432  PHARMACY  IN  GERMANY  AND  PRUSSIA. 
ceutist  being  required  to  write  upon  the  prescription  the  price 
of  the  medicine,  he  thus,  if  he  makes  too  high  a  charge,  writes 
his  own  merited  condemnation. 
In  case  of  any  overcharge  being  made — which  is,  however, 
very  rare — the  pharmaceutist  has  to  pay  a  fine,  the  amount  of 
which  depends  upon  that  of  the  overcharge.  It  varies,  moreover, 
in  different  states,  but  is  also  proportionately  heavier  when  the 
overcharge  is  considerable.  It  is  obvious  that  in  the  face  of 
such  a  simple  means  of  detection,  the  pharmaceutist  will  not 
willingly  venture  to  lay  himself  open  to  the  infliction  of  a  penalty, 
which  may  be  attended  with  a  loss  of  his  concession. 
The  pharmaceutist  is  not  allowed  to  make  a  charge  below  the 
tariff  any  more  than  above  it.  The  law  having  by  the  Pharma- 
copoeia fixed  the  composition  of  each  medicine,  the  mode  of  pre- 
paring it,  and  such  a  value  as  leaves  to  the  pharmaceutist  a  rea- 
sonable remuneration  for  his  labor,  does  not  recognize  the  pos- 
sibility of  his  selling  them  for  less  than  the  regulated  price  with- 
out deteriorating  their  quality.  He  is  not  indeed  prevented 
from  exercising  charity,  but  he  must  not,  in  the  exercise  of  his 
profession,  commit  any  act  which  would  afford  grounds  for  sus- 
picion. 
Such  a  tariff  certainly  appears  to  be  a  most  arbitrary  imposi- 
tion when  regarded  in  the  light  in  which  we  are  accustomed  in 
France  to  look  upon  free  competition  in  all  matters  of  industry 
and  commerce.  But  if  the  question  is  examined  apart  from  any 
prejudice  in  favor  of  that  principle  of  liberty  which  obtains  in 
our  commercial  legislation ;  if,  without  any  preconceived  ideas 
on  the  subject,  it  is  examined  in  a  practical  point  of  view  and 
with  regard  exclusively  to  the  interests  of  the  public,  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  conviction  that  the  system  of  restricted 
liberty  adopted  in  Germany  for  the  sale  of  medicines  is  prefer- 
able to  that  of  absolute  liberty  which  exists  in  France.  In  fact, 
free  competition,  such  as  is  generally  practised  in  commerce,  is 
altogether  inapplicable  to  Pharmacy,  and  may  produce,  as  it  has 
done  in  commerce,  the  most  disastrous  results. 
The  advantages  which  are  attributed  to  competition  in  affairs 
of  industry  and  commerce  are  the  greater  cheapness  and  im- 
provement of  the  products.  But  the  possibility  of  excelling 
others  in  advancing  any  branch  of  industry  and  selling  at  a 
