142  Editorial  Notes  and  Comments.  {AmMJa°rchri>mrm' 
remarks  on  the  ideal  pharmacopoeia,  which  he  considers  to  be  "  an 
up-to-date  treatise  that  contains  concise  information  with  regard  to 
every  drug  and  preparation  the  modern  physician  may  want  to 
prescribe  and  which  the  pharmacist  is  called  upon  to  dispense  ; 
not  only  of  those  which  are  regarded  as  <  sufficiently  important  to 
be  made  official.' 
u  The  ideal  pharmacopoeia  is  one  that  changes  with  every  step 
of  scientific  progress,  the  change  to  be  made  as  rapidly  as  is  con- 
sistent with  good  work  and  in  doubtful  cases  with  the  best  judg- 
ment of  the  Revision  Committee.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  to 
revise  the  entire  book  each  year  or  oftener.  The  new  revised  edi- 
tion being  published,  the  Committee  should  issue  circulars  with 
regard  to  changes  or  additions  to  be  made.  These  could  either 
be  inserted  into  the  book,  so  bound  as  to  provide  for  such  addi- 
tions or  changes,  or  at  the  end  of  each  year  an  addendum  could 
be  issued  comprising  all  of  the  information  of  the  circulars.  When- 
ever demanded,  a  new  revised  edition  could  be  issued.  There  is  no 
reason  why  pharmacopoeias  should  not  be  completely  revised  as 
often  as  our  present  dispensatories." 
THE  WAR  REVENUE  TAX. 
It  is  generally  known  that  the  normal  receipts  from  the  war  tax 
are  far  in  excess  of  what  is  necessary,  and  the  public  expect  that 
Congress  will  certainly  at  this  session  at  least  amend  the  act  creat- 
ing this  revenue  so  as  to  strike  out  those  things  that  cause  annoy- 
ance and  trouble  without  producing  very  large  revenues  to  the 
government.  It  ought  to  be  said,  moreover,  that  the  tax  on 
medicinal  preparations  falls  with  crushing  weight  upon  the  retail 
pharmacists  of  the  country,  and  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
Chicago  Retail  Druggists'  Association,  at  a  meeting  held  January 
30,  1900,  speak  really  the  sentiment  of  every  retail  druggist  in  the 
United  States,  and  it  is  hoped  that  Congress  will  come  to  their  re- 
lief. We  have  already  referred  to  this  matter  editorially  (see  this 
Journal,  1898,  pp.  354  and  625),  in  the  first  case  favoring  the  act, 
considering  the  emergencies  of  the  case,  and  secondly  recommending 
its  amendment.  The  resolutions  as  adopted  by  the  Chicago  Re- 
tail Druggists'  Association  are  as  follows : 
"  Resolved,  By  the  Chicago  Retail  Druggists'  Association,  repre- 
senting 900  druggists  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  that  there  is  no 
