Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Sept.,  1875.  ; 
Cheap  Drugs. 
389 
Among  the  various  causes  that  have  produced  such  a  result,  there  is. 
one  to  which  I  propose  to  refer,  namely,  the  disposition  on  the  part  o£ 
buyers  to  cheapen  prices  ;  and  here  the  "  individual  pharmacist  "  is  quite: 
as  open  to  criticism  as  is  the  wholesale  dealer,  and  it  is  simply  a  facfc 
that,  if  the  pharmacist  desires  strictly  pure  goods,  he  need  have  no  dif- 
ficulty  in  finding  sellers  equally  as  upright  as  himself. 
One  of  the  axioms  of  a  certain  class  of  political  economists  is  ta 
buy  in  the  cheapest  and  sell  in  the  dearest  market." 
As  every  man  in  business  aims  to  make  money,  the  advantage  to  be 
derived  from  buying  at  low  and  selling  at  high  prices  is  obvious.  It  is- 
well  to  remember,  however,  that  while  judicious  purchasing  has  much\ 
to  do  with  ultimate  gains  in  commercial  "transactions,  a  due  regard 
should  be  had  to  quality  as  well  as  to  prices ;  and  it  is  unquestionably  a 
fact  that  the  wide-spread  disposition  of  the  times  to  cheapen  prices  has. 
a  tendency,  in  many  cases,  to  reduce  the  quality  of  the  merchandise 
below  the  proper  standard. 
In  no  line  of  business  is  this  more  apparent  chan  in  that  of  drugs  and'3 
chemicals,  and  yet  nowhere  should  greater  care  be  exercised  by  all  con- 
cerned than  in  this  particular  branch  of  trade. 
It  is,  comparatively,  of  little  consequence  if  many  classes  of  goods;; 
fully  meet  the  requirements  or  not,  because,  at  the  most,  only  a 
pecuniary  loss  can  be  sustained  ;  but,  in  the  case  of  medicines,  where 
human  life  is  jeopardized,  the  responsibility  is  far  greater,  so  that  every 
one  should  realize,  that  in  the  business  of  the  manufacturing  chemist,, 
and  the  wholesale  and  the  retail  druggist,  there  is  an  important  element, 
to  be  considered,  entirely  unknown  in  most  departments  of  trade. 
Hence,  chemists  and  druggists  should  aim  to  prepare  and  sell  only 
goods  of  standard  purity  ;  and  as  all  are  in  business  for  profit,  there- 
should  be  a  general  disposition  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  a  good  article. 
Any  one  who  has  an  extended  experience  knows  full  well  that  the 
complaint  is  universal,  at  this  time,  in  the  drug  business  as  to  the  small 
profits  and  the  sharp,  not  to  say  unfair^  competition  ;  so  that  there  is  but 
little  encouragement  for  beginners,  or  even  for  those  long-established  ; 
and,  unless  there  may  be  articles  of  a  proprietary  character  available,  the 
drug  trade  offers  but  scanty  remuneration  for  the  outlay  of  capital,  the 
time  and  experience  necessary,  still  less  for  the  peculiar  responsibility 
that  attaches  to  the  manufacturer,  the  wholesale  and  the  retail  dealer* 
It  is,  therefore,  greatly  to  be  deprecated  that  it  too  often  happens 
that  the  price  sells  the  goods,  and  quality  is  a  secondary  consideration^ 
