Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
December,  1900.  J 
Editorial. 
60 1 
One  of  the  earliest  papers  of  Dr.  Squibb  is  published  in  this 
Journal,  1855,  p.  294,  entitled  "  Preparation  ot  Citrate  of  Iron  and 
Quinia  and  its  Constituents."  The  paper  and  the  subsequent  con- 
troversy with  one  of  the  most  successful  manufacturers  of  chemicals 
in  this  country  revealed  the  character  of  the  man,  in  that  he  says: 
"  It  is  the  cause  and  interests  of  medicine  and  pharmacy  that  I  wish 
to  defend  ;  "  yet  at  the  same  time  one  cannot  but  see  a  kind  of 
method  which  is  characterized  by  Professor  Procter  (loc.  cit.,  p.  480) 
as  being  well  intentioned  but  "  calculated  to  injure  the  deservedly 
excellent  reputation  of  the  manufacturers."  It  was  this  openness  of 
mind  together  with  courage  that  made  him  at  once  the  champion 
of  pure  drugs,  chemicals  and  preparations ;  that  caused  him  to  be 
feared  by  friend  and  foe  alike,  and  deprived  him  possibly  of  some 
honors  that  a  more  compromising  or  tactful  champion,  or  one  less 
actively  conscientious,  might  have  received. 
In  1858  Dr.  Squibb  became  a  member  of  the  American  Pharma- 
ceutical Association  and  that  year  contributed  a  paper  on  "  Notes 
and  Suggestions  upon  Some  of  the  Processes  of  the  U.S.P.,  Especially 
Directed  to  the  Committees  of  Revision  "  (see  Proc.  A.  Ph.  A.,  1858, 
p.  386).  This  paper  is  a  model  of  its  kind  and  contains  numerous 
practical  suggestions  which  have  been  incorporated  into  the  Pharma- 
copoeia. It  was  this  same  year  that  he  was  honored  with  the  office 
ol  First  Vice-President  by  the  Association.  In  the  following  year  he 
was  appointed  upon  the  Committee  on  Home  Adulterations,  on 
which  he  served  until,  in  1862,  this  committee  was  discontinued  and 
the  Committee  on  Drug  Market  was  originated,  of  which  he  was 
the  first  chairman  (Proc,  1863,  pp.  1 75— 1 95). 
Many  of  the  papers  of  Dr.  Squibb  show  that  he  had  unusual 
mechanical  ability,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  ability,  with 
his  natural  spirit  of  getting  at  the  bottom  of  every  question  that 
came  to  him  for  solution,  made  him  a  successful  manufacturer. 
One  of  his  earliest  papers  showing  his  mechanical  ability  is  on  "The 
Official  Preparations  of  Metallic  Mercury  with  a  Mercurial  Machine," 
and  is  accompanied  by  an  engraving  (Proc,  1859,  p.  359). 
In  i860  he  was  appointed  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  fol- 
lowing query  at  the  meeting  in  1 861  :  "What  is  best  form  and  ma- 
terial for  a  still  for  the  pharmacist's  use,  of  from  two  to  four  gallons 
capacity,  appropriate  for  heating  by  gas  or  stove  heat,  which  shall 
combine  economy  with  efficiency  and  fitness  ?"    He  wrote  valuable 
