586 
The  Needs  of  the  Council. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\   December.  1906. 
Joutnal ;  by  the  reports  of  the  examination  of  proprietary  remedies 
carried  out  under  the  auspices  and  financial  support  of  the  Deutscher 
Apothekerverein  and  published  in  the  Apotheker  Zeitung;  and  by 
the  publication  in  the  Druggists  Circular \  and  in  other  pharmaceutical 
journals,  of  reports  of  work  done  along  these  same  lines.  Similarly 
the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  is  now  publishing  in  the 
Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association  the  result  of  its  work. 
Upon  organization  the  Council  adopted  a  set  of  rules  for  its 
guidance.  (See  page  500  of  this  Journal.)  Since  the  adoption  of 
these  rules  a  considerable  number  of  proprietary  articles  have  been 
considered.  Descriptions  of  those  articles  which  appeared  to  comply 
with  these  rules  are  now  being  published  in  the  Journal.  Later  these 
are  to  be  published  in  book  form.  Concurrently  with  the  publication 
of  approved  articles,  the  Council  is  also  publishing  reports  on  articles 
which  are  offered  to  the  medical  profession  under  false  claims. 
Lack  of  publicity  of  the  work  of  the  pharmacist  in  advising  physi- 
cians in  regard  to  the  medicines  offered  to  them  will  in  the  future, 
therefore,  not  deter  from  such  investigation.  While  it  is  taken  for 
granted  that  the  pharmacist  will  avail  himself  of  the  opportunities 
offered  to  act  as  advisers  and  protectors  of  the  medical  profession, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  point  out  somewhat  more  specifically  some 
of  the  ways  in  which  the  pharmacist  may  and  should  aid  the  cause. 
Criticism  and  Corrections  of  Preliminary  Publication. — To  some  ex- 
tent the  acceptance  of  the  articles  which  are  now  appearing  in  pre- 
liminary publications  in  the  Journal  was  based  on  investigations 
made  by  or  under  direction  of  the  Council,  but  it  was  largely  based 
on  evidence  supplied  by  the  manufacturer  or  his  agent,  or  on  state- 
ments taken  from  standard  works  of  reference.  It  is,  therefore,  to 
be  expected  that  statements  will  appear  which  are  not  in  accord  with 
the  facts  and  that  some  articles  have  been  accepted  which  do 
not  comply  with  the  rules.  Also,  some  articles,  acceptable  at  the 
present  time,  will  be  changed  in  composition  or  in  the  manner  of 
their  exploitation  so  as  no  longer  to  meet  the  requirements,  and 
they  should,  of  course,  be  dropped  from  the  list  of  approved  articles. 
Close  scrutiny  of  the  preliminary  publication  is,  therefore,  invited. 
The  attention  of  the  Council  should  be  called  to  any  false  or  mis- 
leading statement  contained  therein.  It  is  suggested  that  the  claims, 
as  regards  composition  of  articles,  be  verified  by  pharmacists  when 
opportunity  offers.   The  tests  of  identity,  purity  and  strength,  when 
