THE
DIXIE DRUGGIST
_A Monthly Publication Issued to the
Retail Drug Trade of the South_
MAY, 1913
[Illustration]
To meet with big success, one must be sometimes very bold and
sometimes very prudent. It is by looking forward that one
prevents inconveniences. So arrange your affairs that, whatever
storm may sweep over you, you may not be taken unawares or
unprepared.
--NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
THE DIXIE DRUGGIST
BLACKWELDER-RIDDLE BUILDING HICKORY, N. C.
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| THE DIXIE DRUGGIST |
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| THE DIXIE DRUGGIST |
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THE DIXIE DRUGGIST
A MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOR SOUTHERN DRUGGISTS.
“Covers the South like the Sunshine”
BLACKWELDER-RIDDLE BUILDING HICKORY, N. C.
Vol. 1 May, 1913 No. 2
“Is There a Crisis in the Drug Business”
By JOHN I. KELLY
A Paper Read Before the Baltimore Retail Druggists Association
Monday, March 10, 1913
_Mr. President and Gentlemen_:
The subject, “Is There a Crisis in the Drug Business,” which your
president has unfortunately selected me to discuss, is so vitally
interesting and important to each of you that I suppose there may
be a great many here who have given much more thought, and are so
far more versed on the subject than I, that any feeble effort of
mine would suggest no new thought, supply no new theories or give
subject-matter with which you are not already familiar. However, as I
have been requested to give a personal opinion, I ask your indulgence,
particularly if my efforts do supply nothing new and are only in the
nature of a review.
The “Crisis in the Drug Business,” referred to and discussed by
many, pro and con, seems to pertain particularly to the prescription
end of it, and as such will be most considered. “Crisis,” meaning a
“vitally important or decisive state of things, the point at which a
change must come, either for the better or worse,” somewhat describes
the situation, though it has been a gradual evolution, approaching
slowly, almost stealthily, until now, aroused, the condition seems
acute, apparently a sudden and startling metamorphosis. It may be more
properly described, however, as a gradual but decided revolution in
conduct and method of business, partly due to natural conditions over
which the druggist has no control, and partly to changes which he has
been slow to realize and slower to adapt himself.
These changes we shall divide into scientific and commercial. Through
laboratory research work, modern medical science has progressed to such
an extent that in some diseases the form of medication has changed
entirely, while in others medication is reduced to a minimum. Chemical
combinations, synthetics, biological products, vaccines, etc., have all
in a natural sequence deprived the pharmacist of many prescriptions.
The various salts of mercury and potash have been to some extent
replaced by salvarsin and copavia, nitre, menthelene blue seem about
to be effected by gonococcous vaccine and anti-gonococcic serum. Your
gargles, douches, sprays, external and internal medication have to
a considerable extent been supplanted some time ago by anti-toxin,
and so on, but the unfortunate side of it is that in cities such as
ours much more of these products are supplied through the health
department and the hospitals than through the legitimate channel of
trade, the druggist, and oftentimes to many undeserving people. Some
family physicians, who are nothing more than diagnosing agents for
the specialists, and who, when called in to see the sick, immediately
consult a specialist, with the result that in about 50 per cent.
of the cases the subject generally finds his or her way into the
hospital. The great number of dispensaries in our community, with their
indiscriminate service and consequent unbridled abuse, is another cause
for the falling off in the prescription business.
The surgeon, the X-ray, radium, etc., all play their individual part in
the decline of prescriptions. These are a few of the reasons for a more
or less elimination of prescription writing, for which we may say that
science is either directly or indirectly the contributing cause.
THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.
Several times agents for tablet houses have called on me and said: “Dr.
So and So has just given me a little order, or intends to increase his
line of our goods; of course, we don’t sell doctors direct, so if you
will let me send these goods through you I will bill them straight,
subject to a 10 per cent. discount to you; this means business for me
and 10 per cent. on the doctor’s purchase for you. In other words, I
was to guarantee their bill, wait for my money until the doctor was
ready to pay, and act as their collecting agent, for all of which
the above traveling man most magnanimously offered the above highly
remunerative 10 per cent. and this for the worst enemy the druggist
has--the dispensing doctor. That gentleman who pays no taxes on his
stock and fixtures, needs no traders’ license, is subject to no drug
inspection, who is insincere with his patients, and needs but the
occasion to discredit druggists, as a whole, in furthering his schemes
of diverting from the proper channels that which rightfully does not
belong to him.”
Another reason is the mistake made at times by the druggists, as a
body, of often plunging headlong, and with the purest motives possible,
into any vortex created by a few overzealous men, both physicians and
pharmacists, who are more often theorists than practical druggists,
and to illustrate my point I recall an incident of more or less recent
occurrence that tended to inspire little confidence of thoughtful
physicians in them as a whole.
Various medical associations, pharmaceutical associations, and nearly
every journal allied to medicine and the drug trade decried the use
of hand-me-downs. The committee on revision of the N. F. immediately
offered us a number of preparations of varying merit, that were not
even good substitutes for the above, and these I have understood at the
suggestion of some physicians.
Glycerinated Elix. Gentian, if made according to formula, with its
excessive amount of solution of saccharine and its repulsively
excessive amount of acetic ether, would never supplant the preparation
it was intended to take the place of.
Pulv. Acetanilid Comp. is as dangerous a heart depressent as the
nostrum it was supposed to displace.
We were told that Lactopeptine was too expensive to use as a vehicle,
and was worth not a continental medicinally; that Pancreatin and
diastase were destroyed by Pepsin in the presence of an acid; besides,
after the chemists of the A. M. A. were through their analysis, they
found there was so little Pepsin that it was scarcely worth mentioning,
but if the doctor wanted a good pharmaceutical we could supply Pulv.
Pepsin Comp. or Elix. Digestive Comp., either just as good, not quite
so expensive, and certainly would do no more harm. Associations printed
proprietaries and substitutes side by side and launched this matter as
a propaganda of education for the physicians; material that filled no
void, supplied no deficiency and appealed to many only as a means to
increased profit.
That some physicians did prescribe was only because they had more
confidence in the druggists as compounders of the above preparations
than they had in the manufacturers of the nostrum; because they were
friendly enough with the individual druggist to open an opportunity
for a little better profit; because they thought their patients would
be more economically handled; but had the revisionists advanced a few
scientific combinations, elegant pharmaceuticals or easily prepared
chemicals, they would have given the druggist better material for
propaganda work and appealing agents to most physicians. It was,
however, to a certain extent a wasted effort, lacking in conception,
devoid of originality and decidedly wanting in producing lasting
results. So much for some of the contributing causes.
_Now for the effect._ Business conditions have undoubtedly changed.
This applies not only to the drug business, but to every line of trades
or professions.
Our good old friend, the family doctor, has felt the effects of the
surgeon, the specialist, the hospital, the dispensary.
Lawyers, the effect of the title guarantee companies and syndicated law.
The dry goods and notion business has been revolutionized into
department stores.
The horse dealers, horseshoers and carriage builders must feel the
introduction of the motor vehicle.
Laborers have felt the innovation of the steam shovel, etc.
I could go on almost indefinitely, but these changed conditions are the
outcome of science or commercialism, and are inevitable. Now, what is
the remedy? I had intended to say nothing on this subject, as it would
make quite an interesting paper or be food for animated discussion, but
a short consideration of this text is so intimately associated with
the subject under discussion that it seems particularly well timed.
We are on the eve of still another “crisis”--a “crisis” that partly
answers the question, “What is the remedy?” and a close investigation
will discover that a pronounced reaction is setting in against many of
the products of the laboratory physicians and the faddists who have led
their more gullible fellow-practitioners to adopt their experimental
novelties and reluctantly have found that practicing medicine without
the materia medica is like playing Hamlet without the Melancholy Dane.
The reckless use of biological products, vaccines, etc., is even
now being severely handled by both medical and lay journals, and as
interesting reading I would call your attention to two articles, one a
serious editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association
under date of February 22, 1913, page 602, entitled “Phylacogens,”
and the other in a lighter vein, entitled “Medicine,” by Cobb, in the
Saturday Evening Post of November 30, 1912.
The man who seeks the little things generally gets the little sought;
the man who hunts big game, and is persistent, most often makes a good
bag, but the old adage, “Everything comes to him who waits,” may have
applied years ago, but many theories and much fact disprove it now.
There are still going to be sick people to prescribe for and doctors
to do the prescribing. Someone must fill the prescriptions. Who is
it to be? It is going to be the man who can shape and mold himself
to conditions as they arise. Most doctors are your friends. Even
now the ties are becoming more firmly cemented. He is dependent on
you to a certain extent. Be fair with him, and he will in most cases
reciprocate. And last, but not least, just for a suggestion, lend your
aid to some concerted action to control the dispensary evil by having
all applicants for treatment first obtain pauper cards from the Police
Department or Federal Charities, then see that the dispensing doctor
is placed on an equal business footing with you, have him pay his
legitimate taxes on his stock, take out a traders’ license, let the
drug inspector examine his stock for purity and potency, and finally,
see if there is not some way of reaching the gentlemen, for to my
mind a physician has no greater right to practice pharmacy without
registration than a druggist has to prescribe.
Pharmacy is a profession of the highest order, a sort of composite
type, requiring the manipulative skill of the mechanic with the
technical knowledge of the professional man, and demanding above all
other professions at all times a clear head and an immediate and
scrupulous knowledge of your subject. There is no profession where
demands are so exacting and mistakes more consequential.
Still you have seen your profession tossed and buffeted about like a
ship on a stormy sea. You have had your honesty questioned by a certain
class of physicians when it suited their purpose; you have been called
substitutors in patent medicine literature and advertisements; you have
stood endless vilification from one source or another and retained a
calm, dispassionate silence, an indifference so intense as to become
startling in its apparent acquiescence.
Can you blame the public for believing some of the things said about
you when not so much as a word of defense or a syllable of protest is
offered in rebuttal?
As individuals you can protect yourself but feebly and accomplish
but little; united you must be a power. Every one of you wields an
influence, great or small, that in the aggregate will well be worth
catering to, if you work as a unit. You have it within your power to do
much of mutual benefit if, as a body, you work toward a common goal.
Decide in meetings on that which is best; start with a thorough plan;
play politics, if necessary, but that politics that knows no party but
the one that is willing to prove your friend and help you realize your
needs. All the resolutions passed, all the enthusiasm demonstrated in
your meetings will amount to nothing and you will revert into a mutual
admiration society unless followed up by every ounce of alertness,
activity and aggressiveness that your various committees and your
massed membership can summon to their aid. Yours is a worthy cause; one
that demands justice and equity, and in all fairness to yourselves, you
want to enter it with that energy that brings success. You can remain
passive no longer; you must be up and doing and your rights cannot be
denied you if your demands are honorable, just and consistent, and I am
sure they will be.
Every letter, magazine article and trade journal containing short
essays from druggists scattered the length and breadth of this great
land of ours sound the same note, strike the same chord, and are united
in one grand chorus of perfect harmony the summary of whose song is
“Corrective Laws and Unity.”
Our great trouble seems to be that we lack union and concerted action
on important matters. Laws are enacted and enforced by every line of
tradesmen, mechanics, professional men, and even laborers, protecting
their individual interests, and which we all must live up to, whether
we consider them fair or unfair.
Your plumbing must be done by none, however skilled, but a registered
plumber, and the law is positive. Arguments before your law courts can
be conducted by no one, no matter how able, unless he be a registered
lawyer, and the law is definite. No one dares to practice medicine
who is unregistered, and the law is explicit, but where do the rights
of the pharmacist begin and where do they end? The unrestrained and
indiscriminate sale of medicines by department stores, the corner
grocery, patent medicine shops and what not, whose proprietors are not
only unregistered, but whose only knowledge is to handle it like the
rest of the merchandise they sell, without any restriction, makes us
feel like we wasted time in becoming registered at all.
Is antikamnia more potent when dispensed as a prescription than
antikamnia sold in 25-cent boxes by department stores?
Does paregoric sold on a doctor’s prescription require greater
technical skill in handling than that sold in 5-cent and 10-cent
bottles at the corner grocery?
Does the strength, purity or therapeutic value of tablets of asperin,
calomel or pills of quinine dispensed by the druggist on prescription
vary from those peddled by the dry goods stores in 100 lots?
Does the registration of pharmacists mean simply a guarantee of
competency to fill prescriptions?
Should drugs of a questionable degree of potency be given
indiscriminately to the public, without someone who understands them to
either recommend or advise against their use?
Is not the competition waged in the traffic of medicines to an
irresponsible public by houses without registered proprietors in
fact considered in an entirely different line of business, as much a
hardship to the big druggist as to the little man, simply a question of
proportion, and if continued must mean but one thing, “the survival of
the fittest?”
Suppose we turn from drugs and chemicals to other forms of medication.
What protection have any of you? Only very recently one of the large
general merchants advertised vaccine virus, and actually vaccinated his
customers.
But the druggist lies supinely by, with scarcely a murmur of protest,
while National, State and Municipal laws are made for him. Laws
that are definite, made to prosecute, to handle him criminally and
contemptuously; that afford no protection, allow not the slightest
leeway, are as fragile as glass apparently for others, but for him as
unyielding and inflexible as steel, and as positive as the Decalogue;
made by men who have no practical knowledge of the business, know
little, and inform themselves less on the matter they are legislating.
Why does the druggist submit? Has he become callous through long
exposure to this condition? Does he hope to win his immortal crown
through his great humility and patience, or does he accept as a fact
that he is following a well-defined precedent, for as far back as
Shakespeare’s time we find Romeo saying to the apothecary:
“Upon thy back hangs ragged misery.
The world is not thy friend, nor the world’s law.
The world affords no law to make thee rich;
Then be not poor, but break it, and take this, etc.”
But, unlike Romeo, I advise obedience and respect for the laws you
have. Make the best of them until such time may arrive when we can
demand equitable treatment; when you will live under laws formulated by
yourselves; when your laws protect, and do not discriminate or oppress;
when the dignity of pharmacy is akin, at least, to other professions.
It may be at a distance, but the longest road oft-times has many short
cuts, so it is with you now to take the initiatory step, for, as the
saying goes, “Something attempted, something done,” any movement toward
a realization of our ideals should be eagerly sought and accepted.
You have the blood and sinews of the drug trade of the town among
you. As an association, don’t follow the paths of your predecessors.
Establish an individuality by doing things differently from others.
Let every man pledge his moral, and, if necessary, his financial
support, and stick to it. Let us prepare a new path and tempt
Opportunity, and when that great, but elusive and fickle dame, should
appear, make her welcome so sincere and royal that the good lady would
not deign to leave.
Unite in your efforts; combine in your legislative matters, combine
on educational features; combine on social relations; combine on
grievances; combine with your ways and means committee. We have a
common cause to work for. Every man is as vitally interested as the
other, and has as much at stake, HIS ALL. And I am sure by unity
of action on matters well discussed in meetings, much of material
advantage can be accomplished, and before the sun sets on many another
year many trade defect will be on a fair way to be remedied, and what
now appear to be breakers ahead will subside, calmed by the oil of
Prosperity, to make easy sailing for the Good Old Ship Contentment.
[Illustration: A MODERN FOUNTAIN--SIMPLE AND INVITING. IN THE STORE OF
DAVIS DRUG COMPANY, FORT SMITH, ARK.]
Around the Drug Stores
The Palace Drug Store, Marfa, Texas, recently purchased by Cecil Booth,
has been enlarged and remodeled.
* * * * *
The Gwyn Drug Store, Mt. Airy, N. C., is now completed and presents
an unusually handsome appearance. Mr. John Marrion, druggist of
considerable experience, has purchased an interest in the drug company,
and with Mr. Joe Gwyn will give Mt. Airy an up-to-date store in
every particular. Mr. Marrion will have charge of the prescription
department. _The Leader_ says that Mr. Gwyn and Mr. Marrion make a team
that is hard to beat.
* * * * *
Francis & Mackey, Luling, Texas, have made numerous improvements in
their drug store.
* * * * *
The Shannon Drug Company, Charlotte, Texas, will occupy one of the new
brick buildings recently erected by Roos Brothers in that city.
* * * * *
The new Fallis Building, Pleasureville, Ky., when completed will be
occupied by the City Drug Store. The building occupies a very prominent
position next to the Deposit Bank. The second floor will be used as an
Opera House.
* * * * *
The Owl Drug Store, Temple, Texas, has installed a very handsome
electric sign in front of its building, and is attracting considerable
attention to the store.
* * * * *
Mr. “Jim” Pearce, who has been in the drug business in Atlanta, Ga., is
now connected with Dr. Dallas Williams’ drug store in Folkston, Ga.
* * * * *
Dr. T. H. Aull, Bowling Green, Ky., is making extensive alterations to
his drug store.
* * * * *
The firm of Robertson & Law, Gainesville, Ga., has been dissolved, Mr.
Law having purchased the interest of Dr. Robertson. The business will
be continued at the same stand under the name of DeLacy Law.
* * * * *
Dr. Brown, who has been employed at the L. C. Small Drug Store, Macon,
Ga., as pharmacist, has been made manager of the store. Dr. Brown was
at one time connected with the sales force of Parke, Davis & Co., and
later was in the drug business in Eatonton, Ga.
* * * * *
Cochran & Riley, Jackson, Tenn., have opened their second store in
that city. This is known as the City Drug Store, and is said to be
a very handsome store. In fact, one of the handsomest in the State.
The new store has a metal ceiling and the fixtures are of mahogany.
A very large mirror, 78 × 90 inches, occupies a position in front of
the prescription case. In the centre of the store is a very handsome
fountain, having 50 feet of serving space. This is the only fountain in
Jackson that is located in the centre of a store.
* * * * *
The Powe Drug Company, Laurens, S. C., has opened a store in the
building formerly occupied by the Dodson, Edwards Co. The store is in
charge of D. J. H. Powe, assisted by Mr. James Hill, formerly of Cheraw.
* * * * *
The Boyd Drug Company, Watertown, Tenn., has made an assignment to F.
A. Young, cashier of the Bank of Watertown.
* * * * *
R. S. McClaren, for many years with the prescription department of
the Nance Drug Store, Jackson, Tenn., is now with the manufacturing
department of the Tri-Tone Drug Company. Mr. J. T. Cross, of Memphis,
succeeds him.
The Druggist’s Duty Concerning Coal Tar Derivatives
By F. M. SIGGINS
_Proceedings of Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association._
I am not a physician, I am even ignorant of the simplest forms of
disease which many druggists are familiar with, and my excuse for the
ignorance is, that I have studiously avoided that line of study, that I
might have less incentive for the so-called art of counter prescribing.
But if I am weak in the knowledge of disease, I hope I have not spent
thirty years behind the drug counter without using my faculties of
observation, and in as short a time as possible, I wish to register my
emphatic objection to the further open sale and use of the coal tar
derivatives, and I follow with my reasons.
My first notice of their danger was brought to me 25 years ago, in the
early days of Acetanilid, by a physician, who gave large doses, and was
enthusiastic over the results, and saw no harm in its use. A few months
later I noticed that the doses had been cut down 65 per cent., and I
enquired the cause. “Well,” says he, “I nearly killed half a dozen of
my best friends, and I thought it time to stop.”
As the years rolled on, scarcely a month passed by, but what some
incident occurred that told me we have admitted into common use the
most dangerous drugs ever placed upon the pages of our text books. I
have taken 2½ grain doses of acetphenetidin with salol at various times
for colds and rheumatism, and thought for years that it did me no harm,
but now I am reluctantly compelled to acknowledge the contrary. For
after two or three days’ use, with a dosage of 2½ grains three or four
times a day I find myself almost completely benumbed and heart action
very weak. And as I recall it I have always had these symptoms, though
less pronounced, and yet it has taken years, with all my knowledge of
the drug, to tumble to its viciousness. A physician very near to me,
commenced using the same drug in small doses and in a short time could
take as high as one dram, but he has quit. Here are the two extremes in
dosage.
Another physician gave a colored woman the well-known mixture of soda
acetanilid and caffeine and in a short time she was consuming one ounce
every two weeks. The physician and woman are both dead.
Still another M. D. who dispensed about 1000 3½ grain acetanilid
tablets per month, died with a bad heart. I do not know how many of
them he took himself, but I have always had my convictions, and I am
reasonably certain that he died without blaming the acetanilid for
his condition. Our sales for one year covering our retail trade and
a wholesale account of about 100 physicians totals 100,000 tablets
containing some one of the coal tar products. The patent headache
and pain remedies, estimated in ten cent packages, total 4000 and
the cold cures 700 boxes, while the bulk goods, covering acetanilid,
acetphenetidin, hexamethylene, sulfonal, trional, veronal, reaches 15
pounds. The profit on these goods should run about $400, but the public
is welcome to our part of it, if they will let coal tar alone, either
voluntarily or by compulsion. Now then, with these figures before us,
and with the facts plainly evident to druggist or physician who uses
any powers of discernment, what chance have the common people against
the wiles of the impertinent manufacturer who repeatedly advertises,
“Perfectly Harmless.”
I must now give you the cases which aroused in me the antagonism to the
open sale of all remedies which contain any coal tar derivative, no
matter how strongly fortified with correctives.
A close friend of mine had a young son come down with a cold, the
physician prescribed twenty powders, two grains each of acetphenetidin.
Some time after this, the box came back for a refill. I said to Jones,
“Does the Doctor want you to have these again?” He replied that he
did. This happened several times in the course of a few years, and
the boy became old enough to come to the store himself on errands,
and I could not help noticing how white and pale he was, and finally
it dawned on me what ailed that boy. I went to Jones and said to him,
“While it is none of my business, I want to tell you with all the force
possible, to quit killing that boy.” “Well,” he says, “I told my wife
what you said, and she replied, That she guessed the Doctor knew as
much as I did about it, so he had dropped it, but now I believe you
are right, and those powders stop right here.” The boy today is a fine
strapping rosy-cheeked youth. A young man of this town, a perfect giant
in strength, who could pick up my 175 pounds and throw me over his
head, became addicted to the use of one of our popular effervescent
preparations for headache. Some time after he commenced using it, I
began to warn him against the frequent dosage, till he almost quit
coming to our counter, not relishing my “preaching,” as he styled it.
I saw him, however, at all the other stores in town, and knew that he
was using it regularly. Several years passed, and some prescriptions
containing heart remedies were ordered sent to this man, later a nurse
was called. I asked the physician “What ails Brown?” “Heart trouble,”
says he, I told him what I knew, and he thanked me, not knowing the
cause.
In a few days this perfect specimen of physical manhood died,--died in
the prime of life, and with a strength that not one man in 10,000 ever
attains, died because we men, druggists, doctors, and scientists have
been so slow to recognize the slow, sneaking, insidious character of
these vicious remedies. No one can make me believe, when I pick up the
morning paper and read the same old story day after day, “that Jones
dropped dead in Texas, Smith in Maine and Black in California,” that
Coal Tar was not at the bottom of 90 per cent. of them.
For my part I am in this fight to stay, I have decreased our sales all
of one-half, by my own warnings against their use.
But how much avail am I to the ignorant young rounder, who comes out
of a night’s debauch with a big head, and who still half drunk wanders
from drug store to drug store and asks for his effervescent? No one
guilty because the busy clerk or proprietor did not know that he had
had another just 5 minutes previous. With all this knowledge before me
I have been guilty of openly pushing the sale by the distribution of
literature lauding these remedies, but no more for me.
And I ask my brother druggists not to put out any advertising which may
contain on one of its pages a recommendation for a coal tar remedy. I
also hope to soon see upon the statutes of every State a law similar to
the one concerning Cocaine of our own State.
For I maintain that Opium or Cocaine are not one-half so deadly as
Coal Tar, for while they openly show what they can do, the other works
silently till the end is near. For our part, we have quit putting up a
remedy of our own, and I have in mind the adoption of a label, to go on
the outside of all packages sold, to read something like this:
“All remedies containing acetanilid, acetphenetidin or like product of
coal tar are dangerous, and should be used with caution, in extreme
cases only, and never habitually.” Considering the effect on myself,
on the people I have sold to, the evidence of many physicians who have
found out the pernicious effects and have felt themselves compelled
to abandon or modify its use, I venture the opinion that, while it is
bad medicine for any one for regular use, on those who are extremely
susceptible to it, it soon vitiates the blood, and deprives them of
their full powers of resistance, when sudden shock or disease o’er
takes them.
Gentlemen, if by the reading of this paper, I have converted one person
to my point of view I shall feel amply rewarded for the hours spent in
its preparation.
PAT’S INDIGNATION.
Patrick, lately over, was working in the yards of a railroad. One
day he happened to be in the yard office when the force was out. The
telephone rang vigorously several times, and he at last decided it
ought to be answered. He walked over to the instrument, took down the
receiver, and put his mouth to the transmitter, just as he had seen
others do.
“Hillo!” he called.
“Hello!” answered the voice at the other end of the line. “Is this
eight-six-one-five-nine?”
“Aw, g’wan! Phwat d’ ye t’ink I am? A box car?”--_Exchange._
The Future of Pharmacy in Relation to the Modern Development of Medicine
By WILLIAM G. TOPLIS
_Proceedings of Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association._
The year Eighteen Hundred and Eighty-one is destined to become known
in medical and pharmaceutical history as the beginning of the most
revolutionary epoch in all of the experience of those branches of
endeavor.
That year brought forth a discovery whose importance is not yet
generally recognized. Not alone is it concerned with medicine and
pharmacy, but it has performed a most important service in engineering
projects of world-wide importance. It may be truthfully said that this
discovery and those it led up to, made possible the building of the
Panama Canal.
It was a most important factor in bringing victory to Japan and defeat
to Russia.
It is banishing pestilence from its breeding places everywhere, and
no department of life, either animal or vegetable, is beyond its
influence. It has placed the practice of medicine upon a scientific
basis, and inaugurated the era of preventive medicine. The day of
curative measures, with which we are most familiar, is passing. In most
of the cities and large communities of the world, Public Hygiene has
become a very important department of government. Observe our own city
of Philadelphia; we have there the largest water purification plant in
existence. Its effect, in that city is to reduce the number of typhoid
fever cases 80 per cent. of the former total, and perhaps 100 per cent.
of the water borne typhoid, peculiar to the Philadelphia water supply.
A case of typhoid fever commonly runs three months. In money it is
worth from fifty to one hundred dollars to the attending physician,
perhaps half of that to the druggist.
A similar change has taken place concerning diphtheria. Anti-toxin and
treatment are supplied to the patient at the expense of the communities
in by far the greater number of cases.
Smallpox is practically unknown, for similar reasons.
Bacterins as prophylactic measures against typhoid, and a number of
other diseases, are coming into increased usefulness.
Chemo Therapy. The latest advance has done astounding things. With one
treatment of 606, Salvarsan, specific disease disappears to return no
more. At least it seems so at this early date.
Much is promised from the same source in the eradication of cancer.
Leprosy, incurable, from remote antiquity, seems about to succumb to
the new enlightenment.
The extermination of tuberculosis is within hailing distance. And
so on through the whole catalogue of ills that plagued the people,
unrestrained, less than 30 years ago.
The transcendental discovery of Dr. Koch, that has made possible all
of these wonders, and many others beside, and others yet to come, is
the simple fact that microscopic organisms grow in pure culture, upon
a piece of boiled potato. This is the corner-stone upon which has
been built the whole science of modern Bacteriology. With these facts
confronting us and others of like nature to follow, we naturally turn
to inquire what effect these changes are likely to exert upon the
practice of pharmacy.
Every pharmacist has observed the greatly increased development of the
commercial side of the drug business as compared with its scientific
side, which rather seems to be accorded a secondary place in the
conduct of its affairs, regardless of the fact that this feature is the
one that gives it character, and the only one that distinguishes it
from ordinary merchandising.
Thirty years ago the physicians whom we knew were high-minded,
dignified gentlemen, who held the ethics of their profession in such
esteem that they scorned to violate them. We could not imagine any of
those, passing out a handful of tablets to an office patient for a
fifty-cent fee. And yet the man of today who practices medicine under
such conditions is to be condemned no more than his predecessors are
to be condemned, because each of them is a product of the conditions
of his day. Truly the change is to be deplored and the remedy is not
yet ready. Thus we have a dreary spectacle, the most noble calling on
God’s green foot-stool, degraded, through its commercial side, into
a mad competition for existence. There are some other causes, beside
those noted, that contribute to the same effect, such as increased
numbers of individuals practicing both medicine and pharmacy. The later
causes, however, are self-limiting and not necessarily fatal to the
calling as a business proposition, whereas, with preventive measures
well established, it is plain to all that both the practice of medicine
and pharmacy as now conducted, will come to their end.
This does not mean that both doctors and druggists will disappear
completely, but it certainly means that a new order of things is upon
the threshold.
This is the year Nineteen-Hundred and Thirteen.
Between the years 1922 and 1932 we may expect to have established a
National Board of Health, with a chief officer in the cabinet and an
organization similar to that of the Army, in which every physician and
every pharmacist will be an officer of the United States Government.
Those physicians, under the new order, who remain in the office
awaiting the call of the sick will be comparatively few in number.
The remainder will be out in the broad domain of practical Hygiene.
Every factory, farm, field, forest, stream, mines, and what not,
will then come under the watchful eye of this new Army which, with
all of the wisdom of science, will guard the health of the country,
if anything, more zealously than it is guarded against foreign foes.
Every occupational disease will be banished, every case of communicable
disease will be promptly isolated.
The men who are to perform this service will be the doctors and
druggists of today who survive at that time, together with those who
shall be hereafter graduated in those professions; not that all of
these men are at present fitted for this work, but their training and
experience make them the most available.
They will, however, be subjected to periodic examinations that shall
determine their advance and pay, and each one will gravitate into the
place that best suits his capacity.
The pay of these men will be suitable to the dignity of their calling,
certainly not less than that of a lieutenant in the United States Army.
Under this new order the people will receive their medicine and medical
treatment upon the same plan that they now receive their public school
education.
To the incredulous, it may be said that the people of Philadelphia
alone spend annually fifteen millions of dollars for medical treatment
and medicine. Under the new system the cost would be less than half of
that sum, and the people will receive better attention than at present.
Schools of medicine and pharmacy will be government institutions, as
are West Point and Annapolis, and their various laboratories will be
the main centres from which the operations of this Hygienic Army shall
be directed.
To the incredulous, again, it may be said, these conditions are coming,
not because they are being sought, nor even desired, but they will be
thrust upon us through the force of economic necessity.
UNITED DRUG COMPANY CONTROLS GUTH PRODUCTS.
The United Drug Company, of Boston, has acquired control of the Guth
Chocolate Company. The Guth Company makes several confectionery brands.
It is stated that the United Drug Company now controls the Liggett
and Daggett candy companies and these will be combined with the Guth
Company into the United Candy Company.
The United Drug Company will shortly open in the new Grand Central
station in New York what is advertised to be the largest drug store in
the world, the fixtures alone costing between $75,000 and $80,000. The
United Drug Company operates about fifty-five drug stores and sells
goods in about 5500 stores throughout the country.
As indicating the growth of this company’s business, it is stated
that nearly one million square feet of space is now utilized for
manufacturing purposes.--_Printers’ Ink._
New Stores and Their Owners
Dr. J. B. Freeman, of Bridgeport, Ala., has opened a drug store in
Springfield, Tenn.
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Mr. L. L. Floyd, Plainville, Ga., will build an up-to-date two-story
brick building for a drug store, which will be opened soon.
* * * * *
Mr. Will Childdress is opening a new drug store in Monette, Ark. He
will occupy the Simon Building.
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Mr. C. N. Barnett has opened a drug store in Clarkston, Ga. This has
been a long-needed institution in Clarkston. The soda fountain is an
attraction for the young people of the town, too.
* * * * *
A new drug store is being opened in Rockwell, N. C., by Mr. H. W.
Barnhardt.
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Drs. Lipscomb and Hockenhull have installed a drug store in the Bank
Corner, Cumming, Ga. The owners will run the drug store in connection
with their practice. A waiting room, consultation room and a laboratory
will occupy one-half of the building, while the remainder will be given
up to the drug store.
* * * * *
It is announced by A. R. Keen, the manager of the Georgian Terrace,
Atlanta’s handsome hotel for tourists, that a prescription drug store
will be opened in the large room in the north corner of the hotel. The
store will be opened this summer, and will be the first drug store in
Atlanta to be located inside a hotel.
* * * * *
The new store of Griffith & Wellons, Marietta, Ga., has been opened
and is doing a rushing business. The opening day was a very important
occasion for the store, a large crowd being attracted by the music and
decorations.
* * * * *
Frank A. Delgado has opened a new store at Fourth and Main streets,
Jacksonville, Fla. Among the up-to-date fixtures of the new store is a
very modern soda fountain.
* * * * *
It is announced that Tarrytown, Ga., is to have a new drug store, which
will be conducted by Dr. Culpeper.
* * * * *
Sam E. Welfare has opened a new drug store at Winston-Salem, N. C.
* * * * *
The E. D. F. Pharmacy, Blackville, S. C., has been commissioned.
Capital, $3000. Petitioners are C. A. Epps, J. G. DeLorme and J. M.
Fleming.
* * * * *
A voluntary petition in bankruptcy has been filed by Sol. Fiegelson,
doing business as the Ineeda Pharmacy, 2001 Jackson street, Houston,
Tex.
* * * * *
O. L. Bailey, of Ocean Springs, Miss., and R. H. Lewis, Jr., of
Gulfport, Miss., have purchased the Ocean Springs drug store, which
will be managed by Mr. Lewis. Extensive improvements will be made.
* * * * *
Mr. John B. Blalock, formerly of Marion, Ala., has entered the drug
business in Sheffield, Ala.
* * * * *
Robert M. Green & Sons, of Philadelphia, have opened a show room in
Atlanta, which is in charge of Mr. J. L. Shipp. There are very many
handsome Green fountains in the South, among them being the fountains
in the following named stores: T. H. Howard, Augusta, Ga.; Jerry
George, Savannah, Ga., and the Journal Building Fountain, Atlanta, Ga.
THE DIXIE DRUGGIST
A MONTHLY PUBLICATION COVERING THE DRUG TRADE OF THE SOUTHERN STATES.
Blackwelder-Riddle Building Hickory, N. C.
Subscriptions $1.00 a year
Foreign Countries 2.00 ”
Single Copies 15 cents
Subscriptions payable in advance
* * * * *
The Dixie Druggist is issued on the 15th of the month. News items and
notices intended for any special issue should reach us not later than
the first of the month.
* * * * *
Advertising Rates will be supplied on application to the Advertising
Manager. Cuts and copy intended for any issue must be in our office on
the first of the month for which they are intended.
Vol. 1 May, 1913 No. 2
* * * * *
A THOUGHT FOR MAY.
All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.
--_Pope._
* * * * *
WINDOW DISPLAYS.
A great many druggists put too little stress upon the importance of the
window display. It is a very frequent thing to see good window space
going to waste. Too often the clerk is left to “put in anything” and
puts it in just “any old way.” This should not be.
If your window is worth the time and talents of an expert window
decorator, such as are sent out by the national advertisers, is it not
worth the time--spare time, let us say--of your clerk? It is a mighty
poor window that a national advertiser will not jump at the chance to
decorate for you. The chances are that nearly every retail druggist
in the South has one very good window. Take advantage of it. Make a
carefully-planned window display and you will be agreeably surprised at
the interest it will attract. That is what your store needs.
* * * * *
Subscriptions to THE DIXIE DRUGGIST are coming in every day. Have you
sent in yours? Our next number may have a single article that will be
worth more than a year’s subscription to you. You don’t want to miss
these good things.
BALTIMORE DRUG EXCHANGE
Standing committees of the Baltimore Drug Exchange for the ensuing
year are as follows: Legislation, R. A. McCormick, of McCormick &
Co., chairman; A. C. Meyer, of A. C. Meyer & Co.; J. F. Hines and
Parker Cook, of the Emerson Drug Co.; Dr. A. R. L. Dohme, of Sharp
& Dohme; Horace Burrough, of the Burrough Bros. Mfg. Co.; James
Owens, of Carr, Owens & Co.; A. E. Mealy, of Gilbert Bros. & Co.;
Allen Carter, of the Resinol Co.; John A. Yakle, of the Kohler Mfg.
Co., and James E. Hancock, of John F. Hancock & Son. Membership and
Entertainment, J. Emory Bond, of Parke, Davis & Co., chairman; George
A. Armor, of McCormick & Co.; Parker Cook, of the Emerson Drug Co.,
and H. A. Brawner, of Swindell Bros. Public Improvements and Trade
Interests, W. M. McCormick, of McCormick & Co.; A. G. Stollenwerck, of
the Resor-Bisnol Co., and C. Wilbur Miller, of the Davison Chemical
Co. Credits and Collections, James Owens, chairman. Publicity, A. E.
Mealy, chairman; A. C. Meyer and J. Emory Bond. Auditors, James Owens,
chairman, and A. C. Meyer.
DEMAND FOR GOOD PHARMACISTS.
On another page mention is made of the difficulty one man has been
having in securing good men for pharmaceutical positions, and this is
only one instance of many that have occurred during the past year.
Employers who are willing to pay first-class salaries to good men
have been unable to get them, the supply being not nearly up to the
demand. For a number of years all of the best men of the graduating
class have been engaged long before they had completed their course in
college, the medium grade men have been easily placed, and even the
poorest students have had little difficulty in getting fair positions
and holding them. The only men who have had any great difficulty in
securing satisfactory berths have been those who have been too lazy
to work, or who have had other traits of general character that no
employer would wish in any of his employes. Never in the history
of the College has there been a better demand for first-class men,
and it is doubtful if there ever has been a time when there were so
few good men available. Despite the pessimism that exists in the
minds of some people as to lack of opportunity for a young man to
advance in pharmacy, it is a fact that there are still many excellent
opportunities for those who are ambitious enough to fit themselves for
good positions. There is no room in any business for the shiftless and
lazy.--_Bulletin of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy._
ALABAMA BOARD OF PHARMACY.
The Alabama Board of Pharmacy does not recognize diplomas from any
college of pharmacy or medicine. Has reciprocal exchange with those
States that accord same courtesy, provided applicant holds certificate
by examination and required experience.
All applicants for a Pharmacist license must be 21 years of age, with
four years’ practical experience (two years’ credit given for college
diploma), general average, 75 per cent. in all branches, and not less
than 60 in any one. Assistants must be 18 years of age and make 60 per
cent. general average.
Applications must be sent to the secretary not less than five days
before the meeting of the Board, accompanied with affidavit from
parties with whom you have worked, showing your practical experience.
Examinations had in Chemistry, Materia Medica, Practical and
Theoretical Pharmacy and Prescription Work.
Fees: Pharmacist, $5.00; assistant, $3.00.
Next meeting of the Board will be held on the ninth day of June, 1913,
at Talladega Springs, Ala.
E. P. GALT, Secretary, Selma, Ala.
LOUISIANA EXAMINATIONS.
The February examinations held at Tulane University, New Orleans,
resulted in the following 27 of 42 applicants being passed for
registration: