500  International  Pharmacopocial  Bureau.  {^JXA?' 
activity  of  the  chemical.  The  tests  inserted  after  the  purity  rubric 
limit  the  presence  of  more  than  traces  of  innocuous  impurities. 
Official  quinine  sulphate  may  contain  traces  of  other  cinchona  alka- 
loids and  Kerner's  test  with  modifications  may  be  used  for  providing 
a  standard.  Everyone  knows  that  the  elimination  of  a  minute 
quantity  of  other  substances  or  salts  will  often  increase  the  price  of 
a  medicament  to  an  extent  far  beyond  the  necessities  of  the  case 
and  absolute  purity  in  every  case  would  saddle  an  enormous  tax  upon 
the  buyer  and  consumer.  The  tests  which  eliminate  poisonous  sub- 
stances as  lead,  arsenic,  etc.,  should  be  rigidly  enforced.  When  the 
purity  rubric  was  established  in  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia, 
there  was  an  outcry  from  the  purists  and  theorists  who  proclaimed 
that  nothing  but  chemically  and  microscopically  pure  substances 
should  find  their  place  in  the  Pharmacopoeia.  But  ten  years'  experi- 
ence with  the  purity  rubric  has  demonstrated  its  value  and  a  great 
improvement  in  the  uniformity  of  chemicals  used  for  medicines  has 
been  the  practical  result. 
The  formulation  of  a  purity  rubric  for  each  chemical  medicament 
would  be  a  most  important  function  for  a  separate  international  com- 
mission. The  Eighth  International  Congress  of  Applied  Chemistry, 
at  its  meeting  in  1912,  recommended  the  establishment  of  standards 
which  would  render  uniform  throughout  the  world  tests  for  limiting 
the  presence  of  allowable  impurities  which  are  innocuous.  Commerce 
would  be  benefited  greatly  and  loss  occasioned  manufacturers  through 
the  transportation  of  medicaments  to  various  countries  would  be 
greatly  reduced.  As  it  is  at  present,  chemicals  which  reach  the 
standard  adopted  by  one  country  would  be  rejected  by  another 
country  bcause  of  the  varying  standards  of  purity  existing  to-day  in 
their  respective  pharmacopoeias.  Is  this  not  a  worthy  object  for  an 
international  congress  to  take  up  seriously?  No  country  would 
object  to  the  importation  of  a  chemical  which  was  above  the  minimum 
limit  and  there  would  be  every  incentive  for  a  manufacturer  to 
improve  his  product,  but  the  law  would  step  in  and  forbid  the 
importation  of  an  inferior  product  which  was  below  such  limit. 
