^pt^e^wS1' }  For mulary  and  Proprietary  Remedies.  411 
As  suggested  elsewhere  patents,  under  our  existing  patent  laws, 
are  but  a  reflection  of  the  development  of  general  knowledge  along 
any  particular  line  and  demonstrate  our  lack  of  knowledge  by  estab- 
lishing the  degree  of  originality  that  is  thought  to  be  sufficient  to 
secure  a  patent. 
Under  the  patent  laws  now  in  force  in  this  country  it  has  not 
been  possible  for  nearly  a  century  to  obtain  a  patent  on  a  formula 
for  a  mixture  of  substances  for  use  as  medicine  or  to  secure  a 
property  right  in  any  such  formula  by  any  other  means  than  abso- 
lute secrecy,  as  suggested  above. 
There  being  no  legal  basis  for  property  right  in  a  formula  or 
medicinal  preparation  consisting  of  a  simple  mixture  of  well-known 
substances,  it  may  be  held  that  the  maker  or  the  originator  of  such 
a  mixture  might  have  a  moral  right  to  the  exclusive  use  of.  such  a 
formula  or  mixture,  even  after  giving  to  it  the  degree  of  publicity 
involved  in  the  sale  of  the  medicine  for  profit.  Here,  however,  the 
larger  and  broader  rights  of  the  people  as  a  whole  must  be  consid- 
ered and  the  problem  again  resolves  itself  into  a  matter  of  publica- 
tion, exploitation,  or  sale.  Under  our  common  law  practice  the 
public  has  a  right  to  assume  that  all  matters  of  general  knowledge 
are  public  property  to  be  used  or  restricted  as  the  majority  of  the 
people  think  best.  The  public  also  has  a  right  to  assume,  and  the 
experience  has  demonstrated  the  correctness  of  the  assumption,  that 
there  is  no  available  method  by  means  of  which  the  output  of  a 
secret  formula  can  be  controlled  so  that  from  the  point  of  view 
of  public  policy  the  use  of  proprietary  secret  or  semi-secret  medic- 
inal preparations  should  be  discouraged.  It  has  well  been  stated 
that  in  matters  of  medicine  the  public  should  above  all  disregard 
personal  and  financial  considerations  since  the  question  resolves 
itself  into  a  need  for  accomplishing  the  greatest  and  most  perma- 
nent good  for  suffering  humanity.  The  public  health  and  the  pro- 
tection of  the  general  welfare  of  the  public  are  first  to  be  thought 
of,  and  any  thing  that  stands  in  the  way  of  promoting  this  general 
welfare  must  be  considered  as  being  negligible  or  even  objec- 
tionable. 
To  sum  up  the  problem  it  would  appear  that,  from  any  available 
point  of  view,  the  cry  of  imitation  that  has  been  raised  against 
National  Formulary  formulas  is  unwarranted.  The  National  For- 
mulary is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  public  work  compiled  and 
