Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  / 
February,  1921.  ) 
Pharmacy  and  Pharmacists. 
127 
schools  of  Philadelphia  said  has  been  revolutionized  in  the  last 
fifteen  years.    These  are  the  words  of  Director  Ash  : 
"Where  formerly  the  pupil  went  out  from  the  school  poorly  equipped  to 
make  any  real  headway  for  some  time  in  his  chosen  vocation,  if  he  had  one, 
and  was  forced  to  struggle  along  uninformed  and  unguided,  he  now  goes 
out,  as  it  were,  with  a  flying  start. 
"With  the  present  system,  the  high  school  student,  in  the  fourth  year  of 
his  chosen  course,  spends  two  weeks  out  of  every  school  month  in  an  indus- 
trial establishment,  actually  working  and  producing,  and  earning  a  good 
salary. 
"In  1906  the  vocational  idea  got  a  real  foothold  in  the  schools,  and  the 
amazing  growth  of  this  feature,  both  in  interest  of  the  pupils  and  effective- 
ness in  the  teaching,  is  now  a  matter  of  historj^." 
The  Philadelphia  College  of  Apothecaries  adopted  the  idea  one 
hundred  years  ago  and  has  successfully  applied  it  in  the  system  of 
teaching.  It  has  aided  thereby  in  the  development  of  many  indus- 
tries. The  apprentice  system  has  practically  disappeared,  but  the  idea 
put  into  practice  by  these  apothecaries  in  182 1,  to  co-ordinate  edu- 
cation and  training,  remains  and  has  been  fitted  and  shaped  into  the 
scheme  of  the  high  schools  a  plan  that  has  the  advantages  pointed 
out  by  Mr.  Ash.  You  will  reflect  on  the  different  Philadelphia  in- 
dustries, more  or  less  closely  connected  with  pharmacy,  in  the  de- 
velopment of  which  P.  C.  P.  graduates  had  a  direct  or  indirect  part 
It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  problem  of  education  is  much 
larger  than  the  individual  and  his  trade  or  profession,  it  is  as 
big  as  society  itself ;  the  work  of  a  profession,  an  institution,  an 
organization,  is  measured  not  only  by  the  results  of  and  for  those 
directly  concerned  but  also  by  the  influence  on  society  or  the  world 
at  large.  Pharmacists  have  been  more  or  less  derelict  in  informing 
the  public  relative  to  their  part  in  the  world's  work ;  the  credit  in 
which  they  should  have  shared  has  gone  to  others.  Their  work  in 
associations  is  often  belittled  by  their  own  number  and  not  infre- 
quently hindered  and  impeded,  if  the  results  are  not  absolutely 
neutralized  or  passed  to  the  credit  of  others  who  are  only  too  willing 
to  utilize  what  has  been  done  by  pharmacists.  Physicians  link  up 
their  service  with  the  life  of  citizens;  chemists  advertise  their 
achievements,  their  value  to  the  industries  and  commerce,  while  the 
contributions  of  pharmacy  in  that  respect  are  often  ignored  and  the 
credit  then  goes  to  others,  because  we  do  not  contend  for  rightful 
