Am  jour,  pharm.  \    Open  Letter  from  a  Pharmacist. 
Nov.,  19 18.       >         1  J 
757 
the  country,  manned  by  pharmacists  highly  trained  in  the  technical 
subjects  of  the  profession,  such  as  bacteriology,  clinical  chemistry, 
the  highest  type  of  dispensing,  etc.,  and  thereby  make  possible  the 
establishment  in  this  country  of  the  pharmaceutical  ideals  long  Urged 
by  the  leaders  of  pharmacy. 
AN  OPEN  LETTER  FROM  A  PHARMACIST  IN  ACTIVE 
SERVICE  WITH  THE  AMERICAN  EXPEDITIONARY 
FORCE. 
To  the  Pharmacists  of  America  and  their  Friends: 
It  has  come  to  my  notice  from  a  number  of  publications,  notably 
an  August  edition  of  the  Los  Angeles  Examiner,  that  petitions  are 
being  signed  and  circulated  urging  Congress  to  pass  the  Edmonds' 
Bill,  which  provides  for  commissions  for  the  pharmacists  in  the 
army  of  the  United  States. 
Being  a  pharmacist,  I  fully  appreciate  the  necessity  and  fairness 
of  this  proposed  legislation. 
I  am  Chief  Pharmacist  of  the  Base  Hospital  Number  Thirty, 
American  Expeditionary  Forces.  The  normal  capacity  of  our  unit 
is  four  thousand  (4,000)  beds,  and  it  is  not  only  necessary  for  me 
to  dispense  prescriptions  *  for  these  patients,  but  for  the  officers, 
nurses,  soldiers  and  civilian  employees  of  the  hospital  personnel. 
It  is  a  very  responsible  position,  one  that  requires  a  man  of 
thorough  training.  Hundreds  of  delicate  and  intricate  prescriptions 
are  filled  daily  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  the  lives  of  these  pa- 
tients depend  upon  the  thoroughness  with  which  the  pharmacists  do 
their  work.  It  is  true  that  the  doctors  prescribe  certain  medicines 
and  compounds  for  their  patients,  but  it  is  the  pharmacists'  duty  to 
accurately  and  carefully  prepare  the  compounds  which  are  to  cure 
those  suffering  from  various  kinds  of  illness  and  wounds. 
Before  enlisting  in  the  army,  I  had  more  than  fifteen  (15)  years 
of  training,  and  at  present  am  the  proprietor  of  two  of  the  leading 
pharmacies  in  California.  In  civil  life,  the  men  of  my  profession 
who  are  now  in  the  army  were  employed  at  high  salaries  and  did 
responsible  work.  The  governments  of  our  Allies,  as  well  as  the 
governments  of  Russia  and  Germany,  have  commissioned  the  phar- 
macists in  their  armies  and  navies.  The  pharmacists  in  the  navy 
of  the  United  States  are  commissioned  officers,  therefore  it  seems 
only  fair  that  the  pharmacists  in  the  army  should  be  commissioned. 
