Am.  Jour.  Ph>  rm.  > 
December,  1906.  / 
The  Needs  of  the  Council. 
587 
given,  should  be  subjected  to  verification.  If  none  are  given  they 
should  be  worked  out,  at  least  for  the  definite  chemical  bodies,  since 
their  ready  and  safe  recognition  is  often  of  the  greatest  importance. 
The  incompatibilities  of  new  remedies  should  be  studied  and  the 
physician  advised  of  undesirable  combinations.  Finally,  the  Council 
must  depend  very  largely  on  the  pharmacist  for  its  knowledge  of  the 
continued  compliance  of  approved  articles  with  rules  3  and  4. 
The  Aid  of  the  Pharmacist  m  the  Further  Work  of  the  Council. — 
New  remedies  are  constantly  being  produced.  While  the  vast 
majority  will  present  no  advance  over  older  well-tried  medicines  and 
will  soon  be  "  withdrawn  from  the  market,"  some  remedies  of  real 
merit  will  appear  from  time  to  time,  and  these  deserve  a  fair  trial  by 
the  physician.  It  is  the  function  of  the  Council  to  supply  the  phy- 
sician with  reliable  information  in  regard  to  the  composition  and 
properties  of  the  newer  medicines  so  that  he  may  know  which  are 
deserving  of  a  trial  at  his  hands.  Here,  too,  the  pharmacist  is  in  a 
position  to  materially  aid  the  Council  in  supplying  information  about 
the  many  new  preparations  introduced.  Being  thoroughly  familiar 
with  drugs  he  is  often  in  a  position  to  unmask  some  of  the  old  nos- 
trums which  are  being  constantly  introduced  under  new  and  attrac- 
tive names  or  to  early  recognize  the  objectionable  character  of  reme- 
dies which  to  the  physician  will  appeal  as  new  and  wonderful. 
The  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  A.M.A. — To  aid  the  Council  on 
Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  in  its  work  the  trustees  of  the  A.M.A. 
authorized  the  establishment  of  a  chemical  laboratory.  As  one  of 
the  functions  of  this  laboratory  it  is  proposed  to  use  the  available 
clerical  force  to  collect,  arrange,  and  finally  disseminate  information 
bearing  on  authentic  or  reliable  data  regarding  the  composition  of 
nostrums. 
In  the  past  there  has  been  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  physicians 
and  pharmacists  to  ignore  the  evil  associated  with  the  indiscriminate 
use  of  medicine.  While  perfectly  familiar  with  the  many  frauds 
connected  with  the  exploitation  of  so-called  patent  medicines,  these 
conditions  have  been  considered  as  a  matter  of  course.  While  the 
harm  often  done  was  recognized,  yet  as  a  whole  this  class  of  remedies 
was  considered  beneath  the  notice  of  the  physician  and  pharmacist. 
The  frauds  connected  therewith  were  considered  a  "joke."  I  recall 
a  conversation  where  the  "  Scotch  Essence  of  Oat "  outrage  was  re- 
ferred to  as  "a  joke  on  the  public,"  because  in  the  hope  of  experiencing 
