Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1920. 
Frank  G.  Ryan, 
371 
For  example,  if  a  tube  of  tooth  paste  costs  35  cents  and  a  bottle 
of  perfume  65  cents,  the  tax  is  2  cents  on  the  tooth  paste  and  3  cents 
on  the  perfume,  a  total  of  5  cents  and  not  4  cents  as  comp'uted  on 
the  total  amount  paid  by  the  purchaser. 
If  toilet  powder  sells  at  10  cents  a  box,  the  tax  is  one  cent;  if  two 
boxes  are  bought  the  tax  is  two  cents,  although  the  total  amount  paid 
by  the  purchaser  is  20  cents;  and  if  three  boxes  are  bought  for  25 
cents,  the  tax  is  3  cents.  If  however,  six  boxes  of  toilet  powder  sell- 
ing singly  at  10  cents  each  are  put  up  by  the  manufactruer  in  a  con- 
tainer or  sealed  package  for  sale  as  a  unit  and  are  sold  by  the  dealer 
as  an  original  package  for  50  cents,  the  tax  is  2  cents,  the  package 
being  the  unit  of  sale. 
The  regulation  providing  that  where  two  or  more  packages  of 
cough  drops  are  sold  for  25  cents  the  tax  shall  be  i  cent  is  revoked, 
the  tax  being  at  the  rate  of  i  cent  for  each  25  cents  or  fraction  thereof 
of  the  amount  paid  for  a  single  package. 
Instructions  to  advise  dealers  that  the  tax  shall  be  collected  in 
accordance  with  this  ruling  have  been  sent  to  collectors  of  internal 
revenue.  The  public  is  requested  to  cooperate  in  the  proper  col- 
lection of  the  tax. 
This  new  ruling  clarifies  and  to  some  extent,  likewise,  modifies 
prior  announcements  from  the  Bureau  of  Internal  Revenue  on  this 
subject.  We  believe  that  it  is  entirely  in  harmony  with  the  intent 
of  the  section  of  the  Revenue  Law  of  191 8  relating  to  this  form  of 
luxury  tax.  We  are  constrained,  however,  to  direct  the  attention 
of  the  Bureau  to  the  fact  that  the  ruling  of  the  Department  relating 
to  the  tax  to  be  collected  upon  multiple  sales  of  ice  cream,  soda 
water,  coca  cola,  etc.,  is  inconsistent  with  this  decision  concerning 
the  collection  of  the  tax  under  the  same  law  on  multiple  sales  of 
toilet  articles  and  proprietary  medicines. 
FRANK  G.  RYAN. 
On  the  afternoon  of  April  20,  Frank  G.  Ryan,  president  of  Parke, 
Davis  &  Co.,  died  rather  suddenly  of  a  malignant  attack  of  pneu- 
monia after  an  illness  of  but  three  days.  Funeral  services  were  held 
at  Christ  Church,  in  Detroit,  on  April  22.  The  active  pall  bearers 
were  those  who  had  been  closely  associated  with  him  in  the  business 
management  and  a  group  of  about  fifty  of  the  prominent  repre- 
sentatives of  the  business  and  professional  life  of  Detroit,  all  personal 
