330  Brief  of  Philadelphia  Drug  Exchange.  {Xm-^-^]f'm- 
means  of  killing  human  beings.  The  fatal  dose  of  arsenic  is  up- 
wards of  1.5  grains  (Sollman).  Each  Army  drug  store  may 
contain  enough  arsenic  (8  ounces,  ap.)  to  kill  2,500  soldiers.  There 
may  be,  also,  enough  sodium  arsenate  (16  ounces,  ap.),  a  soluble 
compound  of  arsenic  (the  fatal  dose  of  which  is  about  2.5  grains), 
in  each  such  store,  to  kill  3,000  soldiers  more. 
Corrosive  sublimate  is  in  the  Army  drug  stores,  also.  It  is  a 
violent,  corrosive  poison.  The  fatal  dose  is  0.18  Gm.  (Sollmann),  or 
about  2^4  grains.  There  may  be  enough  corrosive  sublimate  in  each 
Army  drug  store  (16  ounces,  ap.)  to  kill  2,800  soldiers. 
Carbolic  acid  is  in  the  Army  drug  stores,  also.  It  is  a  powerful, 
irritant  poison,  causing,  in  overdoses,  great  agony  and  suffering. 
Suicidal  poisoning  by  it  is  extremely  common.  The  minimum  fatal 
dose  is  150  to  225  grains  (Sollmann).  There  may  be  enough  car- 
bolic acid  in  each  Army  drug  store  (80  ounces,  ap.)  to  kill  about 
200  soldiers. 
Strychnine  sulphate  is  in  the  Army  drug  stores,  also.  This  is  a 
violent  poison,  causing,  in  overdoses,  intense  agony,  convulsions  and 
death.  It  is  one  of  the  most  commonly  used  poisons,  both  for  sui- 
cidal and  criminal  purposes.  It  is  used,  also,  in  the  West,  for  the 
destruction  of  wolves.  The  smallest  fatal  dose  to  man  is  Yi  grain 
(Sollmann).  There  may  be  enough  strychnine  sulphate  in  each 
Army  drug  store  ounce,  ap.)  to  kill  200  soldiers,  in  addition  to 
the  thousands  of  strychnine  tablets  allowed,  as  well  as  tincture  of 
mix  vomica  (16  fl.  oz.),  which  contains  strychnine,  to  kill  many 
more. 
Opium  (powdered)  is  in  the  Army  drug  stores,  also.  It  is  a 
very  frequent  means  of  suicidal  poisoning  and  accidental  doses  are 
not  at  all  rare.  The  fatal  dose  of  opium  is  about  45  grains,  but  as 
little  as  3  grains  have  been  fatal  (Sollmann).  There  may  be  enough 
opium  in  each  Army  drug  store  (8  ounces,  ap.)  to  kill  150  soldiers, 
enough  tincture  of  opium  (r6  fl.  oz.)  and  tincture  of  deodorized 
opium  (16  fl.  oz.)  to  kill  several  score  more,  and  enough  morphine 
sulphate  (5  ounces,  ap.),  the  toxic  dose  of  which  is  ^2  to  6  grains, 
to  kill  800  more. 
The  above-mentioned  six  poisons  of  each  Army  drug  store  have 
the  potential  possibilities  of  killing  about  10,000  soldiers!  The 
remaining  poisons  of  the  list  represent  still  greater  death-dealing 
possibilities. 
These  illustrations  are  typical  and  could  be  multiplied  if  neces- 
