Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January,  19 17.  -* 
Editorial. 
39 
are  enacted  and  they  should  also  in  some  way  benefit  the  druggist." 
In  those  states  where  prerequisite  laws  have  been  enacted  there  has 
never  been  the  slightest  desire  to  repeal  such  legislation,  for  it  has 
been  found  not  only  helpful  to  the  pharmacists  themselves,  but  of 
incalculable  benefit  to  the  public.  All  legislation  which  is  not  built 
on  the  bed  rock  of  the  necessity  of  prerequisite  educational  require- 
ments, tends  to  the  multiplication  of  drug  stores  and  the  demoraliza- 
tion of  the  practice  of  pharmacy.  The  failure  to  see  this  has  been 
the  chief  cause  in  preventing  the  universal  elevation  of  the  apothe- 
cary in  the  United  States  and  has  caused  the  multiplication  of  evils 
connected  with  pharmacy.  The  time  has  gone  by  when  any  but  the 
thoroughly  educated  applicant  can  be  considered  competent  to  own 
and  conduct  a  drug  store.  It  long  has  been  known,  as  was  ex- 
pressed by  Hallberg  in  1893,  that  "the  average  young  man  with  two 
or  three  years  experience  in  four  or  five  different  drug  stores,  by  in- 
vesting a  few  dollars  in  quiz  compends  and  watching  the  journals 
for  the  publication  of  questions,  finds  it  a  comparatively  easy  matter 
to  pass  a  Board  of  Pharmacy  Examination  at  the  third  or  at  the 
most  the  fifth  time,  that  he  applies." 
The  recent  report  issued  by  the  Legislative  Committee  of  the 
Minnesota  State  Pharmaceutical  Association  is  of  more  than  local 
interest.  Three  fourths  of  the  active  registered  pharmacists  of  that 
state  have  voted  on  the  question  of  having  a  prerequisite  pharma- 
ceutical education  bill  introduced  in  the  coming  session  of  the  Min- 
nesota Legislature,  and  approximately  80  per  cent,  of  those  voting 
favor  the  proposed  measure. 
The  following  table  is  of  interest  in  showing  how  Minnesota 
pharmacists  voted  on  the  matter  of  introducing  a  Prerequisite  Phar- 
maceutical Education  Bill  in  the  next  session  of  the  Minnesota  Legis- 
lature (see  page  40). 
The  problems  of  Minnesota  pharmacists  are  similar  to  those 
which  other  pharmacists  are  giving  much  thought  to  at  the  present 
time.  The  sale  of  drugs  and  medicines  by  peddlers  and 'other  un 
qualified  merchants,  dispensing  by  physicians,  the  supply  of  con. 
petent  drug  clerks,  the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  drug  stores, 
and  the  methods  to  be  employed  for  training  the  future  pharmacists 
are  all  questions  which  cannot  possibly  be  satisfactorily  adjusted  un- 
til pharmacy  is  placed  upon  a  sound  professional  basis. 
These  questions  furthermore  are  public-health  problems,  for  the 
practice  of  pharmacy  stands  next  to  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
