Am  jinUer'i909arm' }  Drugs  and  Druggist  in  Tuberculosis.  287 
of  the  National  Pure  Food  and  Drugs  Law.  And  with  the  present 
educational  and  professional  awakening  we  are  justified  in  looking 
forward  to  the  centenary  of  this  first  upward  step  in  this  country 
with  confidence  and  hope. 
HEALTH  OF  THE  PHARMACIST. 
While  we  see  in  the  post-graduate  courses  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association  an  evidence  that  American  pharmacy 
is  steadily  advancing,  and  while  the  pharmacist  undoubtedly  recog- 
nizes that  health  is  a  social  product,  to  use  the  language  of  Presi- 
dent Eliot,  he  has  in  the  past  failed  to  consider  himself  sufficiently, 
and  by  his  attention  to  his  duties  and  indoor  life  has  been  sacrificing 
his  own  health.  That  this  is  true  is  shown  by  statistics.  We  find 
that  in  the  list  of  death-rates  from  consumption  among  men  in  fifty- 
three  occupations  in  the  United  States,  in  1900,  apothecaries  and 
pharmacists  are  thirty-seventh  on  the  list  beginning  with  those 
who  are  least  affected,  namely,  bankers  and  brokers,  while  teachers 
who  are  also  more  or  less  confined  are  only  eleventh,  and  physicians 
only  fourteenth  on  the  list. 
The  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  beginning  its  war  on 
consumption  recommends  among  other  things,  ( 1 )  continued  agita- 
tion -for  a  shorter  work-day  to  a  maximum  of  eight  hours;  (2) 
release  from  work  at  least  one  full  day  in  seven;  (3)  a  Saturday 
half-holiday  at  least  during  the  summer  months.  It  can  hardly  be 
gainsaid  that  pharmacists  should  make  a  similar  advance.  While 
there  are  some  pharmacists  in  this  city  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  who  close  their  stores  a  portion  of  the  day  on  Sunday,  and 
close  them  comparatively  early  in  the  evening  on  other  days,  still 
their  day  is  a  very  long  one,  and  it  is  therefore  to  be  hoped  that 
for  the  sake  of  their  health  as  well  as  the  advantage  to  be  gained 
in  other  ways  all  of  the  pharmacists  of  this  city  will  join  in  a 
renewed  and  concerted  effort  to  reduce  the  number  of  their  working 
hours.  In  addition,  they  should  pay  strict  attention  to  the  cleanli- 
ness of  their  stores,  keeping  them  as  free  from  dust  as  possible, 
and  also  well  ventilated.  Furthermore,  it  seems  to  me  that  they 
should  be  particular  not  to  employ  persons  suffering  from  tuber- 
culosis, and,  lastly,  should  endeavor  to  get  into  the  open  air  for 
a  short  time  at  least  every  day.  In  other  words,  while  helping  to 
take  care  of  other  people,  we  must  not  forget  to  take  care  of 
ourselves. 
