THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL   OF  PHARMACY^ 
DECEMBER,  ig20        ^  ^CCOy 
'    ^  192' 
EDITORIAL.  ; 
WANTED— BOOSTERS  FOJl  PHARMACY 
The  columns  of  the  current  issues  of  some  of  the  pharmaceutical 
journals  again  confirm  the  comment  made  by  a  non-interested 
observer  that  "much  of  the  pharmaceutical  literature  of  the  day  has 
a  pessimistic  tendency  that  is  far  from  beneficial  to  the  progress  of 
pharmacy."  In  the  past,  we  have  expressed  our  opinion  of  the 
evil  of  disparagement^  and  the  injury  that  pharmacy  was  sustain- 
ing from  the  continuous  and  deliberate  "knocks"  in  print  and  pub- 
lic utterances  and  the  disparagements  appearing  in  "pharmaceutical 
journals."  It  is  with  chagrin  and  regret  that  we  note  another  of 
these  periodical  storms  of  disparagement  and  observe  that  the 
showers  are  descending  upon  the  American  Pharmaceutical  As- 
sociation, our  esteemed  contemporary,  The  Journal  of  the  A.  Ph.  A., 
and  the  management  thereof. 
We  take  no  exception  whatever  to  any  proper  comment,  objec- 
tion, or  even  censure.  On  the  contrary,  we  belie v^e  that  construc- 
tive criticism  is  beneficial  and  on  various  occasions  have  exercised 
this  right.  There  is,  however,  a  wide  disparity  between  fair  and 
just  criticism  aimed  to  effect  progress  or  a  well  thought  out  im- 
provement and  a  distorted  view  that  permits  of  such  strange  ac- 
cusations as:  "the  policy  under  which  the  Journal  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association  has  been  conducted  for  eight  years  is 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  95  per  cent,  of  the  Association;"  "that  the 
prime  object  of  the  Journal  as  set  forth  in  the  initial  declaration  of 
the  first  editor  was  for  the  purpose  of  restricting  its  circulation,  so 
that  it  shall  circulate  only  among  its  active  members;"  "that  it  is 
worthless  as  an  advertising  medium;"  "that  there  was  a  method  in 
madness  by  which,  in  choosing  the  Committee  on  Publication,  the 
'  Editorial — A.  J.  P.,  April,  1919,  p.  191. 
