324  Instruction  in  Pharmacy.  j Am  ju°"r\£oarm- 
or  three  or  four  years  in  a  College  of  Pharmacy?"  And  in  this 
instance  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  so  successful  in  showing  "  how  not 
to  do  it." 
In  taking  up  for  consideration  this  subject  I  am  fortunately 
not  handicapped  by  the  possession  of  any  rear  end  initials  myself. 
The  only  letters  attaching  to  my  cognomen  are  those  which  precede 
my  family  name,  and  I  have  troubles  enough  in  keeping  them  on 
straight  with  my  correspondents.  I  must  confess  that  the  agitation 
concerning  the  matter  of  degrees  that  seems  to  have  stirred  to 
the  depths  some  men's  feelings  has  never  touched  me.  Hence  like 
the  qualifications  sought  for  in  the  selecting  of  a  jury,  my  pro- 
found ignorance  of  the  subject  may  stand  me  well  in  hand.  It  has 
always  seemed  to  me  that  the  having  of  a  quarter  section  or  so  of 
the  alphabet  tacked  on  to  the  hind  end  of  one's  signature  does  not 
add  one  jot  nor  tittle  to  either  the  knowledge  or  usefulness  of  the 
bearer  thereof.  The  satisfaction  of  knowing  well  one's  profession 
and  being  able  to  solve  its  complex  problems  as  they  arise  is  where 
all  the  glory  lies — and  it  does  not  make  it  any  easier  to  accomplish 
this  achievement  to  know  that  it  would  tax  the  capacity  of  a  more 
than  ordinary  sized  card  to  carry  all  the  symbols  of  the  various 
degrees  that  men  have  seen  fit  to  confer  upon  one.  It  gave  me 
profound  satisfaction  to  read  not  long  since  that  the  Honorable 
Wm.  E.  Gladstone  held  similar  views  upon  this  subject,  and  per- 
sistently refused  to  accept  any  degree  that  schools  of  learning  and 
other  institutions  were  anxious  to  confer  upon  him.  It  is  com- 
forting to  one's  sense  of  satisfaction  to  know  that  his  is  not  the 
only  wise  head.  I  have  not,  however,  been  compelled  to  dodge  any 
titles  that  were  aimed  in  my  direction,  and  in  that  respect  I  hold 
an  advantage  over  Premier  Gladstone. 
Of  late  years  I  have  noticed  signs  conspicuously  displayed  over 
the  entrances  to  plumbing  establishments  bearing  the  inscription 
"  Registered  Plumber,"  so  that  the  attaching  of  the  symbols  R.  P. 
to  one's  name  leaves  it  an  open  question  as  to  whether  one  is  a 
registered  pharmacist  or  a  registered  plumber. 
In  the  issue  of  the  Journal  of  The  American  Pharmaceutical 
Association  for  April,  1913,  Otto  A.  Wall,  Ph.G.,  M.D.,  covers 
eight  pages  in  the  setting  forth  of  his  views  concerning  degrees  in 
pharmacy,  in  the  course  of  which  he  submits  48  different  symbols 
attaching  themselves  to  pharmaceutical  degrees,  many  of  them,  of 
course,  being  different  abbreviations  in  common  use  to  indicate  the 
