Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
September,  1906.  / 
The  Procter  Memorial. 
421 
"  Kraemer,  I  have  something  on  my  mind  that  I  want  to  tell  you 
and  have  you  think  about.  Several  years  ago,  when  Professor 
Trimble  was  alive,  I  mentioned  to  him  the  fact  that  the  younger 
generation  were  forgetting  the  great  work  that  was  done  for  Ameri- 
can pharmacy  by  Professor  Procter,  and  said  that  I  hoped  something 
could  be  done  to  revive  his  memory.  Trimble  is  gone,  and  I  thought 
I  would  speak  of  this  to  you  as  his  successor  on  the  American 
Journal  of  Pharmacy  where  Procter  did  so  much  of  his  best  work." 
Since  that  time  I  have  taken  special  pains  to  look  into  the  career 
of  Professor  Procter  and  find  that  in  addition  to  his  accomplishments 
as  the  most  representative  American  pharmacist  of  his  time,  he  was 
universally  esteemed  not  only  by  his  associates  and  colleagues  but 
by  all  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  His  claim  to  rank  as 
one  of  the  most  representative  pharmacists  that  America  has  yet 
produced,  rests  upon  these  things :  He  was  a  retail  pharmacist,  a 
teacher  of  pharmacy,  an  investigator  and  writer  on  pharmaceutical 
subjects,  editor  of  a  pharmaceutical  journal,  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  member  of  the  Revision 
Committee  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia,  and  author  of  text-books  on 
pharmacy.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1874,  it  was  said  of  him 
that "  For  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years  his  labors  had  aimed  at 
raising  the  status  of  pharmacy,  and  have  been  of  such  importance 
and  lasting  value  that  the  deceased  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the 
father  of  American  pharmacy." 
This  was  the  estimate  of  him  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  after 
the  lapse  of  thirty  years  this  sentiment  still  survives.  We  need  not 
wonder  then  that  a  movement  has  been  started  to  memorialize 
Procter  and  the  ideals  for  which  he  stood.  There  is  no  profession, 
science  or  art  but  what  is  imbued  with  certain  ideals  and  standards 
of  attainment  and  sooner  or  later  gives  concrete  expression  to  them. 
It  ought  then  to  be  a  source  of  gratification  to  the  pharmacists  of 
this  country  to  engage  in  an  undertaking  which  will  perpetuate  the 
ideals  of  one  of  their  great  leaders. 
Happily  there  has  never  been  any  question  as  to  the  desirability 
of  honoring  Procter.  There  has,  however,  been  considerable  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  form  which  the  memorial  should  take.  After  con- 
sidering the  matter  in  all  its  bearings,  the  erection  of  a  bronze  statue 
of  Procter  in  the  Smithsonian  grounds  at  Washington  has  been  de- 
cided upon  as  the  most  feasible  under  present  conditions.  This 
