Am.  Jour.  Pharm.] 
February,  19 17. 
Martin  I.  Wilbert. 
55 
logical  man  for  the  position.  He  was  repeatedly  reelected  to  this 
position  and  held  it  up  to  the  time  that  he  went  to  Washington. 
Few  could  resist  his  infectious  leadership  and  everyone  of  the 
membership  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel  and  strived  to  put  phar- 
macy on  a  higher  and  better  plane.  I  am  sure  that  many  of  the 
thinking  men  in  medicine  and  pharmacy  in  this  city  will  agree  with 
me  when  I  say  that  his  whole  influence  was  directed  to  bringing 
about  better  relations  between  the  physicians  and  pharmacists,  not 
only  in  this  City,  but  in  the  whole  State,  and  he  to  a  very  large  ex- 
tent succeeded. 
But  Dr.  Wilbert  always  held  that  such  improved  relationship 
could  not  be  brought  about  and  held,  without  a  realization  on  the 
part  of  pharmacists  of  their  shortcomings  and  an  honest  en- 
deavor on  their  part  to  overcome  them.  He  always  freely  acknowl- 
edged that  there  were  many  pharmacists  who  were  of  a  high- water 
mark,  but  he  always  insisted,  with  fearless  emphasis,  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  more  intelligent  and  better  type  of  men  in  pharmacy, 
not  to  be  merely  content  with  the  example  they  set  to  the  rank  and 
file  of  pharmacy,  but  to  organize,  point  the  way,  and  lead  it  to  better 
things. 
Bodies  of  men,  if  they  would  accomplish  the  fullest  measure  of 
their  usefulness,  must  have,  like  individuals,  an  ideal  and  strive  to 
attain  it.  There  could  be  no  civilization  otherwise.  In  proportion 
as  the  nation  has  this  spirit,  just  in  such  measure  will  it  be  able 
to  render  real  service  to  itself  and  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  Dr.  Wil- 
bert had  ideals  and  I  believe  he  came  as  near  to  living  up  to  them 
as  any  man  ever  did.  Moreover,  he  sincerely  believed  it  was  his 
bounden  duty  to  make  others  see  the  light  as  he  saw  it. 
Unlike  many  men  with  ideals  he  was  of  a  most  practical  turn  of 
mind.  This  was  very  forcibly  impressed  on  many  when  he  sug- 
gested, immediately  after  the  Philadelphia  Branch  of  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Association  was  organized,  that  a  systematic  attempt  be 
made  to  bring  before  physicians  the  desirability  of  prescribing  the 
really  useful  drugs  and  preparations  of  the  United  States  Phar- 
macopoeia and  National  Formulary  in  preference  to  the  many  unde- 
sirable proprietaries  on  the  market.  He  advocated  that  the  pharma- 
cist equip  himself  in  every  way  so  that  he  could  advise  his  medical 
clientele  in  an  intelligent  manner  when  he  made  his  plea  for  their 
support ;  to  fit  himself  so  that  his  argument,  that  it  was  advantageous 
to  both  patient  and  physician,  that  the  latter  know  something  of  drugs 
