Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
June,  1918. 
Editorial. 
403 
fancied  pictures  may  be  without  any  foundation  and  the  following 
of  whose  fancies  may  lead  to  disaster. 
Pharmacy  has  not  been  devoid  of  its  idealists  with  Utopian 
schemes  nor  of  its  dreamers  whose  pictures  lead  to  the  dangers  of 
false  conservation  or  imaginary  security,  men  who,  while  lacking  in 
the  experience  of  practical  operations  of  the  mercantile  pursuits, 
are  very  self-contained  in  their  opinions  and  advice  to  those  upon 
whom  has  devolved  the  duty  of  meeting  the  nation's  demands  in  this 
respect.  The  artist  skillfully  paints  on  the  same  piece  of  canvas 
the  mountain  and  the  valley  and  the  production  appeals  to  our  ar- 
tistic taste  of  the  beautiful  but  does  not  deceive  us  as  to  contour. 
The  dreamer  on  the  contrary  presents  a  camouflage  that  may  be  but 
the  covering  of  a  calamitous  pitfall. 
President  Wilson  has  very  forcefully  called  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  to  our  wastefulness  as  a  nation.  The 
truthfulness  of  his  statement  and  the  necessity  for  national  reform 
in  this  matter  demands  the  serious  consideration  of  all  loyal  citizens. 
The  wastefulness  as  a  nation  is  not  only  the  inordinate  use  of  ma- 
terials and  the  national  profligacy  of  resources  but  can  likewise  be 
applied  to  the  misapplication  of  efforts  and  the  wrong  apportion- 
ment of  service.  The  disorganization  of  industries  and  the  use  of 
trained  specialists,  such  as  pharmacists,  in  lines  of  work  foreign  to 
their  educational  fitness  for  service  is  a  national  loss  and  waste  of 
national  assets  and  the  continuation  of  such  errors  must  have  a  dis- 
tinct effect  upon  our  national  success.  The  mobilization  of  every 
calling  and  industry  into  the  most  efficient  service  for  the  govern- 
ment would  undoubtedly  result  in  such  a  proper  use  of  our  vast  na- 
tional resources  that  the  preponderance  thereof  would  very  speedily 
terminate  the  war. 
No  amount  of  loyalty  and  obedience  to  the  orders  of  depart- 
ments will  overcome  the  evils  of  misapplication  and  the  consequent 
loss  of  efficiency.  The  study  of  the  best  means  of  obtaining  effi- 
ciency from  our  inhabitants  and  our  national  resources  is  a  prime 
duty  of  those  in  authority.  The  practical  man  of  business  and  of 
experience  must  sooner  or  later  be  given  an  opportunity  to  demon- 
strate the  value  of  his  knowledge  and  experience  and  the  sooner  the 
theorists  and  dreamers  are  relegated  to  a  rear  couch  the  better. 
The  demand  of  the  hour  is  for  loyalty  and  efficiency  harnessed  in 
one  team. 
G.  M.  B. 
