Am"iJayr"i9?8rrn"  )  Lessons  from  the  Hearing  on  the  Edmonds  Bill.  337 
pensing  of  such  dangerous  products  demands  trained  pharmacists. 
Note  the  gravity  of  this  problem,  the  hideous  peril  run  by  our  home 
defenders  by  such  haphazard  distribution. 
How  many  fatal  blunders  have  occurred?  How  can  the  surgeon 
keep  control  of  the  leaks  in  the  chain  of  procedures  from  bottle  to 
patient?    How  many  curious  inexplicable  causes  of  death? 
Should  an  error  be  suspected  by  the  enlisted  man  who  dispenses 
poisons  there  is  every  temptation  to  keep  quiet  and  thus  escape 
blame.  Clearly  our  home-defenders  deserve  fully  as  much  special 
skill  in  the  distribution  of  drugs  as  do  our  home-makers. 
LESSONS  TO  BE  LEARNED  FROM  THE  HEARING  ON 
THE  EDMONDS  BILL. 
By  Robert  P.  Fischelis, 
Secretary  National  Pharmaceutical  Service  Association. 
The  hearing  before  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  on  the 
Edmonds  Bill  brought  out  some  very  interesting  points,  indicating 
clearly  the  impression  that  has  been  made  on  the  minds  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  by  the  arguments  advanced  against  the  forma- 
tion of  a  pharmaceutical  corps. 
A  study  of  the  questions  which  were  asked  by  the  committee 
seems  to  indicate  that  very  little  attention  has  been  given  by  Con- 
gress to  the  need  of  proper  pharmaceutical  service  in  the  army,  and 
that  most  of  the  members  believe  the  medical  department  is  taking 
good  care  of  this  phase  of  army  work.  Inasmuch  as  their  ideas  of 
medicine  center  entirely  around  the  doctor  of  medicine,  many  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  were  surprised  to  know  that  just  because  a 
man  is  a  good  physician  he  may  not  be  able  to  compound  medicines. 
It  was  fortunate  for  the  pharmaceutical  representatives  to  be  af- 
forded an  opportunity  to  explain  what  pharmacy  really  is  and  what 
kind  of  training  its  practice  requires. 
It  was  very  apparent  early  in  the  hearing  that  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  felt  that  the  Edmonds  Bill  was  a  selfish  meas- 
ure designed  only  to  provide  commissioned  rank  for  pharmacists. 
The  indications  at  the  end  of  the  hearing  were  that  at  least  this 
thought  had  been  somewhat  dispelled  in  the  minds  of  the  committee. 
