104         Standards  in  Pharmaceutical  Education.  {AmMS',So7.rm' 
natural  ability,  they  should  be  advised  to  go  back  to  school,  but  if 
they  belong  to  the  shiftless  class,  they  should  above  all  things  not  be 
allowed  to  ally  themselves  with  pharmacy.  No,  this  is  not  the  place 
for  the  exercise  of  charity,  particularly  when  we  think  of  our  obli- 
gations to  the  great  public  who  have  so  long  and  so  implicitly 
trusted  us. 
COLLEGE  COURSES. 
Having  once  eliminated  the  unfit,  the  next  highest  duty  of  the 
colleges  of  pharmacy  is  to  qualify  their  students  for  the  work  that 
they  may  be  called  upon  to  do.  This  may  seem  like  a  very  trite 
saying  to  some  of  you,  and  yet  I  feel  warranted  in  its  utterance. 
We  have  reached  a  crisis  in  pharmaceutical  history,  and  if  the  phar- 
macist is  to  continue  a  separate  and  independent  existence  it  must 
be  on  the  basis  of  his  scientific  attainments.  The  pharmacist  has 
felt  his  hampered  position  for  some  time,  but  now  that  the  Pure 
Food  and  Drugs  Act  has  become  effective,  we  are  face  to  face  with 
the  issue.  With  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  and  the  National 
Formulary  as  the  legal  standards  he  will  now  be  held  responsible 
for  the  identity  and  quality  of  the  drugs  which  he  sells.  The  ques- 
tion then  is,  will  he  assume  this  responsibility,  and  pronounce  finally 
on  the  quality  and  efficiency  of  the  drugs  and  medicines  which  he 
dispenses,  or  will  he  shift  this  responsibility  whenever  possible  ?  If 
he  adopts  the  latter  course,  then  will  he  lose  in  importance  and 
standing  to  that  extent. 
By  the  adoption  of  the  Pure  Food  and  Drugs  Act  both  the 
responsibility  and  the  obligation  of  the  pharmacist  are  increased  and 
added  importance  must  attach  to  his  position.  He  should  take  as 
much  pride  in  his  ability  to  pronounce  upon  the  quality  of  an  article 
guaranteed  by  the  manufacturer,  or  in  making  a  preparation  which 
he  himself  guarantees,  as  he  has  heretofore  taken  in  his  ability  to 
decide  upon  the  compatibility,  or  to  question  the  dosage,  of  a  pre- 
scription. He  must  stand  between  the  manufacturer  and  the  phy- 
sician as  he  has  stood  between  the  physician  and  the  public.  Too 
much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  this  direction,  for  the  manufac- 
turer's guarantee  may  in  some  instances  prove  to  be  only  a  label. 
To  do  work  of  this  kind  means  that  the  pharmacist  shall  be  a 
master  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  that  he  shall  be  able  to  identify  any 
substance  in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  carry  out  any  of  the  tests,  and  make 
