Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1901. 
Editorial. 
205 
be  taken  by  the  Association  to  insure  an  exhaustive  and  accurate 
compilation  of  every  law  and  every  legal  decision  that  bears  upon 
the  practice  of  pharmacy  and  the  relation  of  the  pharmacist  to  the 
public,  the  physician  and  State.  He  further  suggested  that  this  be 
recorded  under  the  title  of  "Laws  and  Comments"  and  kept  separate 
from  other  matters  pertaining  to  education.  His  idea  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  department  on  Progress  in  Pharmaceutical  Jurispru- 
dence, similar  to  the  department  on  Progress  in  Pharmacy.  Others 
since  that  time  have  also  referred  to  this  need. 
The  reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Section  on  Education  and 
Legislation  of  the  A.Ph.A.  must  necessarily  be  more  or  less  in  the 
nature  of  statistics,  as  the  office  is  seldom  held  by  any  one  person  for 
more  than  two  years,  and  just  about  the  time  that  he  is  competent  to 
make  a  digest  of  such  an  important  question  his  office  is  turned 
over  to  his  successor,  who  again  must  serve  an  apprenticeship  as  his 
predecessors  have  done.  These  statistics  are  no  doubt  of  value,  and 
yet  it  was  evidenced  in  the  discussion  at  the  last  meeting  (see  Proc, 
1900,  pp.  283,  284)  that  there  may  be  errors  in  the  compilation  owing 
to  complications  in  the  reports  received  from  the  secretaries  of  the 
various  boards,  and  like  many  other  statistics  may  really  not  give 
the  information  that  is  in  accord  with  the  facts.  It  therefore  seems 
that  what  is  most  needed  at  the  present  time,  when  the  pharmacists 
of  the  country  are  being  roused  to  an  appreciation  of  the  value 
and  power  of  organization  and  the  possibilities  of  its  effect  upon 
legislation,  is  that  some  one  who  is  competent  for  such  a  work  shall 
present  from  time  to  time,  as  may  be  deemed  necessary,  a  succinct 
account  of  the  progress  in  Pharmaceutical  Jurisprudence,  this  report 
to  include  amendments  of  old  statutes  and  the  enactments  of  new 
ones  as  they  are  made,  and  the  recording  of  various  court  decisions 
of  a  nature  affecting  pharmacy,  and  all  other  matters  relating  to 
pharmacy  laws  and  legislation  ;  also  a  discussion  of  bills  which  are 
likely  to  be  modified  in  their  passage,  if  passed  at  all,  and  the  criti- 
cism of  individual  statutes  after  they  are  enacted  into  laws. 
The  editorial  management  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy 
has  not  heretofore  devoted  much  space  to  the  matter  of  Pharmaceu- 
tical Jurisprudence,  because  the  subject  is  one  requiring  the  direction 
of  an  expert  of  unusual  ability  and  training.  It  must  be  conceded 
that  unless  such  a  work,  as  outlined,  is  accomplished  by  an  authority 
much  harm  can  be  done  a  cause  requiring  a  strong  hand  for  its 
