Am'jJuiUyr;i?94arm-}        The  "Cutter "  and  the  Remedy.  .333 
cals  and  simpler  chemicals,  but  all  of  those  household  remedies  for 
which  there  is  always  a  demand.  Let  his  laboratory  command 
more  of  his  time,  thought  and  attention  than  his  soda  fountain. 
Let  us  take  counsel  of  the  methods  of  the  manufacturer.  Let  us 
adopt  his  plan,  and  present  to  our  physicians  samples  of  National 
Formulary  products.  This  is  one  of  the  ways,  at  least,  in  which  it 
can  be  made  to  serve  the  purpose  of  its  publication. 
Will  you  try  it? 
THE  «  CUTTER  "  AND  THE  REMEDY. 
By  J.  H.  Rkdseckkr,  Lebanon,  Pa. 
Read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association,  June  14,  1894. 
The  druggist,  dealing  as  he  does  in  medicines  and  medical  appli- 
ances, seems  to  be  the  natural  channel  for  the  distribution  of  pro- 
prietary remedies.  The  retail  prices  of  these  goods  are  fixed  by 
the  manufacturer,  and  the  public  have  willingly  paid  the  established 
prices  without  murmur  or  complaint.  When  we  remember  that  many 
of  them  are  slow  sellers,  that  they  must  be  kept  and  are  often  dead 
stock  on  the  dealer's  hands,  the  margin  of  profit  they  have  afforded 
was  none  too  much.  Within  recent  years,  however,  the  cutting  of 
the  prices  of  these  preparations  has  been  inaugurated,  and  that  it 
has  been  an  injury  to  the  trade  is  beyond  question,  as  druggists 
have  been  compelled  to  handle  this  class  of  goods  without  any 
margin  of  profit  whatever. 
That  there  must  be  legitimate  profit  in  all  business  will  be  readily 
admitted,  for  without  it  the  business  man  could  not  live,  pay  his 
clerks,  his  taxes  and  the  obligations  he  owes  to  his  family.  When 
some  of  our  inventors  succeed  in  discovering  a  way  by  which  we 
may  dispense  with  the  "  butcher,  the  baker  and  the  candlestick 
maker,"  not  to  say  other  necessary  craftsmen,  may  we  hope  to  do 
business  without  profit  and  sustain  life. 
Various  plans  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  proposed  to  prevent 
cutting  in  prices  of  these  so-called  patent  or  proprietary  medicines, 
but  thus  far  without  producing  the  desired  results.  To  suggest  a 
remedy  now  seems  almost  a  hopeless  task.  The  old  adage,  "  that 
fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread,"  may  find  a  parallel  in  the 
task  I  have  undertaken  in  proposing  a  remedy  for  this  evil  of 
cutting. 
