342  The  American  Medical  Association.  {AmjJu^9p0£arm- 
THE  AMERICAN  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
FIFTY-SEVENTH  ANNUAL  SESSION. 
The  remarkably  successful  meeting  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  held  in  Boston,  Mass.,  June  5  to  8,  1906,  will  long  be 
remembered  as  being  numerically  the  largest  and  scientifically  the 
most  important  meeting  of  that  Association  in  all  of  the  57  years  of 
its  existence. 
For  the  pharmacist,  particularly  the  pharmacist  who  is  at  all  inter- 
ested in  the  development  of  the  professional  side  of  his  calling,  this 
fifty-seventh  annual  session  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
was  of  more  than  ordinary  importance. 
It  is  probable  that  never  before,  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  has  the  subject  of  pharmacy,  and  all  that  per- 
tains to  it,  received  such  serious  and  such  thorough  consideration. 
While  matters  relating  to  pharmacy  are  usually  discussed  almost 
exclusively  in  the  Section  on  Pharmacology  and  Therapeutics,  they 
were,  this  year,  also  discussed  rather  freely  in  the  inaugural  address 
of  the  president,  Dr.  Wm.  J.  Mayo,  in  the  several  meetings  of  the 
House  of  Delegates,  in  the  meetings  of  the  Section  on  Practice  of 
Medicine,  and  even  in  connection  with  the  Scientific  Exhibition, 
where  Mr.  Lyman  F.  Kebler,  of  the  Drug  Laboratory,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  Dr.  Wiley,  exhibited  a  large  number  of  nostrums  and 
fake  proprietary  medicines. 
Proprietary  medicines  and  nostrums,  particularly  those  of  the  more 
objectionable  class,  received  an  unusual  amount  of  attention.  They 
were  discussed  by  Dr.  George  Dock,  Dr.  Richard  C.  Cabot  and  Dr. 
A.  Jacobi  in  the  Section  on  Practice  of  Medicine  and  also  by  Dr. 
Solomon  Solis  Cohen  and  others  in  the  Section  on  Pharmacology 
and  Therapeutics.  The  several  papers  and  the  discussions  that  fol- 
lowed, were  augmented,  or  supplemented,  by  the  exhibition  made 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Drug  Laboratory  mentioned  above,  so 
that  many  of  the  attending  physicians  had  the  superfluity,  or  down- 
right uselessness  of  the  average  proprietary  compound  impressed  on 
them  as  it  never  was  impressed  before.  The  practical  results  of  these 
several  papers,  and  of  the  exhibition  that  was  made  in  connection 
with  the  meeting  will  largely  depend  on  whether  or  not  the  pharma- 
cists of  the  country  are  willing  and  able,  to  take  advantage  of  their 
opportunity,  to  introduce  and  popularize  the  official  U.  S.  P.  and 
N.  F.  preparations. 
