4H 
Medicinal  Plant  Supplies. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1918. 
branches  in  various  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  They  have  been 
supplying  for  some  years  more  than  one  half  of  the  medicines  pre- 
scribed by  physicians  in  the  United  States,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that 
one  tenth  of  the  medicinal  preparations  used  throughout  the  civ- 
ilized world  are  derived  from  American  sources.  At  only  one  point 
have  we  been  lagging  behind,  and  this  has  been  in  the  manufacture 
of  synthetic  chemical  drugs,  as  also  the  productions  of  raw  materials, 
such  as  are  yielded  by  the  cultivation  of  plants.  The  low  price  of 
foreign  labor  has  been  the  chief  cause  operating  against  our  devel- 
oping the  farming  of  medicinal  and  economic  plants,  as  we  could 
purchase  our  supplies  from  other  countries  at  comparatively  low 
figures.  Now  that  the  government  has  in  some  instances  taken  a 
vital  interest  in  this  subject,  it  is  quite  likely  that  some  form  of  leg- 
islation will  be  passed  in  which  there  will  be  a  subsidizing  of  certain 
industries  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  followed  by  foreign  gov- 
ernments. 
Furthermore,  our  manufacturers  have  seen  the  importance  of 
extending  their  research  laboratories,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  sci- 
entific work  will  be  greatly  stimulated  in  the  United  States.  Never 
before  in  the  history  of  our  country  have  we  seen  the  close  relation- 
ship between  the  scientifically  trained  expert  and  the  manufacturer 
and  between  the  inventor  and  the  banker.  The  relationship  is  very 
simple  and  readily  comprehended,  as  it  is  based  on  the  theory  of 
practical  business.  If  the  capitalist  can  be  shown  that  any  laboratory 
work  is  likely  to  become  a  commercial  success,  he  is  at  once  interested 
and  his  investment  is  certain.  The  story  of  Marshall  Field  and  the 
cable  is  known  to  every  schoolboy  and  to  some  it  may  have  seemed 
that  all  the  manufacturers  and  business  men  of  the  United  States 
have  lacked  has  been  the  supreme  "  nerve  "  which  is  required  in  the 
launching  of  new  projects.  This  war  has  brought  the  capitalist  and 
the  industrial  worker  together,  and  no  one  can  doubt  the  practical 
results  which  will  be  forthcoming  in  the  future.  Indeed,  unless 
there  was  some  such  mutual  understanding  it  would  not  be  possible 
for  this  country  to  have  dev eloped  almost  overnight  the  chemical 
industries  on  such  a  gigantic  scale.  Finally,  the  effectiveness  of  our 
production  which  has  been  increased  since  this  war,  is  due  in  large 
part  to  the  thorough  organization  of  our  American  industries,  and 
accompanying  such  organization  have  been  corresponding  benefits 
to  the  nation. 
