42  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  { ^ ja^iTry  iqT™' 
pointed  out  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  sales  of  the  Pharmacopoeia 
did  not  reach  40,000  until  the  middle  of  1908. 
In  concluding  he  expressed  the  belief  that  if  those  who  are  to 
ef¥ect  the  work  of  revision  do  not  clearly  realize  their  responsibility 
to  the  Convention  and  to  the  several  professions  represented,  and 
produce  a  book  of  standards  indeed,  but  of  standards  for  substances 
of  established  value  and  use,  the  next  Pharmacopoeia,  instead  of 
being-  a  force,  will  be  a  farce. 
Dr.  Reid  Hunt,  Chairman  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
Committee  on  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States,  pointed  out 
that  regarding-  the  scope  of  the  book  there  were  two  diametrically 
opposed  views,  both  of  which  deserve  consideration.  The  manufac- 
turer and  the  pharmacist  desire  to  have  a  book  of  standards  that 
will  include  all  of  the  substances  that  are,  have  been,  or  may  be 
used  as  medicine,  while  the  medical  practitioner  desires  to  have 
a  book  of  standards  for  the  approved  therapeutic  agents  only  so 
that  the  book  may  be  used  as  a  basis  for  instruction  in  medical 
schools  and  as  a  guide  to  the  physician  who  is  willing  to  adopt  and 
use  recognized  standard  remedies.  It  must  be  evident  that  these 
two  objects  are  so  totally  different  that  it  would  be  practically  im- 
possible to  agree  on  a  compromise  and  any  attempt  to  do  so  would 
be  considered  a  straddle  that  would  be  acceptable  to  but  few. 
He  heartilv  endorsed  the  stand  taken  by  Dr.  Wiley  regarding 
the  scope  of  the  book  and  expressed  the  belief  that  physicians  and 
pharmacists  should  not  be  expected  to  furnish  standards  for  Custom 
House  offi^^ials  and  patent  medicine  manufacturers.  As  chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  American  Medical 
Association  he  had  been  able  to  get  into  communication  with  thou- 
sands of  medical  practitioners  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States, 
all  of  whom  were  willing  to  use  the  best  medicines  that  were  avail- 
able and  desirous  of  obtaining  authentic  information  regarding  the 
probaWe  efficiency  of  drugs. 
Dr.  Hunt  outlined  the  methods  that  had  been  emploved  by  his 
committee  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  several  sections  of  the 
American  Medical  Association,  and  referred  more  especially  to  the 
correspondence  that  had  been  had  with  medical  men  in  active 
practice  who  were  also  teachers  of  materia  medica  and  therapeutics 
in  mediral  schools  and  colleges,  and  asserted  that  despite  the  fact  that 
the  evidence  thus  secured  had  been  submitted  through  the  Pharmaco- 
poeial  Convention  to  the  Committee  of  Revision,  many  of  the  mem- 
bers appeared  to  be  willing  to  ignore  the  wishes  of  physicians  and 
