526 
Pharmaceu tical  Servic e . 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
<-   November,  19 17. 
tice  render  homage."  He  states  "this  work  of  M.  Varenne  makes 
us  love  and  respect  this  select  corps  which  have  contributed,  in  their 
modest  sphere,  most  eminent  service  to  save  the  country."  No  one 
reading  even  the  preface  of  this  book  should  longer  doubt  the  im- 
portance of  the  pharmaceutical  corps  in  modern  warfare  and  the 
absolute  necessity  for  such  service  to  protect  the  health  and  lives 
of  the  troops. 
PHARMACISTS  AND  THE  WAR. 
By  H.  M.  Whelpley,  Ph.M.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
(Read  at  the  1917  meeting  of  the  Missouri  Pharmaceutical  Association.) 
Twelve  months  ago  we  met  here  and  expressed  privately  our 
opinions  of  the  human  slaughter  then  going  on  in  the  old  world. 
Since  then,  the  war  cloud  has  extended  until  it  is  now  easier  to  name 
the  countries  that  are  at  peace  than  it  is  to  enumerate  the  ones  en- 
gaged in  the  greatest  and  gravest  of  all  human  conflicts.  One  year 
ago  we  congratulated  ourselves  that  the  United  States  was  not  in  the 
struggle.  Now  we  are  preparing  to  enact  the  most  important  part 
in  "  making  the  world  safe  for  democracy."  These  are,  indeed, 
momentous  days.  The  entire  Western  World  will  likely  be  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  contest  before  our  next  Missouri  Pharmaceutical 
Association  convention.  The  six  weeks'  war  which  started  in  1914 
may  continue  far  past  that  number  of  years.  These  are  thought- 
provoking  times  for  every  citizen.  The  words  "  citizen "  and 
"  alien  "  have  assumed  a  new  and  grave  significance.  It  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  recognize  our  duty  to  our  country  and  to  the  human  race 
in  our  determination  of  "  setting  the  world  free."  But  we  are 
pharmacists  by  training  and  occupation.  The  retailer  has  long  prac- 
tised serving  the  public.  How  can  pharmacists  now  serve  their 
country?  What  more  have  they  to  offer  than  physical  fitness  and 
eligible  age?  Will  the  pharmacists  of  the  United  States,  as  the 
years  of  war  go  on,  be  found  digging  trenches  "  somewhere  in 
Europe  "  or  will  they  contribute  service  dependent  on  pharmaceu- 
tical skill  and  knowledge? 
Unfortunately,  our  own  government  does  not  give  pharmacists 
the  recognition  in  a  war  that  they  receive  in  France,  Italy,  Japan 
and  Germany.    But  that  recognition  may  come  before  this  long- 
