AmjJan"ri8P79arm }      Memoir  of  Thomas  H.  Powers.  47 
The  house  of  Farr  &  Kunzi  had  established  a  good  reputation  for 
their  products,  and  when  the  energy  and  "ability  of  the  new  partners  of 
Mr.  Farr  were  brought  into  active  participation  in  the  affairs  of  the 
house  the  business  expanded  rapidly  until  it  developed  such  proportions 
as  to  enable  the  firm  to  supply  a  large  part  of  the  medicinal  products 
and  chemicals  demanded  for  consumption  in  the  United  States. 
For  more  than  thirty  years  (since  the  death  of  Mr.  Farr)  the  com- 
mercial department  of  the  business  has  been  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  Powers,  while  upon  his  partner,  Mr.  Weightman,  devolved  the 
exclusive  management  of  the  manufacturing. 
Mr.  Powers  retained  his  early  interest  in  pharmacy,  and  guarded 
with  sedulous  care  the  quality  and  appearance  of  the  articles  which 
left  their  establishment.  The  production  of  the  cheaper  alkaloids  of 
cinchona  barks  in  a  condition  of  purity  was  an  object  in  which  Mr. 
Powers  took  great  interest ;  for  a  magnificent  display  of  these  pro- 
ducts the  firm  was  awarded  a  Gold  Medal  in  1874,  by  the  Franklin 
Institute. 
There  has  been  considerable  reflection  made  at  times  when  a  revision 
of  the  duties  on  imports  was  before  the  public,  or  the  influence  exerted 
by  the  manufacturers  of  quinia  to  retain  the  duty  on  that  product. 
"A  tax  on  fever-stricken  patients,"  has  been  the  favorite  motto  of  the 
advocates  of  "  free  quinia."  The  practical  working  of  the  problem 
has  repeatedly  been  shown  by  importers  making  a  large  advance  on 
quinia  upon  the  advent  of  malarial  fevers  in  the  South  and  West, 
while  the  manufacturers  of  quinia  in  the  United  States  have  always 
stood  firm  in  a  resistance  to  such  speculative  movements. 
Mr.  Powers  was  personally  well-known  to  many  in  the  trade  through- 
out the  United  States,  and  by  such  will  be  greatly  missed.  Upon  his 
surviving  partner,  Mr.  Weightman,  will  devolve  the  management  of 
the  business.  Mr.  Weightman's  connection  with  the  establishment 
commenced  as  a  boy  in  1829.  Trained  practically  in  the  commercial 
as  well  as  in  the  manufacturing  department,  the  old  friends  of  the  house 
will  find  him  eminently  deserving  of  their  confidence. 
