758 
Biological  Products. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1918. 
Being  only  enlisted  men,  it  is  possible  for  pharmacists  to  associate 
with  no  one  but  the  enlisted  men  of  the  army,  and  they  are  not  per- 
mitted to  mingle  with  medical  officers,  nor  to  discuss  with  them  sub- 
jects which  are  of  vital  importance  to  both,  and  which  would  tend 
to  a  higher  standard  of  efficiency  in  this  branch  of  the  service. 
It  seems  to  me  both  unnatural  and  unjust  that  the  pharmacist, 
whose  work  in  both  civil  life  and  in  the  army  is  equally  as  important 
as  that  of  the  medical  officer,  veterinarian  and  dentist,  should  be  of 
so  much  lower  rank  than  they,  that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  even 
associate  with  them. 
The  following  is  quoted  from  the  article  which  appeared  in  the 
Los  Angeles  Examiner  as  the  reasons  given  therein  are  both  logical 
and  clear :  "  The  various  states  of  the  nation  have  protected  their 
citizens  from  incompetence  in  the  compounding  of  medicines  by 
licensing  only  qualified,  trained  pharmacists,  and  it  is  urged  that  the 
same  rule  be  applied  to  the  armed  branches  of  the  government." 
And  again :  "  The  fact  that  pharmacists  are  not  given  rank,  places 
them  in  a  bad  position  in  view  of  the  fact  that  all  doctors  are  com- 
missioned officers,  while,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  work  of  one  is  just 
as  important  for  the  welfare  of  the  men  as  the  other." 
I  sincerely  hope  that  the  matter  already  presented  to  Congress- 
man Osborne  of  Los  Angeles  and  Congressman  Kahn  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, will  be  given  as  much  publicity  as  possible,  and  that  the  drug 
stores  of  other  cities  will  get  behind  this  bill  as  Los  Angeles  is  doing, 
by  circulating  petitions  as  widely  as  possible. 
(Signed)    Henry  N.  Creger, 
Pvt.  First  Class,  Med.  Dept.,  U.  S.  A. 
PRACTICAL  INFORMATION  ON  BIOLOGICAL 
PRODUCTS  FOR  THE  RETAIL 
DRUGGISTS.1 
By  Robert  P.  Fischelis. 
Comparatively  few  druggists  have  yet  organized  their  biological 
departments  on  a  scale  to  yield  the  profit  that  should  accrue  from 
this  branch  of  the  drug  business.  Doubtless  this  has  been  due,  in  a 
large  measure,  to  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  possibilities  from  a  busi- 
1  Presented  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  New  Jersey  Pharmaceutical  As- 
sociation at  Spring  Lake,  June  17-19,  1918. 
