Am'juiy?i906arm  }    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  341 
the  daily  papers,  as  specifics  for  venereal  diseases,  and  to  insist  that 
the  patient  seek  proper  medical  advice  and  supervision. 
Dr.  W.  M.  L.  Coplin,  Director,  Department  of  Public  Health  and 
Charities,  Philadelphia,  in  discussing  "  Counter-Prescribing  and  its 
Relation  to  Public  Health,"  said  that  his  department  was  of  course 
primarily  interested  in  the  prevention  of  communicable  diseases,  as 
defined  by  the  statutes  under  which  the  department  had  been  inau- 
gurated and  was  now  working.  He  related  several  specific  instances 
that  had  led  him  to  make  some  inquiry  as  to  who  was  responsible  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  guilty  parties  and  also  read  an  opinion  from  the 
office  of  the  City  Solicitor  which  had  induced  him  to  inaugurate  an 
active  campaign  for  the  elimination  of  irregular  practices  in  connec- 
tion with  the  several  communicable  diseases. 
Dr.  Coplin  then  recounted  the  method  of  procedure  that  it  is 
proposed  to  follow  and  said  that  while  there  will  be  absolutely  no 
tendency  to  be  unjust  or  unfair,  the  practices  in  connection  with 
several  drug  stores,  of  which  he  had  been  informed,  must  be  discon- 
tinued, because  they  were  inimical  to  the  public  health. 
Dr.  Coplin  further  said  that  he  felt  assured  of  the  support  of  the 
better  class  of  pharmacists  in  the  proposed  crusade  and  that  it  would 
no  doubt  lead  to  a  decided  bettering  of  conditions,  so  far  as  the 
interests  of  the  public  itself  was  concerned. 
Prof.  Charles  H.  LaWall  then  spoke  of  "  The  Duty  of  the  Phar- 
macist to  Aid  in  the  Elimination  of  Irregular  Practices."  Professor 
LaWall  said  that  while  it  was  true  that  the  practice  of  counter-pre- 
scribing was  largely  confined  to  pharmacists  who  have  held  aloof 
from  association  work  it  was  clearly  the  province  of  the  better  class 
of  pharmacists  to  enter  on  a  crusade  of  educating  not  alone  the 
public  but  also  the  physician  of  the  dangers  and  the  risks  that  are 
involved  in  practices  of  this  kind.  Professor  LaWall  called  attention 
to  the  evident  desire  of  physicians  to  become  better  acquainted  with 
the  resources  and  the  practices  of  the  better  class  of  pharmacists 
and  advised  the  members  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  now 
offered  and  to  endeavor  to  establish  more  friendly  relations  with 
members  of  the  medical  profession. 
The  question  was  further  discussed  by  a  number  of  the  members 
and  visitors  present,  all  of  whom  appreciated  the  necessity  of  some 
active  educational  work  along  these  lines. 
M.  I.  Wilbert,  Secretary. 
