Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
July,  1 918. 
Loyalty  to  the  Country. 
493 
LOYALTY  TO  THE  COUNTRY  AND  TO  PHARMACY.1 
By  E.  G.  Eberle,  Ph.M. 
In  formulating  my  thoughts,  which  are  to  follow  the  title  that 
was  chosen  in  advance  of  outlining  a  promised  paper  for  this  As- 
sociation, I  present  a  timely  concordant  guide  which  may  carry  a 
message  and  enable  me  to  draw  upon  parts  of  it  while  complying 
with  my  promise: 
To  respect  my  country,  my  profession  and  myself.  To  be  a 
loyal  citizen,  to  speak  of  my  country  with  praise  and  act  always  as 
a  trustworthy  custodian  of  its  good  name.  To  be  loyal  to  pharmacy 
and  speak  of  its  service  with  sincerity  and  conviction  that  the  call- 
ing is  worthy  of  my  attachment  and  I  a  trustworthy  votary.  To  be 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  pharmacy,  lend  my  best  efforts  to  its  uplift 
and  advancement.  To  promote  association  work  and  thereby  pro- 
mote the  service  of  pharmacy.  To  be  a  pharmacist  deserving  of 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  those  whom  I  serve.  To  look  upon 
its  service  as  an  opportunity  to  be  seized  with  joy  and  made  the 
most  of,  and  not  as  a  painful  drudgery  to  be  reluctantly  endured. 
To  believe  in  pharmacy  heart  and  soul,  to  be  optimistic  relative  to 
its  mission  and  convey  assurance  of  its  importance  to  those  who 
are  served  thereby. 
"  America's  most  essential  attribute  to-day  is  optimism,  because 
the  best  interests  of  the  nation  demand  it.  A  person  who  at  this 
juncture  is  not  an  optimist  is  a  slacker."  May  we  not  in  a  way 
apply  these  optigrams  to  pharmacy:  Pharmacy's  most  essential  at- 
tribute to-day  is  optimism,  because  the  best  interests  of  pharmacy 
demand  it.  A  pharmacist  who  at  this  juncture  is  not  an  optimist  is 
a  slacker.  To  be  an  American  to-day  means  more  than  it  ever  did ; 
no  matter  how  different  our  views  may  be  on  other  subjects,  how 
diverse  our  occupations  may  be,  as  far  as  citizenship  is  concerned 
there  must  be  a- unison  of  thought  and  action:  To  be  a  pharmacist 
to-day  means  more  than  it  ever  did.  No  matter  how  different  our 
views  may  be  relative  to  the  stock  and  conduct  of  the  drug  store, 
as  far  as  pharmacy  is  concerned  there  must  be  a  unison  of  thought 
and  action.    The  diverse  interests  and  activities  may  be  considered 
1  Read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association  at  Wilkes- 
barre,  June,  1918. 
