406 
Medicinal  Plant  Supplies. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1 918. 
medical  supplies  have  ever  been  given  that  have  exceeded  the  gov- 
ernment's requirements.  The  range  of  drugs  was  quite  extensive 
and  the  quantities  demanded  were  somewhat  as  follows : 
100,000  ounces  of  quinine, 
20,000  ounces  of  strychnine, 
138,000,000  compound  cathartic  pills. 
One  of  the  big  side  issues  involved  the  adequate  supply  of  con- 
tainers, something  like  6,000,000  being  required.  There  was  no 
disposition  for  any  one  firm  to  attempt  to  monopolize  the  orders 
and  the  question  of  distribution  was  left  to  competitive  bids,  and 
those  best  fitted  obtained  the  government  orders. 
The  American  Drug  Manufacturers'  Association  organized  a 
War  Service  Committee,  rendering  prompt  assistance  to  the  various 
departments  of  the  government  when  they  were  called  upon.  In- 
deed, had  this  organization  not  been  well  organized  for  prompt 
service,  the  government  more  than  once  would  have  suffered  from 
unexpected  delays  incident  to  the  securing  of  certain  drugs  which 
were  widely  distributed  in  small  quantities  among  retailers  through- 
out the  country.  This  is  only  in  line  with  the  spirit  which  has  been 
generally  manifested  of  heartily  cooperating  with  the  government 
and  a  genuine  desire  to  meet  any  of  the  demands,  restrictive  or 
otherwise,  deemed  essential  by  the  authorities.  In  other  words, 
the  drug  trade  manifested  a  desire  from  the  start  to  continue  its 
service  to  the  public  and  at  the  same  time  to  cooperate  with  the 
policy  announced  or  to  be  announced  by  the  President  or  Congress. 
There  was  no  indication  of  any  intention  on  the  part  of  any  one  to 
benefit  from  the  scarcity  of  certain  drugs  and  it  was  fully  appre- 
ciated that  certain  basic  conditions  of  world  merchandising  should 
be  followed. 
If  Germany  anticipated  that  in  the  question  of  medicines  the 
United  States  would  be  at  all  handicapped  or  inconvenienced,  she 
must  to-day  realize  her  error  in  judgment.  At  only  one  point  did 
Germany  have  any  advantage  and  that  was  in  the  manufacture  of 
organic  chemicals  which  American  manufacturers  did  not  engage  in 
for  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place  the  quantities  sold  were  rela- 
tively small,  secondly  there  was  a  great  number  of  them  and  finally 
there  seemed  to  be  no  opportunities  for  any  "  big  game  "  or  "  haul." 
In  other  words,  it  was  a  big  investment  in  a  lot  of  little  things. 
During  the  past  few  months,  however,  American  manufacturers 
