484  Alcohol:  Its  Relation  to  Science,  Etc.    { ^''Yn\y.^i92o. 
modities.  While  the  extra  cost  to  the  average  retailer  is  not  very 
much  as  measured  in  dollars  and  cents  yet,  multiplied  by  the  many 
thousand  dealers  now  doing  business  in  the  United  States,  the  ag- 
gregate must  run  far  into  the  millions. 
In  this  connection  I  would  bespeak  your  patient  consideration 
for  any  personal  eccentricities  that  may  be  developed  by  Mr. 
Kramer's  staff  of  Prohibition  Directors.  You  who  are  accustomed 
to  deal  with  the  veteran  experts  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Service 
may  frequently  be  tempted  to  become  a  bit  testy  over  the  super-zeal 
or  lack  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  some  of  these  new  officials. 
I  am  confident,  however,  that  none  of  you  have  had  as  comprehensive 
an  experience  in  dealing  with  these  gentlemen  as  has  fallen  to  my 
lot  since  the  i6th  of  January,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  testifying  to 
their  general  intelligence,  their  impartiality  and  their  uniformly  good 
intentions.  Mr.  Kramer  is  following  their  movements  with  a  keen 
eye  and  will  not  hesitate  to  put  them  on  the  right  track  whenever 
they  go  wrong.  I  am  certain,  however,  that  within  a  reasonable 
length  of  time  you  will  find  them  discharging  their  duties  with  tact 
and  discretion,  as  well  as  with  properly  directed  zeal.  There  will 
necessarily  be  a  few  exceptions  to  this  rule,  but  whenever  you  en- 
counter one  you  have  only  to  remember  that  Mr.  Kramer's  perma- 
nent address,  365  days  in  the  year,  is  1330  F  Street,  Washington, 
D.  C. 
pharmacists'  attitude  toward  AIvCOHOIv. 
Action  taken  during  the  past  year  by  organized  retailers,  and 
many  informal  statements  made  by  individual  druggists  indicate 
that  the  retail  drug  trade  is  now  divided  into  three  separate  camps 
with  respect  to  a  definite  attitude  toward  the  question  of  selling  or 
handling  any  form  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
The  members  of  one  contingent  have  decided  that  it  is  the  func- 
tion of  the  retail  drug  trade  to  provide  anything  that  a  reputable 
physician  may  order  on  prescription,  and,  therefore,  they  do  not 
hesitate  to  carry  and  sell  whiskey  and  other  intoxicating  liquors  to  be 
dispensed  solely  on  prescriptions.  They  also  carry  non-beverage 
alcohol  which  they  use  for  prescriptions  and  general  manufacturing 
purposes  and  sell  in  medicated  form  in  small  quantities  in  accordance 
with  the  regulations. 
The  second  class,  while  handling  and  selling  non-beverage  alcohol, 
have  decided  that  they  will  not  dispense  whiskey  or  other  intoxicating 
liquors  even  on  the  prescription  of  a  physician.    They  sincerely 
