ANove°mbe^fia9ro™'}      Needs  of  the  Business  Pharmacist.  537 
patiently  awaiting  the  result.  Is  not  this  a  matter  in  which  our  par- 
ticular expert  knowledge  should  be  of  service  ?  Is  it  not  distinctly  a 
pharmaceutical  and  medical  question  ?  We  might  well  appoint  a  com- 
mittee first,  to  determine  whether  such  adventitious  aids  are  necessary 
to  the  proper  preservation  of  foods  and  drugs,  and  later,  if  an 
affirmative  answer  be  given,  to  confer  with  a  similar  committee  of 
the  American  Medical  Association  to  determine  what  coloring  mat- 
ters and  preservatives  may  be  classed  as  harmless,  and  in  what 
proportion  they  may  be  used  to  secure  the  desired  result  without 
detriment  to  the  public  health.  This  would  give  us  additional 
opportunity  to  get  in  close  touch  with  the  leaders  in  medicine.  It 
is  a  subject  that  should  not  be  left  to  State  and  Federal  officials  to 
determine  arbitrarily. 
THE  SECTION  AS  A  SOURCE  OF  EXPERT  ADVICE   ON  SCIENTIFIC  SUBJECTS. 
The  agitation  by  this  association  of  the  "  coal-tar  creosote  "  ques- 
tion has  already  borne  good  results  in  stopping  the  sale  thereof 
except  under  proper  precautions.  More  speedy  results  would  have 
been  obtained  had  definite  action  followed  the  passage  of  resolutions. 
Action  should  be  taken  by  us  against  the  increasing  use  of  wood 
alcohol  in  pharmaceutical  and  household  preparations.  Recent 
researches  seem  to  show  that  methyl  alcohol  even  in  its  purest  form 
is  a  dangerous  drug  when  taken  internally.  The  American  Medical 
Association  passed  a  resolution  condemning  its  use,  and  this  section, 
through  the  Committee  on  the  Drug  Market,  should  take  steps  to 
prevent  the  sale  of  the  article  except  under  proper  precautions. 
True,  we  have  no  legal  powers,  but  the  influence  of  this  body  is 
powerful  enough  if  properly  exercised  to  induce  at  least  the  majority 
of  manufacturers  to  follow  our  advice.  Continued  action  of  this  kind 
would  ultimately  lead  the  trade  to  look  to  this  section  for  expert 
advice  on  scientific  questions. 
The  American  Chemical  Society  is  giving  considerable  study  to 
the  question  of  purity  in  chemicals  used  for  analytical  and  research 
work,  and  will  attempt  to  formulate  standards  of  purity  and  later  to 
authorize  a  series  of  labels  by  which  manufacturers  may  designate 
their  products,  according  to  the  degree  of  purity  and  freedom  from 
particular  impurities.  Is  it  not  equally  incumbent  upon  this  associ- 
ation to  formulate  standards  of  purity  for  unofficial  chemicals  and 
drugs  used  in  medicine  and  for  household  purposes,  not  only  for  the 
