316 
EDITORIAL. 
details  of  his  shop  laboratory,  so  as  to  exhibit  results  fit  for  a  revenue  col- 
lector to  examine,  is  an  imposition  so  onerous  and  burthensome  in  its 
execution  as  to  be  unworthy  the  character  of  a  free  government,  and  calcu- 
lated to  have  a  mischievous  tendency  in  disgusting  well  disposed  citizens 
■with  the  whole  scheme  of  collecting  the  revenue. 
Every  good  citizen  should  cheerfully  do  his  part  towards  upholding  the 
national  credit,  by  contributing  his  quota  of  taxation ;  but  he  should  not 
submit  to  the  unequal  distribution  of  the  burthen  without  a  protest.  The 
amount  of  ingenuity  displayed  by  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  in 
getting  up  the  revenue  laws  was  quite  remarkable,  but  in  the  hands  of  the 
executive  officers  this  ingenuity  has  blossomed  and  fructified  nowhere  so 
precociously  as  in  its  relations  to  those  wants  of  the  community  served  by 
the  apothecary.  The  idea  seems  to  have  been  adopted  that,  under  the  fear 
of  sickness  or  death,  any  amount  of  taxation  may  be  wrung  out  of  the 
people  through  the  apothecary.  We  are  reminded  by  it  of  Satan's  answer 
in  reference  to  Job  :  "  Skin  for  skin  ;  yea,  all  that  a  man  hath  will  he  give 
for  his  life  and  there  is  more  truth  than  fiction  in  the  worldly  policy 
that  dictates  it. 
The  influence  of  the  immense  impost  on  alcohol  ($4.00  per  gallon,) 
reaches  nearly  every  important  class  of  preparations  made  by  the  apothe- 
cary, and  yields  of  itself  a  sufficient  revenue  to  be  drawn  from  this  branch 
of-business  ;  but  pharmacy  has  to  carry,  1st,  the  duties  on  drugs,  nearly 
all  of  which  are  imported  ;  2d,  the  right  to  carry  on  the  business,  by  li- 
cense ;  3d,  the  right  to  sell  brandy,  whisky,  and  wine,  for  medicinal  use, 
requires  another  license,  although  they  are  all  officinal  medicines  ;  4th,  the 
stamp  tax,  which  is  a  considerable  item  ;  5th,  the  income  tax, — and  now, 
lastly,  a  manufacturer's  tax  !  In  a  word,  he  pays  a  license  for  the  right 
of  carrying  on  the  business,  and  is  then  taxed  for  doing  it!  Fortunately, 
most  of  these  incongruities  arise  from  the  imperfect  digestion  of  the  revenue 
laws,  and  want  of  experience  in  the  officials.  We  have  recently  had  occasion 
to  converse  with  one  of  the  Assessors, — a  man  of  intelligence, — who,  while 
he  does  his  duty  to  the  government,  is  guided  rather  by  the  spirit  than  the 
letter  of  the  law.  He  admits  the  practical  difficulty  of  applying  the  rule 
to  the  legitimate  apothecary,  and  believed  that  it  would  reach  him  solely 
where  he  stepped  aside  from  his  business  of  preparing  and  dispensing 
medicines  for  the  sick. 
St.  Louis  College  of  Pharmacy. — We  have  received  from  the  authorities 
of  this  Institution,  in  pamphlet  form,  copies  of  its  "  Charter,  Laws  and 
Code  of  Ethics,"  and  a  prospectus  of  the  first  annual  course  of  instruction 
in  that  College.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  reorganization  of  the  St. 
Louis  College  of  Pharmacy,  and  it  is  with  great  pleasure  this  tangible 
evidence  of  the  progress  of  the  work  has  been  received.  From  a  glance 
over  the  pamphlets  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  authorities  issuing  them  have 
approved  of  the  general  plan  and  code  of  ethics  of  our  College  and  School, 
