Am.  Jour.  Pharru.  \ 
March,  1907.  / 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
129 
been  introduced  in  upwards  of  ten  of  the  State  legislatures  now  in 
session.  This  bill,  originally  published  in  the  Ladies'  Home  Journal 
about  a  year  ago,  is  essentially  a  formula  on  the  label  bill  and  pro. 
vides,  in  addition,  that  preparations  containing  one  or  more  of 
certain  specified  drugs  be  labeled  poison. 
Anti-narcotic  legislation  is  also  receiving  a  fair  proportion  of  atten- 
tion. The  most  drastic  ot  these  measures  is  probably  the  one  that 
has  been  introduced  into  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
at  the  instance  of  the  Evening  Journal.  This  bill  prohibits  the  sale 
of  opium,  chloral,  cocaine,  eucaine  or  acetanilid,  or  any  preparation 
containing  them,  except  on  the  original  written  prescription  of  a 
physician,  dentist  or  veterinarian. 
In  several  States,  notably  Texas  and  Missouri,  bills  are  pending 
that  are  designed  to  improve  or  to  revise  the  laws  governing  the 
practice  of  pharmacy. 
Patent  Reform  Bill. — Representative  Currier,  Chairman  of  the 
House  Committee  on  Patents,  has  introduced  a  bill  to  substitute  the 
much  discussed  Mann  bill.  This  bill,  popularly  known  as  the 
Currier  bill,  is  practically  a  revival  of  the  reciprocity  feature  of  the 
original  Mann  bill,  but  is  not  restricted  to  medicine,  or  medicinal 
products  and  includes  patents  of  all  kinds. 
The  Currier  bill  provides:  That  any  patent  issued  to  a  citizen 
or  subject  of  a  foreign  country,  shall  be  upon  the  same  conditions 
and  for  the  same  term  as  are  patents  issued  by  such  country  to 
citizens  of  the  United  States." 
This  single  provision,  it  is  said,  would  effectually  correct  the  evils 
arising  from  our  present  system  of  process  and  product  patents,  but 
would  be  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  International  Convention  for 
the  protection  of  industrial  property  and  will  no  doubt  be  vigor- 
ously opposed  on  this  ground. 
Incorporation  of  the  Public  Health  Defense  League.  A  bill  has 
been  introduced  into  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  pro- 
viding for  the  incorporation  of  the  Public  Health  Defense  League, 
under  a  special  charter  patterned  after  that  of  the  Red  Cross 
Society. 
The  object  of  this  new  society  is  announced  as  being  an  organ- 
ized movement  against  medical  and  surgical  quacks,  frauds  in  patent 
medicines  or  nostrums,  and  an  effort  to  obtain  and  to  disseminate 
accurate  information  concerning  practices  and  conditions  of  every 
