Am.  Jour.  Pbarm.") 
November,  1906.  J 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
521 
itself.  Desecrating  the  Sabbath  by  playing  on  it,  or  by  using  it  as 
a  day  of  recreation,  is  a  problem  that  is  only  of  importance  in  that 
it  brings  up  the  question  of  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  on  any 
other  day.  Any  rest  that  we  may  expect  to  have  on  this  the 
appointed  day  of  rest  is  largely  dependent  on  how  we  interpret  the 
need  for  play,  work,  prayer,  or  of  pleasure,  labor,  communion. 
In  conclusion  he  pointed  out  that  the  loss  of  Sunday  as  a  day  for 
rest,  in  many  instances  at  least,  is  largely  due  to  the  misuse  of  the 
day  by  workmen. 
The  next  speaker,  Mr.  Joseph  W.  England,  of  Philadelphia,  dis- 
cussed "  The  Mental  Necessity  of  an  Early  Closing  Movement  " 
(see  page  505).  He  asserted  that  time  is  the  most  valuable  asset  in 
a  man's  life,  and  judiciously  expended  provides  for  mental  training, 
moral  training  and  physical  training.  The  pharmacist  has  educated 
the  public  to  expect  that  he  keep  his  shop  open  during  unduly 
long  hours,  and  now  there  is  an  evident  need  for  him  to  educate  the 
public  into  realizing  that  these  hours  are  not  alone  harmful  to  the 
pharmacist  but  are  actually  a  menace  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
public  itself.  Shorter  hours  are  essentially  necessary  to  the  phar- 
macist to  permit  of  his  mental  development  in  the  lines  followed 
by  him  in  his  daily  work.  It  must  be  self-evident  that  if  there  be  no 
time  for  thought  and  study  there  can  be  no  advancement,  conse- 
quently no  development  of  the  science  of  pharmacy. 
The  open  discussion  that  followed  the  presentation  of  these  com- 
munications consisted  largely  of  personal  observations,  or,  "  Prac- 
tical Experiences  with  Sunday  Closing,"  as  announced  on  the 
programme.  This  portion  of  the  discussion  was  taken  part  in  by  a 
number  of  the  members  present  and  elicited  considerable  difference 
of  opinion,  as  to  who  was  to  be  blamed  and  how  the  desired  object 
could  best  be  brought  about ;  practically  all  of  the  members  present 
agreeing  that  shorter  hours  and  at  least  a  partial  day  of  rest  were 
highly  desirable. 
This  portion  of  the  discussion  was  opened  by  Dr.  Clement  B. 
Lowe,  who  said,  in  part,  that  while  he  was  fully  in  sympathy  with 
the  frequently  expressed  desire  to  curtail  the  hours  of  work  he 
thought  it  would  be  practically  impossible  in  many  locations.  Dr. 
Lowe  then  recounted  some  of  his  own  experiences  with  Sunday 
closing  and  ventured  the  opinion  that  abstaining  from  unnecessary 
work  was  the  best  that  could  be  done  at  the  present  time. 
