46  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.     { A7anuarv  ^9"m' 
and  Chemistry  by  Medical  Men,"  Dr.  Alfred  Stengel  pointed  out 
that  the  present  work  of  the  Council  was  largely  in  the  nature  of  a 
compromise  with  manufacturers,  and  would,  no  doubt,  lead  up  to 
more  satisfactory  conditions  in  the  future.  Dr.  Stengel  also  said 
that  the  opposition  that  had  existed  to  the  Council  was  largely 
due  to  ignorance  or  cupidity  and  was  fast  giving  way  to  a  healthy 
sentiment  of  endorsement,  as  the  object  and  the  aims  of  the  Council 
were  becoming  more  fully  understood. 
Dr.  Stengel  thought  that  while  physicians  had  been  remiss  in 
allowing  themselves  to  be  imposed  on  by  detail  men,  pharmacists 
had  also  been  remiss  in  not  keeping  physicians  informed  of  the  mis- 
leading statements  that  were  being  made  in  connection  with  these 
supposedly  new  remedies.  He  pointed  out  the  danger  of  including 
advertising  material  of  other,  at  times  dangerously  potent,  prepara- 
tions with  articles  designed  for  popular  consumption,  and  related 
an  experience  that  he  had  had  with  a  patient  who  had  a  well -devel- 
oped idiosyncrasy  for  chloral.  Dr.  Stengel  also  made  a  strong  plea 
for  the  adoption  of  short,  easily  remembered,  or  catchy  names  for 
official  or  semi-official  articles,  and  expressed  the  belief  that  this  was 
one  of  the  strongest  reasons  for  the  popularity  of  nostrums. 
Professor  La  Wall,  in  speaking  of  "  The  Effect  of  Publicity  on 
the  Standing  and  the  Use  of  Nostrums,"  referred  to  the  exposures 
of  the  composition  of  so-called  ethical  proprietary  preparations  that 
had  been  made  by  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
and  also  called  attention  to  the  work  that  had  been  done  in  connec- 
tion with  popular  nostrums  by  Mr.  Samuel  Hopkins  Adams,  in 
Collier's  Weekly.    (See  this  Journal,  p.  29.) 
The  concluding  paper  on  the  program,  "  The  Needs  of  the 
Council,"  was  contributed  by  Prof.  W.  A.  Puckner,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  and  outlines  how  and  why  pharmacists  should  contribute 
to  the  work  that  is  now  being  undertaken  by  the  Council.  (See  this 
Journal,  December,  1906,  p.  584.) 
As  noted  before,  quite  a  number  of  the  members  present  took  part 
in  the  general  discussion. 
Mr.  John  K.  Thum  said  that  a  pharmacist  should  be  a  scientist 
and  as  such  should  aspire  to  discover  and  to  disseminate  the  truth* 
He  should,  himself,  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  contents 
of  the  U.S.P.  and  of  the  N.F.  so  that  he  would  at  all  times  be  pre- 
