284  Drugs  and  Druggist  in  Tuberculosis.  {Am'JJ°er,l^arn1, 
strict  honesty,  they  do  not  claim  that  their  preparation  is  guaranteed 
by  the  Government,  as  some  less  far-sighted  have  done,  but  claim 
only  that  it  is  guaranteed  by  the  makers  to  conform  to  all  the 
provisions  of  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act.  "  A  few  pointed  truths  " 
are  given  for  "  those  who  may  be  inclined  to  consumption,"  in  this 
circular,  following  which  is  some  matter  that  we  are  asked  to 
read  carefully.  This  I  did,  and  find  that  their's  "  is  a  remedy  that 
destroys  the  tubercle  bacilli  "  and  that  "  this  has  been  proven  by 
microscopical  examination."  As  if  this  would  not  silence  or  satisfy 
the  most  sceptical  or  critical,  we  learn  further  on  that  "  several 
hundred  clergymen  are  using  and  endorsing  the  remedy,  and  that 
it  is  not  advertised  in  the  newspapers  and  never  has  been."  Then 
coining  to  the  fourth  cover  page  of  this  remarkable  booklet,  we 
find  among  other  things  that  the  patient  is  directed  to  ask  his  drug- 
gist for  the  remedy,  and  that  the  price  is  two  dollars  a  bottle,  all 
of  which  should  lead  to  a  favorable  impression  of  its  value  and 
respectability. 
Without  unduly  enlarging  upon  the  subject  of  patent  medicines, 
I  merely  wish  to  repeat  the  words  of  Samuel  Hopkins  Adams : 
"  One  and  all,  the  men  who  advertise  medicines  to  cure  consump- 
tion deliberately  traffic  in  human  life." 
A  NEW  FIELD  FOR  THE  PHARMACIST. 
There  is  still  another  line  of  work  in  which  the  druggist  can 
engage  in  co-operating  with  the  physician  and  health  authorities 
in  dealing  with  tuberculosis.  In  some  of  the  other  lines  in  which 
the  druggist  is  called  upon  to  take  a  definite  stand,  as  already 
indicated,  the  questions  that  he  has  to  consider  involve  purely 
ethical  and  economical  principles,  such  as  moralists  or  students  of 
social  science  might  consider,  but  in  this  other  field  of  work  which 
should  claim  his  attention  his  ability  as  a  scientific  and  practical 
worker  will  be  called  into  play.  Next  to  the  discovery  that  tuber- 
culosis is  a  germ  disease,  probably  the  most  important  fact  to  be 
recognized  is  that  it  is  a  communicable  or  contagious  disease.  The 
knowledge  of  the  former  enables  the  physician  to  treat  the  disease 
in  a  rational  manner,  and  of  the  latter  to  devise  and  practice  meas- 
ures which  will  limit  and  prevent  its  spread.  This  means  eternal 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  all  of  those  having  the  care  of  tuberculous 
patients.  Moreover,  the  actual  amount  of  practical  scientific  work 
to  be  done  in  caring  for  and  treating  this  class  of  patients  in  this 
