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What  of  the  Day? 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
August,  1920. 
I  dare  not  hazard  a  guess  in  answer.  I  will  say  that  we  can  make 
no  calculation  for  the  effective  operation  of  the  human  mind  nor 
set  bounds  to  its  operation.  It  is  difficult  to  separate  the  psycho- 
logical from  the  material  features  of  the  situation.  But  we  feel 
safer  in  analyzing  the  economic  condition. 
A  lull  in  the  retail  demand  is  sufficiently  general  to  attract  our 
attention.  The  highest  priced  goods  are  not  bought  with  the  reck- 
lessness that  they  were  a  month  ago. 
A  credit  strain,  first  acute  in  the  East,  has  spread  far  westward. 
A  reaction  is  at  hand.  But  neither  the  true  nature  nor  the  full 
extent  can  be  stated  with  certainty.  Please  do  not  say  nor  even 
think  "calamity  howler."  That  is  just  what  I  am  anxious  to  coun- 
teract.   This  is  no  time  to  rock  the  boat. 
Cool,  deliberate  judgment  is  now  at  a  premium.  The  situa- 
tion is  aggravated  by  magnification  and  made  more  dangerous  if 
belittled.  The  real  truth  of  the  situation  may  not  be  apparent 
any  more  than  was  the  outcome  of  a  great  battle  on  the  eve  of  a 
conflict.  But  what  goes  up  must  come  down,  and  prices  must, 
somehow,  recede.  Now,  what  of  the  future  in  pharmacy?  That 
depends  on  the  good  judgment  and  wise  action  of  those  who  are  in 
business  to-day. 
Druggists  are  by  education  and  training  taught  to  be  cool,  but 
alert  in  time  of  accident  and  emergency.  Their  daily  work  has  to 
do  with  human  lives  which  are  in  the  balance. 
Of  all  in  the  commercial  world,  none  is  so  well  fitted  as  the  drug- 
gist to  help  the  pendulum  swing  back,  slowly  and  safely,  until  de- 
flation reaches  a  point  where  normal  conditions  staple  equilibrium. 
This  is  a  time  for  action  rather  than  high-sounding  statements. 
Never  be  out  of  staple  goods  if  you  can  obtain  them.  Buy  less 
luxuries  and  discourage  their  sale. 
Collect  with  vigor  all  accounts. 
Refuse  long  credits  and  avoid  even  short  ones,  in  so  far  as  you 
can. 
Discount  all  of  your  bills.  Do  this  even  though  you  must  burn 
less  gasoline  in  order  to  find  the  money  to  meet  business  obliga- 
tions. 
The  realm  of  human  activities  to-day  does  not  present  more 
worthy  opportunities  than  those  now  before  you  for  superior  and 
laudable  achievement  in  guiding  along  safe  and  sane  lines  the  process 
of  retrenchment  not  yet  everywhere  apparent.    Help  hold  down 
