526     National  Wholesale  Druggists  Association.  {A^^k^X 
This  regulation  of  prices  has  frequently  been  referred  to  as  a 
"trust."  In  the  article  heretofore  referred  to,  I  used  the  following 
language,  which  I  think  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  quote  at  this  time : 
"Even  some  of  our  drug  trade  papers,  who  ought  to  know  better,, 
have  here  and  there  expressed  a  doubt  about  our  being  free  from 
objectionable  methods,  and  it  is  certain  that,  notwithstanding  the 
continued  efforts  by  our  association  to  assist  the  retailers  in  their 
struggle  against  unlimited  competition,  which  was  recently  aptly 
characterized  in  a  public  utterance  as  'a  perfect  devil's  game/  we 
are  suspected  of  being  utterly  selfish  by  a  considerable  portion  of 
your  readers. 
"  Being,  therefore,  maligned  by  the  public  press,  and,  to  say  the 
least,  misunderstood  by  some  in  the  trade,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  bring  before  your  readers  the  facts  concerning  our  work. 
In  that  portion  of  this  article  supplied  by  Mr.  Merriam  the  condition 
of  the  wholesale  drug  trade  which  led  to  the  formation  of  our 
association  has  already  been  fully  explained.  The  error  of  the 
maxim  that  'competition  is  the  life  of  trade '  had  already  been  dis- 
covered, and  it  could  truly  be  said  in  1 876,  as  it  can  to-day,  that,  if 
unrestricted,  it  would  also  be  its  death.  The  conditions  were  not 
solely  of  our  making,  but  were  largely  the  result  of  barbarism  in> 
commerce,  as  in  the  uncivilized  times  and  countries  there  were  bar- 
barisms in  war ;  while  in  our  own  country  the  instruments  of  war 
had  been  changed  into  ploughshares  and  pruning  hooks,  war  itself 
was  transferred  from  the  battlefields  to  the  counting  house.  To- 
correct  this,  as  far  as  in  our  power  lay,  an  association  was  formed,, 
which  has  been  signally  and  continuously  successful,  because  it  so 
largely  devotes  itself  to  efforts  to  correct  'excessive  and  unmer- 
cantile  competition,'  and  because  it  seeks  '  to  remove  by  concert  of 
action  all  evils  and  customs  that  are  against  good  policy  and  sound 
business  principles.' 
"  So  long  as  our  actions  continue  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  above 
declaration  of  principles  contained  in  our  preamble,  we  will  not  be 
likely  to  become  less  influential  than  heretofore  in  our  own  trade, 
nor  in  the  larger  field  of  commerce  of  which  we  are  a  part." 
While  the  work  of  the  Proprietary  Committee  has  been  of  the 
greatest  possible  value  both  to  the  wholesale  and  the  retail  druggists 
of  this  country,  the  work  which  some  of  the  other  committees  have 
performed  has  certainly  been  far-reaching  in  its  influence.  The 
