^ecimbeS™'}      Circular  Letter  to  Pharmacists.  60 1 
Batavia  cinnamon,  which  was  in  the  market  at  one  time,  was  destitute  of 
•any  cinnamon  flavor,  and  was  even  mucilaginous. 
But  those  who  deal  in  spices  largely  are  now  in  the  habit  of  adding  saigon 
cinnamon  to  the  ordinary  cassias  when  having  them  ground — and  those  who 
use  this  spice  (the  bakers)  find  "this  cinnamon  to  give  the  flavor  they  require 
for  their  business.  It  was  thought  that  the  low-grade  cassias  had  been  already 
partly  deprived  of  their  flavor  before  being  seut  abroad — another  instance  of 
Chinese  sharpness  of  a  vicious  kind. 
The  Committee  on  Tax-free  Alcohol  reported  progress,  and  presented  a 
circular  letter  (see  below),  which  they  are  sending  to  pharmacists  throughout 
this  section  of  the  United  States. 
Specimens  of  different  varieties  of  petrolatum  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  Jos.  W. 
England,  and  attention  was  called  to  them. 
There  being  no  further  business,  an  adjournment  was  ordered. 
T.  S.  Wiegand,  Registrar. 
CIRCULAR  LETTER  TO  PHARMACISTS. 
committee  on  alcohol  legislation. 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
145  north  tenth  street,  philadelphia. 
Dear  Sir  : — At  a  meeting  of  Pharmacists  held  at  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy  on  Tuesday,  October  16,  1894,  the  section  of  the  Tariff  Bill 
enacted  on  August  28  last,  relating  to  the  repayment  of  tax  on  alcohol  used 
for  manufacturing  purposes  was  discussed. 
The  section  reads  as  follows  : 
"Section  61. — Any  manufacturer  finding  it  necessary  to  use  alcohol  in  the 
arts,  or  in  any  medicinal  or  other  like  compound,  may  use  the  same  under 
regulations  to  be  prescribed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  on  satisfying 
the  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  district  wherein  he  resides  or  carries 
on  business  that  he  has  complied  with  such  regulations  and  has  used  such 
alcohol  therein,  and  exhibiting  and  delivering  up  the  stamps  which  show  that 
a  tax  has  been  paid  thereon,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  a  rebate  or  re-payment  of  the  tax  so  paid." 
Resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  asserting  the  desirability  of  having 
enforced  the  law  relating  to  rebate  of  tax  on  alcohol  used  in  making  medicinal 
preparations.  The  members  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  placed 
themselves  on  record  as  favoring  tax-free  alcohol  for  manufacturing  purposes, 
and  urged  pharmacists  to  work  in  the  interest  of  having  the  law  retained 
and  enforced,  instead  of  being  repealed. 
At  that  meeting  the  undersigned  were  appointed  a  committee  to  place  the 
question  of  tax-free  alcohol  before  the  retail  pharmacists  of  the  country,  and  to 
endeavor  to  have  their  views  upon  this  matter  of  vital  interest  to  their  business 
properly  presented  to  Congress  and  the  executive  officers  of  the  Government. 
It  was  stated  that  the  wholesaler,  the  manufacturing  pharmacist  and  the 
patent  medicine  manufacturer  had  all  preseuted  their  views,  but  that  retail 
