3Q2  Pharmacists  and  Pharmacopoeia.       \Am: Jour;  fnhnaftrttl- 
x  August,  iyuy. 
of  pharmacists  in  the  recent  revisions.  So  we  see  that  the  "  capture  " 
has  not  been  by  design,  nor  by  accident,  but  is  only  following  the 
proper  lines  of  Pharmacopoeial  scope  and  progress  and  the  devel- 
opment of  professional  pharmacy. 
I  am  compelled  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  recommendation  to 
restrict  the  membership  of  the  convention  to  delegates  from  the 
American  Medical  Association,  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Asso- 
ciation, and  the  various  branches  of  the  medical  service  of  the 
National  Government.  One  of  the  most  encouraging  signs  of  the 
time  is  the  greatly  increased  interest  in  the  Pharmacopoeia.  This 
is  not  only  noticeable  in  the  medical  profession,  but  also  in  all 
branches  of  the  drug  trade  and  chemical  industries.  Its  adoption 
as  a  legal  standard  by  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act  has  made  these 
manufacturers  and  dealers  and  importers  take  notice  of  its  require- 
ments, and  everywhere  there  is  manifested  a  sincere  desire  for  its 
improvement  and  to  make  its  descriptions,  tests,  and  requirements 
practical  and  accurate. 
Probably  one  serious  error 1  in  the  preparation  of  the  book  in 
the  past  has  been  the  lack  of  interest  shown  by  the  practical  men, 
who  permitted  the  teachers  and  theorists  to  assume  all  the  burdens. 
While  proud  of  the  last  revision,  we  must  recognize  that,  like  all 
human  works,  it  is  far  from  perfect.  Dr.  Leffmann  is  quite  right  in 
demanding  that  practical  clinicians  should  be  represented  on  the 
Committee  on  Revision.  The  National  Wholesale  Druggists'  Asso- 
ciation has  likewise  by  resolution  expressed  itself :  "  That  there 
should  be  added  to  the  committee  several  chemists  of  large  experi- 
ence in  manufacturing  and  one  or  more  druggists  who  are  familiar 
with  the  drug  markets  of  the  world."  So  we  see  that  the  next  con- 
vention will  be  confronted  with  a  problem  of  how  to  recognize  all 
the  interests  that  desire  to  assist  in  the  preparation  of  the  revision 
and  not  enlarge  its  membership  or  that  of  the  Committee  on 
Revision.  I  quite  agree  with  the  statement  attributed  to  Prof. 
Joseph  P.  Remington,  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Revision, 
that  "  The  larger  the  number  of  interests  represented  in  the  next 
Pharmacopoeia  the  better  for  the  book."  In  the  light  of  past  experi- 
ence the  convention  should  certainly  exercise  critical  judgment  in 
selecting  the  future  committee  to  obtain  the  best  talent  and  the  most 
practical  knowledge  and  at  the  same  time  eliminate  dead  wood. 
The  proposition  to  have  the  work  of  revision  under  government 
sanction  and  control  and  the  Pharmacopoeia  published  by  the  United 
