360  Emphasizing  Value  of  Pharmacy.    {Am- J^v'^tm' 
are  characterized  by  environments  and  the  inclinations  of  the  owners, 
how  these  are  constituted,  what  proportion  of  the  business  is  com- 
mercial or  professional  varies  accordingly,  and  your  information  on 
the  subject  is  likely  more  authentic  than  mine.  This  much  may  be 
said,  however;  that  the  necessity  for  a  living  profit  or  desire  for 
doing  a  large  volume  of  business  has  developed  the  commercial  side 
of  the  drug  business  relatively  more  than  the  professional.  This 
is  a  natural  sequence,  predominating  attention  to  one  side  must  of 
necessity  weaken  the  other,  and  economic  conditions  have  had  a 
large  part  in  shaping  the  drug  business.  In  the  constant  attention 
to  the  development  of  the  business  there  is  apt  to  be  a  neglect  of 
pharmacy,  but  it  has  or  deserves  to  have  a  more  important  place 
in  the  drug  business  than  the  immediate  revenue  which  may  be 
derived  from  it  warrants,  but  there  is  another  side  to  the  proposi- 
tion. The  public  buys  merchandise  in  drug  stores  because  of  their 
convenient  locations  and  services ;  there  is,  however,  the  dominance 
of  well-founded  opinion,  that  accuracy  and  dependability  obtain  in 
connection  with  pharmacy.  This  contributory  value  or  asset  de- 
serves our  thoughtful  consideration,  we  need  more  of  the  spirit  of 
pharmacy.  However  much  our  efforts  may  be  directed  toward  an 
increasing  trade,  whenever  special  or  selective  privileges  are  desired, 
we  at  once  turn  our  attention  to  the  argument  that  we  are  pharma- 
cists, that  special  training  has  qualified  us  for  certain  work  that 
should  only  be  delegated  to  pharmacists.  Pharmacy  is  the  alma 
mater  of  the  drug  business,  and  is  entitled  to  our  constant  con- 
sideration, not  only  in  time  of  trouble  when  there  is  urgency  for  a 
qualified  witness  in  our  behalf.  Pharmacy  may  need  the  side-lines 
of  the  drug  business  for  its  continuance,  but  surely  the  successful 
conduct  of  these  departments  is  dependent  on  pharmacy.  Repeat- 
ing, the  importance  of  the  professional  side  of  the  drug  business 
cannot  be  measured  by  the  direct  income  supplied  thereby  but  more 
so  in  that  pharmacy  characterizes  the  business. 
Another  thought :  in  the  constant  application  to  business  affairs 
we  forget  those  who  are  more  intensely  devoted  to  the  research 
work  of  pharmacy  and  lend  only  little  encouragement  to  our  phar- 
macy schools.  The  value  of  pharmacy  to  the  world  rests  not  only 
on  our  own  efforts,  but  on  the  labors  of  those  who  make  and  have 
made  present-day  progress  attainable.  We  should  not  be  unmind- 
ful of  those  of  our  profession  whose  achievements  have  influenced 
pharmacy  and  the  related  industries  and  of  those  whose  discoveries 
