Am.  Jour.  Phakm  \ 
Dec.  3, 1873.  | 
Editorial. 
573 
to  be  complied  with  in  the  daily  routine  of  business,  and,  notwithstanding 
every  precaution  upon  our  part,  we,  or  our  employees,  will  be  liable  uninten- 
tionally to  err;  therefore 
Resolved,  1,  That  this  College,  as  a  corporate  body,  feels  called  upon  to  unite 
with  other  colleges  of  pharmacy  and  pharmaceutical  associations  of  the  United 
States,  in  an  earnest,  persistent  effort  to  effect,  through  Congress,  at  its  next 
session,  a  repeal  of  such  part  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Laws  as  relates  to  a 
stamp  tax  on  medicines. 
Resolved,  2,  That  the  late  ruling  of  the  Commissioner,  in  our  opinion,  affects 
the  people  more  than  the  druggists  and  manufacturers,  for  two  prominent  rea- 
sons,  viz.  :  first,  the  increase  of  costs,  which  fall  upon  them  in'  the  end  ;  and, 
second,  should  the  drug-gist,  in  order  to  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  stamping 
every  small  package  of  medicine  dispensed  by  him,  omit  to  have  printed  on  his 
labels  the  proper  dose  to  be  taken,  then  the  ignorance  upon  their  part  in  the 
administration  of  medicines  (without  directions),  ofteuer  essential  to  the  pre- 
servation of  life  in  emergencies  when  no  physician  can  be  summoned  imme- 
diately. We  therefore  confidently  appeal  to  the  public  to  sustain  us  in  any 
effort  we  may  make  to  secure  the  repeal  of  this  odious  law  altogether,  and  give 
to  them  medicines  free  from  stamp  tax. 
Resolved,  3,  That,  to  this  end,  we  will  respectfully  petition  our  representa- 
tives to  use  all  their  influence  at  the  next  session  of  Congress  to  secure  the 
repeal  of  said  law,  which  the  present  Commissioner  mystifies  the  more  in  every 
attempt  to  define  it. 
Resolved,  4,  That  we  hereby  pledge  the  hearty  co  operation  of  the  Louisville 
College  of  Pharmacy  in  all  efforts  that  may  be  made  in  this  direction. 
At  a  special  meeting  of  the  New  Jersey  Pharmaceutical  Association  held 
•at  New  Brunswick,  on  Wednesday,  November  12th,  the  following  was  unani- 
mously adopted : 
Whereas,  In  the  opinion  of  this  Association,  the  Internal  Revenue  Laws,  in 
regard  to  the  stamps  on  medicines,  necessarily  cause  conflicting  decisions  from 
different  Commissioners  and  their  various  deputies,  thereby  creating  infinite 
trouble  and  annoyance  to  retail  druggists,  besides  frequently  causing  them  to 
appear,  although  innocent,  as  criminals  in  the  eye  of  the  law  ;  and 
Whereas,  These  laws  were  originally  passed  at  a  time  when  a  revenue  was 
absolutely  needed  from  every  branch  of  industry,  which  necessity  no  longer  ex- 
ists, taxing  the  poor  man's  necessities,  equally  with  the  luxuries  of  the  rich  ;  and 
Whereas,  The  Commissioner  has  himself  acknowledged  his  difficulty  in  exe- 
cuting the  laws,  and  has  signified  his  willingness  to  assist  in  their  repeal ;  there- 
fore 
Resolved,  That  iu  the  opinion  of  this  Association  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  such  portion  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Law,  known  as  Schedule  0,  and  all 
acts  relating  thereto,  be  repealed. 
The  Maryland  College  of  Pharmacy  has  adopted  a  petition  to  Congress  ask- 
ing for  the  repeal  of  the  section  in  question,  and  we  have  been  informed  that 
petitions  are  being  signed  by  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  having  the  same  end  in 
view. 
The  Massachusetts  College  of  Pharmacy  has  prepared  a  petition  to  Con- 
gress, in  which,  among  others,  the  following  strong  argument  in  favor  of  the  re- 
pea!  of  Section  13  of  the  Act  of  July  13,  1866,  occurs  : 
We  respectfully  submit  that  a  tax  made  oppressiue  on  the  technical  wording 
of  a  label,  and  unjust  by  dating  back  its  operations  under  a  new  decision,  is  so 
much  money  wrested  from  persons  convicted  of  no  crime,  and  any  law  that 
