharm.  J.  (Lond.),  1910, 
v.  85,  p.  361). 
International  Pharmaceutical  Federation. — One  of  the  more 
important  actions  of  the  International  Pharmaceutical  Congress, 
held  at  Brussels,  was  the  adoption  of  a  resolution,  proposed  by 
the  delegates  of  the  Dutch  Association  for  the  Promotion  of 
Pharmacy,  which  provides  for  the  foundation  of  an  International 
Pharmaceutical  Federation,  with  headquarters  at  The  Hague.  The 
object  of  this  federation  will  be  the  promotion  of  pharmacy  as  a 
science  and  as  a  trade,  and  it  is  to  consist  of  delegates  representing 
the  various  affiliated  societies. 
As  pointed  out  in  a  recent  editorial  in  the  Pharmaceutical 
Journal,  London  (1910,  v.  85,  p.  435),  the  laws  and  customs  govern- 
ing the  practice  of  pharmacy  on  the  Continent  differ  fundamentally 
from  those  in  force  in  English  speaking  countries  and  the  delibera- 
tions on  the  business  side  of  the  occupation  while  interesting  are 
of  but  indirect  value  to  pharmacists  either  in  Great  Britain  or  the 
United  States,  so  that  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  international 
co-operation  is  limited  indeed. 
National  Department  of  Public  Health. — The  need  for  develop- 
ing a  more  efficient  organization  for  the  protection  of  the  health 
of  our  people  is  still  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  thoughtful  citizens 
and  has  been  given  considerable  space  in  the  pages  of  medical  and 
pharmaceutical  journals. 
Among  others,  Geo.  B.  Young  discusses  the  nature  of  the 
problems  involved  in  the  proposed  enlarged  national  public  health 
organization  and  outlines  a  plan  with  reasons  for  adopting  the 
divisions  as  proposed.  An  editorial  in  commenting  on  this  paper 
points  out  that  it  offers  a  tangible  basis  for  discussion  and  can  be 
taken  as  a  starting  point  for  actual  constructive  efforts ;  also  that 
the  problem  of  unifying  all  of  the  present  health  work  under  one 
general  head  is  one  whose  solution  should  not  be  attempted  with- 
out careful  study  of  existing  conditions  (/.  Am.  M.  Ass.,  1910, 
v.  55.  pp.  979-989.  1029). 
Public   Health    Agitation. — E.    J.    Townsend,    in  discussing 
