Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
Aug.  1, 1874.  / 
Editorial. 
397 
'his  earnings  depends  altogether  upon  his  individuality  and  mental  culture. 
The  fop,  whether  rich  or  poor,  will  load  himself  with  trinkets  of  precious 
metals  and  stones,  or  with  base  imitations  of  both,  in  proportion  as  his  purse 
will  afford  it,  while  the  truly  cultivated  will  avoid  all  ostentatious  display  of 
dress  and  decorations,  and  when  wearing  ornaments,  will  select  such  as  are 
simple,  and  merely  fulfil  the  objects  for  which  they  are  used.  This  broad  dis- 
tinction may  likewise  be  observed  in  the  use  of  titles,  whether  earned,  begged 
or  purchased  ;  it  will  be  mainly  the  literary  or  scientific  fop  who  parades  his 
titles  on  all  suitable  or  unsuitable  occasions. 
The  title  of  doctor  is  continually  used  in  all  civilized  countries  in  connection 
with  the  members  of  the  medical  profession,  because  they  are  presumed  to  con- 
tinually exercise  their  functions,  in  conformity  with  the  duties  assumed  when 
obtaining  their  degree  of  M.  D.  The  most  successful  practitioners  of  medicine, 
the  brightest  physicians  use  this  title,  undeterred  by  the  fact  that  many  a 
knave  and  fop  is  likewise  using  it. 
It  has  heretofore,  not  been  customary  in  this  country  to  use  any  earned 
pharmaceutical  title.  Fifty  years  ago  there  was  but  one  College  of  Pharmacy 
in  the  United  States,  and  it  was  not  until  1826,  that  the  title  of  Graduate  in 
Pharmacy  was  conferred  for  the  first  time.  It  was  then  not  used  by  those 
entitled  to  it,  because  then,  from  the  small  number  of  graduates,  the  use  of  the 
title  might  have  been  regarded,  as  a  claim  to  superiority,  which  to  attest  was 
not  the  design  of  the  College.  During  the  last  thirty  years,  the  propriety  of 
using  the  title  G.  P.,  has  been  repeatedly  suggested  and  discussed,  and  it  was 
abandoned  for  similar  reasons.  Has  the  time  now  arrived  ?  We  believe  such 
to  be  the  case,  for  the  following  reasons : 
The  number  of  living  graduates  is  very  considerable  ;  Colleges  of  Pharmacy 
are  now  located  in  different  sections  of  the  country;  by  far  the  largest  number 
of  these  Colleges  appear  to  work  harmoniously  and  honestly  in  the  same  direc- 
tion for  the  elevation  of  the  profession  ;  the  attending  classes  are  large,  and 
the  number  of  graduates  receiving  their  diplomas,  is  at  present  much  larger 
than  the  total  attendance  at  all  the  Colleges  not  many  years  ago.  With  the 
increase  of  the  opportunities  of  learning  and  the  perfection  of  the  means  of 
instruction,  the  number  of  students  has  been  steadily  on  the  increase,  and 
there  are  comparatively  few  young  men  now  learning  the  business,  who  cannot 
make  it  convenient  to  attend  a  College  of  Pharmacy  if  they  earnestly  desire  it 
and  labor  to  accomplish  it.  The  title  of  G.  P.,  honestly  earned,  simply  indicates 
that  its  recipient  has  attained  such  a  rank,  that  he  is  regarded  to  be  competent 
to  practice  his  profession.  We  cannot  therefore  conceive  of  any  reason  why 
this  title  ought  not  to  be  used  henceforth  by  all  those  who  have  really  earned 
it.  The  manner  in  which  it  will  be  used,  and  the  display  which  will  be  made 
with  it  on  suitable  or  unsuitable  occasions,  will,  to  a  considerable  extent,  indicate 
the  mental  calibre  of  its  wearer. 
These  remarks  have  been  suggested  by  a  paper  by  Mr.  Hor.  N.  Fraser,  and 
by  an  editorial  on  "  Pharmacal  Titles  "  both  of  which  have  appeared  in  the 
Chicago  Pharmacist  of  July,  and  express  themselves  in  opposition  to  the  use 
of  G.  P.    Both  writers  being  graduates  in  pharmacy,  their  opposition  is  the 
