402 
Editorial. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  19 18. 
passing  and  that  the  dawn  of  the  day  for  collective  and  cooperative  competi- 
tion is  breaking  over  the  business  of  the  world. 
This  does  not  mean  in  any  way  the  curtailment  of  individuality;  quite  on 
the  contrary,  it  means  a  greater  reward  than  ever  before  for  the  individual 
effort,  for  the  stronger  the  character  and  individuality,  the  greater  the  multi- 
plication of  that  power  through  the  collective  effort  of  the  future,  the  wider 
the  scope  of  usefulness  and  service  to  the  community,  and  consequently  the 
larger  the  personal  success. 
The  business  man  who  does  not  accept  and  join  in  this  great  develop- 
ment must  eventually  realize  that  he  belongs  to  another  age,  that  he  is  out 
of  the  running,  and  that  his  life's  work  may  be  lost. 
May  these  timely  expressions  sink  into  the  minds  and  influence 
the  future  actions  of  those  who  have  been  indifferent  to  their  share 
in  the  responsibilities  of  pharmaceutical  organizations. 
G.  M.  B. 
LOYALTY  AND  EFFICIENCY  THE  DEMAND  OF  THE 
HOUR. 
Presumably  this  is  a  practical  age.  Certainly,  as  never  before 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  is  there  necessity  for  efficiency.  Never- 
theless, the  thoughtful  citizen  has  not  failed  to  note  the  numerous 
impractical  ideas  that  Have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  daily 
press  and  not  infrequently  been  advocated  in  professional  and 
trade  journals.  Unfortunately  some  of  these  have  been  tried  by 
governmental  authority  and  he  realizes  that  under  the  present  state 
of  public  mind  there  is  going  to  be  a  period  of  contest  between 
theory  and  practice.  The  misapplication  of  zeal  and  energy  in  im- 
practical undertakings  is  simply  the  loss  of  a  portion  of  the  nation's 
assets  and  the  more  numerous  and  the  more  pronounced  these  na- 
tional blunders  the  more  serious  may  be  the  results. 
We  have  heard  much  of  "  Germany's  efficiency "  and  we  are 
compelled  to  admit  that  the  advantage  that  nation  has  so  far  at- 
tained in  the  war  is  due  to  the  application  of  scientific  principles 
and  the  practical  application  of  her  men  and  resources  rather  than 
to  any  superiority  of  mentality  or  resources. 
The  idealist  usually  has  a  basis  for  his  theories  and  his  recom- 
mendations are  as  a  rule  the  outgrowth  of  experience  or  the  study 
of  available  data  and  so  he  may  perform  a  national  service  by  ad- 
vancing progressive  ideas.    Not  so,  however,  the  dreamer  whose 
