7i8 
The  Least  That  We  Can  Do.       {  Am.  jour.  Pharm. 
<•        Oct.,  1918. 
THE  LEAST  THAT  SOME  OF  US  CAN  DO. 
By  Hexry  M.  Whelpley. 
ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 
Xo  one  escapes  having  special  attention  arrested  by  the  world 
war.  This  is  a  crisis  in  the  development  of  the  human  race  which 
seriously  affects,  if  it  does  not  actually  control  our  thoughts  and  ac- 
tivities. All  other  affairs  become  extraneous  to  this  cataclysmic  ac- 
tion. Some  of  us  have  seen  too  many  winters  to  be  of  military 
value.  Many  are  restricted  by  other  conditions.  As  time  passes, 
the  duties  for  us  at  home  become  clearer  and  clearer.  This  is  a 
day  for  patience,  courage  and  endurance  ;  a  period  of  utmost  faith 
and  loyalty.  All  of  us  must  remain  one  in  interest  and  in  senti- 
ment. 
Many  pharmacists  are  in  the  service,  more  are  going  soon. 
They  will  at  once  lose  their  identity  as  pharmacists.  The  govern- 
ment will  know  them  only  as  soldiers  and  sailors.  Let  us  consider 
strongly  how  Ave  can  keep  alive  the  fraternal  spirit  and  at  the  same 
time  aid  the  boys  in  developing  military  efficiency.  What  better 
than  frequent  letters  of  a  cheerful  newsy  character?  This  will  con- 
tribute to  contentment  and  encourage  ambition.  Show  them  that 
we  still  think  of  them  as  pharmacists  and  are  writing  because  they 
belong  to  our  calling.  This  will  cause  them  to  place  a  new  value 
on  pharmacy.  We  would  have  a  pharmaceutical  corps  in  the  army 
today  if  pharmacists  of  the  past  and  of  this  generation  fully  valued 
the  possibilities  of  the  calling. 
But  I  will  avoid  being  argumentative.  This  is  not  the  time  to 
ask  sharp  questions  but  an  occasion  for  action  with  one  heart.  The 
least  that  we  who  remain  at  home  can  do  is  to  keep  in  constant 
touch  with  those  of  our  calling  whom  we  know  at  the  front.  We 
must  not  be  divided  from  our  fellow  pharmacists  even  though  they 
are  unknown  as  pharmacists  in  the  army  or  in  the  navy. 
