^pimbef^t™'}     Revision  of  Dispensing  Pharmacies.  417 
proposition  was  not  lost  sight  of,  however,  and  was  brought  up, 
from  time  to  time,  by  the  more  advanced  and  progressive  pharma- 
cists who  were  members  of  the  college. 
Among  these,  Daniel  B.  Smith,  who  was  the  third  president 
of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  was  a  warm  advocate  of 
professional  pharmacy,  and  also  of  systematic  inspection  of  the  sev- 
eral stores.  In  an  address,  delivered  to  the  first  class  to  receive  the 
degree  of  Ph.G.  (A.  J.  P.,  vol.  r,  page  243),  in  referring  to  the  needs 
and  wants  of  pharmacists,  he  said:  "  Before  we  can  assume  to  com. 
pete  with  kindred  institutions  of  the  Old  World,  our  system  of  scien- 
tific instruction  must  be  extended  to  other  branches  of  natural  his- 
tory, and  rendered  more  thorough  and  minute  in  those  which  are 
already  taught.  Our  members  must  be  willing  to  subject  the  con- 
tents of  their  shops  to  periodical  scrutiny  by  impartial  and  compe- 
tent judges.  The  College  must  exercise  a  vigilant  police  over  the 
market  for  drugs,  and  over  the  weights  and  measures  used  in  the 
administration  of  medicines." 
While  it  is  true  that  none  of  the  colleges  of  pharmacy  in  this 
country  have  ever  essayed  to  comply  with  the  high  standard  of 
excellence  outlined  by  Daniel  B.  Smith,  in  his  address,  they  did, 
during  the  first  decades  of  their  existence,  contribute  materially  to 
improve  the  quality  of  the  drugs  and  medicines  sold  in  the  cities 
along  the  Atlantic  Coast. 
As  is  well  known,  it  was  not  until  1848  that  Congress  passed  a 
law,  which  is  still  in  operation,  to  prevent  the  importation  of  grossly 
adulterated  or  sophisticated  drugs  and  medicines. 
Much  of  the  credit  for"  bringing  about  this  desirable  piece  ot 
legislation  is  due  to  the  then  newly-organized  American  Medical 
Association.  This  association  at  its  first  annual  meeting,  in 
Baltimore,  1848,  had  presented  to  it  a  lengthy  report  on  "The 
adulteration  of  drugs  and  medicines,"  and  in  turn  adopted  a  spirited 
set  of  resolutions  which  were  addressed  as  a  memorial  "  To  the 
Honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  in  Congress 
assembled,"  endorsing  the  bill  which  was  then  pending,  to  exclude 
fraudulent  drugs  and  medicines  from  this  country. 
In  the  years  immediately  succeeding,  reports  on  the  adulterations 
of  drugs  and  medicines  were  made  an  annual  feature  of  the  Associa- 
tion's work.  These  reports,  at  the  present  time,  constitute  a  veri- 
table mine  of  information  as  to  the  practices  of  unscrupulous  dealers 
