Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
November,  1903.  f 
Editorials. 
would  at  first  be  conceded,  some  experiments  made  in  the  Bacterio- 
logical Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  and  to 
be  published  later,  tend  to  show.  In  a  paper1  on  "  The  Evil  of 
Allowing  Bottles  to  be  Taken  from  the  Sickroom  Where  There  is 
Contagion,"  Theodore  Campbell  calls  attention  to  the  practice  of 
returning  bottles,  boxes  and  ointment  jars  to  the  drug  store  for  the 
renewal  of  prescriptions,  and  of  sending  such  articles  as  atomizers, 
syringes,  water-bottles,  etc.,  for  repairs,  and  points  out  how  this 
practice  may  lead  to  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases.  He  thinks 
it  should  be  an  absolute  rule  not  to  allow  any  of  the  articles  used 
where  there  is  a  contagious  disease  to  enter  the  drug  store,  and 
recommends  that  in  the  case  of  the  renewal  of  a  prescription,  this 
be  done  by  number.  In  conclusion,  the  author  remarks  that  he  has 
no  doubt  that  many  of  the  cases  of  contagious  disease  which  cannot 
be  accounted  for  in  any  other  way,  arise  as  in  the  manner  indicated. 
While  the  author's  suggestion  must  be  patent  to  every  one,  we 
venture  to  say  that  the  practice  to  which  he  alludes  has  not  received 
the  consideration  which  it  demands. 
A  PROBLEM  IN  EDUCATIONAL  WORK 
There  are  many  problems  connected  with  both  elementary  and 
advanced  education.  Sometimes  it  may  be  questioned  when  we  see 
the  results  of  public  school  instruction,  or  lack  of  instruction, 
whether  it  might  not  be  better  to  begin  all  over  again  and  construct 
curricula  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  early  settlers  in 
America.  In  higher  educational  work,  particularly  in  the  training  of 
students  for  professional  and  scientific  careers,  the  subject  of  the 
preparation  of  the  student  for  college  is  recognized  to  be  deserv- 
ing of  as  much  attention  as  the  perfection  of  the  curricula. 
While  the  academic  training  of  the  student  must  be  considered  to 
be  the  primary  object  had  in  view  in  the  founding  of  institutions  of 
learning,  there  is  another  phase  of  the  educational  problem  which  is 
of  great  concern  to  the  student  body  and  which  plays  even  a  more 
important  part  in  the  equipment  of  the  graduate.  This  is  the  ques- 
tion which  relates  to  the  daily  life  of  the  student,  and  is  one  which 
has  received  considerable  attention  by  the  older  universities  both 
abroad  and  in  this  country. 
1  Presented  to  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association,  June,  1903. 
