6 
NATIONAL  PHARMACEUTICAL  CONVENTION. 
tlemen  could  gain  admittance  by  courtesy  through  the  Credential 
Committee.  They  further  argued,  that  if  the  door  was  thrown 
open  as  widely  as  suggested  in  the  second  draft,  the  action  of  the 
association  could  be  influenced  by  the  ingress  of  members  from 
large  cities,  who  might  be  wholly  disconnected  with  the  Societies 
in  those  cities  and  inimical  to  them.  They  thought  that  by  ad- 
hering to  the  representative  basis,  Societies  in  cities,  by  extend- 
ing their  connections  through  small  towns  by  means  of  associate 
members,  would  be  enabled  to  extend  their  usefulness,  and  by  au- 
thorizing said  associations,  as  delegates,  a  larger  surface  of  the  pro- 
fession could  be  represented  ;  besides,  by  thus  giving  the  right  of 
membership  to  the  members  of  organized  bodies,  it  would  be  an 
inducement  for  apothecaries  to  form  associations. 
The  other  part  of  the  members  advocated  the  second  draft,  or 
something  equivalent.  They  believed,  in  the  present  condition  of 
Pharmacy  in  the  United  States,  that  a  liberal  basis  should  be 
adopted.  Their  faith  in  the  good  intentions  of  the  mass  of  the 
apothecaries  and  druggists  was  sufficient  to  induce  them  to  throw 
open  the  doors  and  let  all  enter  who  could  bring  certificates  of 
their  good  standing  at  home,  and  who  were  willing  to  sign  the 
Constitution  and  Code  of  Ethics,  after  having  carefully  considered 
them.  They  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  second  section  of  the 
first  draft  would  cut  off  all  the  apothecaries  from  cities  where  col- 
leges or  societies  exist,  except  the  few  delegates  appointed  by 
the  societies,  many  of  whom  would  naturally  desire  to  participate. 
They  viewed  the  delegations  from  colleges  as  present  in  a  two  fold 
capacity  :  1st,  as  representatives  of  the  interests  of  their  institu- 
tions in  any  movements  of  the  National  Association  affecting 
them;  and  2d,  as  members  of  that  Association  in  their  individual 
capacity,  looking  to  the  general  interests  of  the  pharmaceutical  pro- 
fession. They  therefore  considered  that  the  association  should  be  in- 
dependent of  all  local  bodies,  at  the  same  time  that  the  latter 
through  their  delegates  could  act  in  and  with  the  association  if 
they  desired.  They  believed  if  the  liberal  view  was  adopted,  that 
even  gentlemen  of  the  opposite  opinion  would  find  that  too  few 
instead  of  too  many  would  avail  themselves  of  the  opening. 
The  second  draft,  after  being  amended  by  the  addition  to  its 
final  paragraph  of  the  words  "  provided  they  are  introduced  by 
the  Committee  on  Credentials,"  was  finally  adopted. 
i 
