558 
Editorials. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Phann 
\      Oct.,  1884. 
physician  might  be  compelled  to  label  his  remedy  in  like  manner.  No 
good  purpose  would  be  served  by  such  a  construction. 
"  It  is  clear  from  a  reading  of  the  section,  which  is  not  artistically  drawn, 
that  it  should  be  divided  into  sentences,  and  that  the  first  sentence  should 
end  with  the  word  '  physician,' where  first  named,  and  that  the  words 
'  such  sales,'  as  they  afterwards  occur  in  the  section,  refer  to  sales  made  to 
others  than  those  on  the  prescription  of  a  physician.  By  this  division  of 
the  section  the  reading  of  it  will  be  in  accordance  with  the  end  sought  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  Legislature.  The  Legislature  could  never  have 
intended  that  a  prescription  of  a  reputable  physician  in  a  case  of  delicate 
treatment  in  which  one  of  the  poisons  named  should  be  used  in  a  proper 
quantity,  should  be  sent  by  a  druggist  to  the  sick  room  of  a  nervous  patient 
with  the  word  'poison'  marked  upon  the  label.  Medical  treatment 
would  be  ended,  and  the  power  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  druggists  to 
destroy  the  benefit  of  the  physician's  remedy.  Such  a  law  would  be 
destructive  of  medical  science,  unreasonable  and  against  the  spirit  of  sound 
legislation. 
"  The  direction  placed  upon  the  box,  1  use  one  at  meals  as  directed  by  Dr. 
Atlee,'  showed  plainly  the  nature  and  power  of  the  dose,  and  that  it  was 
not  an  article  of  food.  If  the  unfortunate  people  who,  in  a  rash  banter, 
ate  this  box  of  pills,  had  been  gifted  w*ith  the  smallest  amount  of  prudence 
or  ordinary  caution  in  observing  the  directions  upon  the  label,  they  would 
not  have  been  the  subjects  of  sickness  and  death  as  has  resulted.  I  see  not 
wherein  the  relator  has  been  guilty  of  any  breach  of  the  law,  and  he  should 
go  hence  freed  and  discharged  of  all  liability.    Relator  discharged." 
Ready-made  Medicines. — The  article  with  the  quaint  heading,  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  J.  Winchell  Forbes,  wThich  we  publish  in  another  place, 
contains  so  much  that  points  directly  to  the  causes  underlying  the  evils 
from  which  pharmacy  suffers  at  present,  that  wre  believe  it  will  be  read 
with  a  great  deal  of  interest,  even  though  not  all  the  views  advanced  b\-  its 
author  be  accepted.  We  do  not  propose  to  comment  upon  the  article  itself, 
but  merely  refer  to  that  sentence  in  which  Mr  Forbes  characterizes  the 
manufacture  on  a  large  scale  of  a  certain  class  of  medicines  as  a  direct  blow 
at  the  advancement  of  pharmacy.  We  would  subscribe  to  this  proposition, 
as  we  do  to  many  other  points  advanced,  if  it  had  been  stated  upon  the 
broader  ground,  that  the  pharmacist  should  himself  prepare  as  many  as 
possible  of  the  various  medicines  which  are  used  in  physicians'  prescrip- 
tions, as  well  as  in  the  ordinary  retail  sales.  Is  he  less  responsible  who 
dispenses  the  extracts,  fluid  extracts,  elixirs,  plasters,  lozenges,  supposito- 
ries and  other  classes  of  preparations  from  the  manufacturers,  than  he  who 
sells  a  sealed  package  of  a  drug  or  compound  made  by  another  ?  We  fail 
to  see  any  essential  difference  between  the  one  and  the  other  except  possi- 
bly in  degree;  perhaps  the  one  occupies  the  plane  of  the  vendor  of  sugar 
and  coffee,  the  other  that  of  the  vendor  of  canned  fruits. 
Division  of  labor  has  made  so  many  inroads  upon  pharmacy  that  much 
of  what  wTas  formerly  his  peculiar  province,  has  been  wrested  from  the 
pharmacist's  laboratory ;  the  manufacture  of  morphine,  quinine  and  most 
other  chemicals,  which  are  largely  used,  will  not  again  be  undertaken  by 
him.  Does  the  case  hold  also  good  for  the  pharmaceuticals?  We  believe 
not.  They  belong  to  the  pharmacist's  peculiar  sphere,  and  if  he  permits 
these  to  be  supplied  to  him  by  others,  he  voluntarily  places  himself  on  a 
level  with  a  common  dealer,  or  approaches  that  position.    The  question 
