Am'jJuOiy?i906arm'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  33: 
course  of  consulting  and  profiting  by  the  scientific  achievement  and 
skill  of  properly  trained  physicians,  you  will  undoubtedly  from  the 
narrow  point  of  view  only  of  the  money  interests  involved,  found  a 
far  more  profitable  vocation  because  the  narrow  margin  of  profit 
realized  by  the  sale  of  this  or  that  concoction  will  be  more  than 
overbalanced,  as  it  properly  should  be,  by  the  merited  remuneration 
of  knowledge  and  skill ;  the  art,  I  wish  to  designate  it,  of  the  higher 
qualified  and  learned  practitioner  of  each  of  our  professions. 
The  art  of  applying  means  to  an  end  is  a  factor  in  practice  not 
appreciated  by  either  the  laity  or  the  profession.  The  use  of  means 
to  an  end  is  comparable,  let  me  illustrate,  by  the  following  crude 
example :  Suppose  four  of  us  were  sitting  about  a  table,  and  one 
challenged  the  others  to  balance  on  the  end  of  his  finger  a  small 
stick.  The  means  are  the  same  for  the  four.  One,  in  his  endeavor 
to  balance  the  stick,  is  lacking  greatly  in  skill,  and  with  much  physi- 
cal effort  in  his  attempt  to  balance  it  fails,  the  stick  falling  to  the 
table  in  spite  of  crude  efforts.  Another  succeeds  by  the  trained  and 
skillful  use  of  the  muscles  of  co-ordination,  and  quietly  maintains 
the  stick  in  position,  as  though  it  were  fastened  to  his  finger. 
So  it  is  with  the  art  of  the  practitioner  of  medicine,  and,  in  a  large 
degree  with  the  practitioner  of  pharmacy,  and  it  is  this  ability  to 
successfully  do  which  is  to  constitute  the  future  basis  for  legitimate 
and  well-merited  compensation ;  and  it  is  when  conditions  upon 
which  such  skill  depends  are  established,  that  those  acquiring  this 
high  standard  of  achievement  will  have  served  the  public  interests, 
as  well  as  their  own,  in  the  highest  possible  manner.  A  conscientious 
duty  will  have  been  well  done,  and,  so  far  as  the  duties  of  our  two 
professions  are  concerned  as  factors  in  the  affairs  of  life,  human 
progress  will  continue  apace. 
I  congratulate  you  upon  this  commendable  movement,  which  must 
of  necessity  establish  still  more  firmly  that  indissoluble  bond  of  union 
which  is  natural  to  the  two  professions  we  have  the  honor  and  the 
responsible  trust  to  represent,  and  by  the  faithful,  sincere  and  con- 
scientious observance  of  the  great  duties  reposed,  the  privilege  of 
exercising  the  highest  possible  functions  vouchsafed  to  man,  will 
largely  contribute  to  unparalleled  success  in  its  broadest  sense. 
