6io 
Editorial. 
{Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
September,  1920. 
"That  this  is  not  an  isolated  example  of  what  often  poses  as  phar- 
macy is  shown  by  the  fact  that  I  have  found  it  extremely  difficult  to 
find  a  pharmacist  who  would  extemporaneously  coat  pills  with 
gelatin.  Most  want  the  physician  to  alter  his  prescription  so  that 
one  of  the  ready-made  gelatin  coated  pills  can  be  dispensed,  if  a  gela- 
tin coating  is  necessary.  Some  gelatin,  hot  water,  a  large  cork,  and 
a  few  domestic  sewing  needles  are  all  that  is  required  for  very  satis- 
factory coating  of  pills  with  gelatin,  yet  few  pharmacists  seem  willing 
to  perform  this  simple  procedure. 
"Two  other  illustrations,  not  so  recent,  have  come  to  me  from  a 
colleague.  A  few  years  ago  he  was  unable  to  obtain  an  emulsion  of 
cod  liver  oil  without  the  hypophosphites  because,  as  both  pharma- 
cists said,  'It  does  not  come  without  hypophosphites.'  On 
another  occasion  four  of  the  best  drug  stores  in  Boston  were  asked 
for  the  Compound  Laxative  Pill.,  U.  S.  P.,  then  official  in  the  Phar- 
macopoeia. In  every  case  he  was  told  that  he  must  have  meant  the 
compound  cathartic  pill,  which  in  no  way  resembles  the  pill  he  sought. 
"With  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  men  supposed  to  be  serving 
the  public  and  the  medical  profession  by  the  practice  of  pharmacy,  is 
it  any  wonder  that  it  is  difficult  to  induce  the  medical  profession  to 
prescribe  official  preparations  or  combinations  of  official  drugs  in  place 
of  ready-made  commercial  substitutes  largely  drawn  from  among  the 
proprietaries  or  specialties?  Real  pharmacy  by  real  pharmacists  is 
a  necessity  if  we  are  to  succeed  in  combating  the  proprietary  evil. 
"Gary  EgglKSTon,  M.  D.,  New  York." 
By  this  communication.  Dr.  Eggleston  has  performed  a  service 
to  pharmacy  and  to  a  somewhat  lesser  degree  also  to  medicine. 
His  criticism  of  the  attitude  of  the  pharmacist  referred  to  in  his  letter, 
is  fully  justified  by  the  experiences  detailed.  Our  inclination  is  to 
more  strongly  condemn  their  failure  to  discharge  their  professional 
obligations  as  we  consider  their  action  as  detrimental  to  pharmacy 
and  deserving  censure  in  a  most  positive  manner  and  in  no  uncer- 
tain language. 
It  is  evident  that  Dr.  Eggleston  is  an  exception  among  physicians 
as  his  communication  demonstrates  a  knowledge  of  pharmacopoeial 
formulas  which  is  certainly  unusual  among  prescribers.  After  all, 
can  we  not  trace  these  experiences  to  the  initial  fault,  the  fundamen- 
tal error ;  the  defect  in  the  education  of  physicians  by  reason  of  which 
they  become  so  little  acquainted  with  the  official  materia  medica 
