MISSOURI DRUG INSPECTION

By F. H. Fricke, Ph. G. St. Louis, Missouri Food and Drug Commissioner.

Read at Mo. Ph. A. Meeting, June 11, 1913. What is Expected of Missouri Pharmacists. Since my appointment to the office of Food and Drug Commissioner, I have attended several conventions of the business interests of the state, which come under the jurisdiction of my department, and I have on these occasions received very courteous and hospitable treatment, have been listened to with attention, and have been glad of the opportunity of explaining my views and the policy which I am pursuing to these gentlemen.

F. H. FRICKE.

Here, however, I shall not attempt to stand upon ceremony, for it is but natural that I should feel perfectly at home in the midst of the men of the profession and business to which I am proud to belong, and to which I have devoted the greater part of my life, and in the midst, too, of many good and kind friends.

I feel that I am perfectly safe in claiming that not one per cent of the persons who patronize drug stores, and purchase medicines there, have any practical knowledge of the ingredients of prescriptions or preparations which are sold to them, and in the vast majority of cases a dishonest druggist has more opportunities to defraud the public, and to misbrand and adulterate the article which he sells, than any dealer in any other line of business.

Hence it is That Not Only the Federal Authorities, but the Food and Drug Commissioners in the various states, exercise a closer supervision over drug stores and druggists than they do over any other line of business. I have made a careful and extended investigation of the statistics of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, and of most of the Food and Drug Departments of the various states, and as a result of that investigation, I have found that the percentage of violations of the food and drug law, is infinitely smaller in the case of druggists than it is in the case of men engaged in any other line of business; and I am therefore justified in concluding that the druggists of this country, as a class, are carefully obeying the law, and that they need only to be pointed out their duty in this regard, and they will be ready to perform it.

Now, why is this? Is it because the druggists of this country as a class are more honest, or more conscientious, than persons engaged in any other line of industry? I don't attempt to draw any such

invidious distinction.

I think a druggist is about as fond of money, and as anxious to get ahold of it, as any other man. I confess to an itching of that kind myself very frequently. I do claim, however, that it requires much patience, a high order of intelligence, and good, solid, sober judgment for a man to be a successful druggist, and it is because the average druggist possesses these qualities, that he is able to realize that the most valuable asset which he can possess in his business, is the observance of the good old motto that "Honesty is the best policy" and the best way, and the only way to obtain and to preserve the patronage of his customers, is to win and to deserve their confidence.

Importance of My Work. As day passes day, people are beginning to realize that the department of Food & Drugs is one of the most important in our state government. True, it is that the crusade for pure food and drugs is still more or less in its infancy, and many people do not realize its vast and far reaching effect on their lives and well-being, and the lives and well-being of their families and community. The duties of a Food & Drug Commissioner are always onerous-sometimes unpleasant, and result often in personal loss to the incumbent. No man, however, should shirk a duty which he owes to his fellow citizens, even though it entail personal loss to himself, and it is in that spirit that I have accepted this office. When I was a boy I didn't like to be punished. I think most boys feel that way. I wanted to have my fault, if I committed one, pointed out to me, and when that was done, I tried to make amends by doing better. I didn't always succeed, but my intentions were good, and I deserved the credit of claiming that I was doing the best that I could. Now that is just exactly the course that I am trying to pursue in the discharge of my official duties. I believe that the food and drug laws are good laws, that they are the product of a higher civilization-that they are vitally necessary to the well-being of communities, and hence, that these laws should be cheerfully and implicitly obeyed. I believe that they will be obeyed, when people get to know and to understand them better. Hence, I am trying to disseminate the knowledge of these laws and the duties of those who come under their operation as widely as I can, sparing no personal trouble to do so, for I would far rather to be able to justly claim at the end of my term of office that I secured the compliance with the laws of my fellow citizens, because they realized the justness and good effect of these laws, than if I were to have a thousand successful prosecutions to my credit for violations of them.

Yet, Let Me Be Perfectly Frank with You in stating that wherever and whenever I find a man, and I don't care whether he be a druggist, or whether he belongs to any other class of business, or whether he be a friend of mine, if I find such a man violating wilfully food and drug laws, and attempting to cheat and defraud people, I shall prosecute him to the full

limits of the law, because it would only be my duty to do so, and because it would be highly unfair to those who were observing the law, to allow others in the same line of business, to violate it with impunity.

The U. S. P. and N. F. Preparations are matters of common knowledge to the profession. The compounding of these preparations is part of the elementary education of every well-qualified druggist. They are the first things which the student tackles, and their ingredients are thoroughly explained to him by honorable and high-class professors. No ordinarily well-qualified druggist can innocently adulterate these preparations, and the man that does it, should be punished, if the law will permit it. Citrate of Magnesia is, when properly prepared, a clear liquid, having an agreeable taste like that of lemonade, and is described as a cooling cathartic which operates mildly, and which is very acceptable to the stomach. The preparation of same for use is a very simple affair, and yet I have found that a number of druggists are adulterating it in making a magnesia citrate out of a solution of Epsom Salts, flavored with lemon, and sweetened with sugar, and thus committing a fraud upon their customers, by selling them this drastic purgative, which may prove injurious to delicate stomachs, and which is certainly more This conduct is repredisagreeable to the taste. hensible and should not be tolerated.

Do Not Use Soap Bark.-I find, too, that a substance, which we know and recognize as soap bark (or quillaia saponaria), is being used to produce a froth in soda water; the saponin, which causes this froth, is a virulent poison and paralyzes the respiratory vasometor centers. The use of saponin was prohibited in Austria some years ago, and recently has been prohibited by the Department of Health of the City of New York. In a bulletin issued on March 22 last by that department, the use of soap bark in soda water is prohibited. The bulletin states that the preparations of soap bark (saponin) are used extensively in many soft drinks, and in fillings used by bakers. I believe that the public will be better satisfied, at all events they will be much more benefited by getting a plain glass of soda, free from deleterious ingredients, even if it is without the foam. I will not permit the use of soap bark foam in soda water.

I am Always Glad to Have Reports of Violations of the food and drug laws made to me. These reports come in daily in large quantities-you have no possible idea of the amount of mail which I daily receive, not alone from dealers in the state, but from shippers all over the country. I try to answer these communications as promptly as possible, but sometimes the queries put to me require investigation to be correctly answered, and hence, there is delay in some cases. I find, too, that in a large number of cases, retailers who desire to escape the payment of their bills to the wholesalers, report to me that these goods are unfit for food, with the

view of getting the department to condemn them, and obtaining them at a much cheaper price, and afterwards selling them. I meet such cases with a policy of having samples of the goods analyzed, and if they prove to be unfit for food, having them destroyed, if I can. This prevents injustice both to the wholesaler and the public.

I Shall Be Glad to Receive Any Suggestions that are made to me by this body, or by any member of this convention. I hope that every one of you will uphold me in trying to enforce the law. I have for over twenty-five years conducted my business as a druggist without giving the slightest reason to any person to adversely criticise me, and in a spirit of neighborly good feeling towards by brother druggists. I am going to try to do the same as Food and Drug Commissioner. I want you to call on me at any time, to ask for any information that you may desire at my hands, and to give me at all times, your support, good will, and encouragement.

Slack the lime with 25 pts. of warm water; dissolve the Magnesium Sulphate in 25 pts. of hot water; mix these two and let stand for several hours. Thoroughly mix the licorice and Cascara and add the Hydrate solution to the drugs. Mix thoroughly, let masarate 24 hours. Pack cautiously in a percolator. If the drug is coarse powder you can pack firmly, but if it is of a fine texture the water will not percolate through fast enough and should be packed in layers, using excelsior between, that the boiling water can pass.

If the weather is warm, use a small quantity of formaldehyde with each addition of boiling water. This keeps the drug from fermenting, which it will easily do in the summer time. The evaporation drives out the formaldehyde, thus eliminating the danger that one would suppose might be by using formaldehyde and completely exhaust with boiling hot water and evaporate the percolate thus obtained on a water bath to about 16 pints. Dissolve the oils in the alcohol, adding glycerin, mix the two with the percolator and add enough water to make 25 pints.

AN EXPERIENCED ASSOCIATION WORKER SAYS: Isn't it funny that in most organizations one-tenth of the members are willing to do the work and the other nine-tenths of the members are willing to "holler" about how the work is done?-[E. A. Sennewald.

PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATIONS

The III. Ph. A. at the Quincy meeting, June 24, elected the following officers for the ensuing year: President, Ralph E. Dorland, Springfield; first vice-president, George P. Anthony, Kewanee; second vice-president, L. P. Larsen, Chicago; third vice-president, W. S. Denton, Beardstown; secretary, W. B. Day, Chicago; treasurer, Chris Garver, Bloomington. The Kansas Ph. A. held a very successful meeting at Lawrence, May 27-29. The attendance exceeded 400. Legislation was the main topic discussed and at times considered in executive session. Although defeated in their efforts for better pharmacy laws, the members are in no way discouraged, but expect to be prepared to win out at the next legislature.

H. B. Mason, editor, Bulletin of Pharmacy, was the guest of the association and gave a practical address on The Business Feature of Pharmacy.

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year:

C. C. Reed, Salina, president.

O. C. Holmes, Parsons, first vice-president.

R. M. Hath, Dodge City, second vice-president.

D. V. Riesen, Marysville, secretary.

J. M. Brunt, Topeka, assistant secretary.

Walter G. Bangs, Madison, treasurer.

Prof. L. E. Sayre, Lawrence, librarian.

Executive committee J. W. Geisburg, Kansas City, Kan.; J. T. Moore, Lawrence; C. W. Enborg, McPherson; J. G. Fowler, Independence; Joseph J. Kowalski, Emporia.

F. W. Ekstrand, Salina, chairman, legislative committee. The eligible list of appointees to the state board of pharmacy is as follows:

Mat. Noll, Atchison; W. E. Sheriff, Ellsworth; F. W. Ekstrand, Salina; Chas. Seitz, Salina; E. C. Fritsche, Leavenworth; R. V. Bird, Winfield; Walter J. Bangs, Madison; P. B. Florea, Coffeyville; D. F. Beem, Stark; J. S. Kelly, Olathe.

The Traveling Men's Auxiliary re-elected A. E. Holmes, of Kansas City, president and Ed Hamill, of Kansas City, secretary and treasurer.

The Ladies' Auxiliary is a prominent and valuable feature of the association.

The Travelers' Auxiliary looks after the entertainment, as is the case in several other states. Some better system is advisable in order to prevent a conflict between the entertainment program and the business sessions. The Missouri example could be adopted to an advantage.

The board of pharmacy held an examination and

also elected the following officers:

W. S. Henrion, Wichita, president.

W. E. Sheriff, Ellsworth, secretary.
M. W. Friedenburg, Winfield, treasurer.

J. G. Bunch, Beloit, and W. S. Dick, Lawrence, finance committee.

Neb. Ph. A.-The thirty-second annual meeting was held in Norfolk, June 24-25-26.

The address of welcome was given by the Mayor and response by A. V. Pease, of Fairbury. Geo. Lloyd Carlson gave an address on the drug stores of Porto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela and other southern countries.

President H. L. Harper, of Beatrice, gave the annual address. He recommended that increased efforts be made to double the membership, and that the association publish a universal poison register, selling it to members at cost and non-members at a small profit, and try and have a universal system of registering poison sales.

W. M. Widener having been in attendance at all the meetings since organized thirty-two years ago, was elected a life member.

Prof. E. G. Eberle, of Dallas, Texas, was present as a guest of the association and read a paper on Co-operation, the Life of Trades and Professions.

Rufus A. Lyman, Director School of Pharmacy of the University of Nebraska, read a paper on "Toxicological Problems of Interest to Druggists," which brought out considerable discussion.

Grand Island was chosen for next meeting place and J. H. Schmidt, Omaha, president, with the following five vice-presidents in order named: J. K. McDowell, Tecumseh; R. J. Christian, Daykin; C. L. Dort, Auburn; C. E. Stout, O'Neill; G. A. Chapman, Valentine. D. D. Adams, Nehawka, was re-elected treasurer and J. G. McBride, University Place, secretary.

Following were recommended for the selection of candidate for Board of Pharmacy. Will Brookley, Edgar; O. W. Cass, Crofton; S. E. Ewing, Creston. Delegates elected to the A. Ph. A. convention:

A.

V. Pease, Frank Koss, Edw. Bexten, R. A. Lyman, Herbert Lock, D. J. Fink.

One hundred and three new members were elected to full membership and about 200 members and guests were registered during the convention.

MISSOURI ITEMS

H. A. Littlefield has changed his address from St. Louis to Crystal City, Mo.

Wm. DeGaris conducts a prosperous wholesale and retail drug business at Hannibal.

A. E. Case, St. Joseph, contemplates early matrimony, at least so say his friends.

J. H. Jones, Ph. G., is a member of the firm of J. T. Jones & Son, Fair Grove, and anxious to hear from his classmates.

Charles L. Wright, Webb City, Mo., has purchased a $250,000 gold mine in Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are spending the summer at Los Angeles, Calif.

ST. LOUIS LOCALS

William Demmer is at the Madison Pharmacy, 1101 Madison St.

E. J. Reis is at Hagenow's Pharmacy, Grand and Lafayette aves.

Dr. Albert H. Koch anticipates attending the A. Ph. A. convention at Nashville, August 18.

The St. Louis Drug Club held the July meeting on the first day of the month at Cicardi's. The organization is prosperous and J. A. Wilkerson is a model secretary.

DOLLS.-In Siberia and in Arctic America ivory dolls, clothed in furs, of beautiful workmanship are to be found. From the Peruvian graves many gayly dressed dolls of clay have been dug up. The girls of Africa play with rude figures, some made of clay, others cut roughly out of wood.

TIMELY TOPICS

That Vacation.-Do not fail to take a vacation this summer, even if only for three or four days. Don't say, "I can't get away"-anybody who can't get away a few days has something the matter with his business.

Frosted Fruit Punch. In a 12-ounce lemonade glass place 2 ounces of raspberry, orange and grape syrup mixed; add one dash of lemon juice and one small disher of pineapple ice; mix thoroughly with the syrup, fill with plain water and serve.

For Seasickness.-The following is recommended after considerable experience: Stovaine, 1-6 grain; pyramidon, 1⁄2 grain; veronal, 8 grains. It is given in a catchet, and two are said to be sufficient as a rule. [Piquet (Practitioner), October, 1912.

Recipe for a Vacation.-Take a sunglass and blister the back of your neck, also your arms; allow 1,000,000 mosquitoes to bite you; sleep on a cellar grating; pour a bushel of dust over your best clothes; throw all your money except 35 cents into the lake. You can do this in one afternoon, without leaving home. [Chicago Post.

The Epicurean Fly. The fly is a creature of divers tastes.

Now you see him crawling in and fattening on unspeakable filth in the alleys.

Tag him and watch him wing his flight from his disgusting feast to your house.

When he alights it may be in the butter or your baby's mug of milk.

And he didn't even wipe his feet!

Do Not Make the Time so Long.-If you set aside a sum of money for pharmaceutical purposes, do not pattern the conditions after those adopted by Adolph Melzer, who deposited in the National Bank of Evansville, Ind., the sum of $1000.00 to draw interest at the rate of 4% per annum, compounded semi-annually, for a period of 250 years. At the end of that time, the amount of $90,956,400.13 is to be turned over to the City of Evansville as a gift. If you have money for use in advancing pharmaceutical interests, make it available in January, 1913. Do not wait until 2162. Do it now.

Remedies for Mosquito Bites. The Government Ethnologist, Dr. L. O. Howard, says: "The most satisfactory remedy known to the writer, from his personal experience, has been moist soap. Wet the end of a piece of ordinary toilet soap and rub it gently on the puncture, and the irritation will soon pass away. Others have enthusiastically recommended household ammonia, or alcohol, or glycerin. One correspondent marks the puncture with a lump of indigo; another with one of the naphthaline moth balls; another, iodin. Rev. R. W. Anderson, of Wando, S. C., states that he has found that by holding his hand to a hot lamp chimney the irritation of mosquito punctures will be relieved instantly."

Mosquito Chasers.—Among the many preparations

Beware of Flies.-The common house-fly is a carrier of disease. Typhoid fever, diarrhoea, dysentery and tuberculosis are carried by flies.

No longer do we consider flies as merely annoying, but we recognize in them a very important factor in the spread of certain diseases, particularly those mentioned above.

Flies Are Filthy.-The house-fly is particularly filthy, because it has its birth-place and lays its eggs almost exclusively in horse manure.

Flies feed on food and also on the wort kind of filth. They go from one to the other. It is easy to understand how they carry disease germs to our food in this manner.

Our domestic animals, the dog and cat, though far from clean in all their habits, we like to have about us, but we keep them in their proper place. The house-fly, on the other hand, is tolerated everywhere, crawls over our hands and faces, gets into the milk, walks over all our food, often soiling and contaminating everything that comes in contact with its filthy feet and tongue.

Flies Also Feed on Sputum.-Who has not seen flies feeding on sputum on our pavements and streets? And, as there are people who have consumption, continually spitting on the public pavements, is it not simple to see how the germ of the disease can be taken up by the fly, carried away, and perhaps deposited in our homes?

It is particularly essential that flies be kept away from everything that infants and very young children come in contact with, particularly all feeding utensils and things that children are likely to put in their mouths.

How can we combat this dangerous nuisance? The essential thing is to do away with the breeding places of these dirty pests.

It may be said that flies will breed in any decomposing animal or vegetable matter.

THE WAY to be successful is to help others be successful.

MO. PH. A.

The Missouri Ph. A. has passed a third of a century and celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary, at Pertle Springs, June 10-13. Although organized for the purpose of securing a pharmacy law, the charter members soon took up trade and professional topics, so now the reading of papers and the discussions of current problems rather overshadow the question of legislation.

The Mo. Ph. A. early developed deep interest in pharmacopoeial matters, took hold of the National Formulary idea when it was first outlined as the New York and Brooklyn Formularly, has followed the leading problems presented by the A. Ph. A. and for some years past has been developing an interest in historical pharmaceutical matters. The sessions, this year, were particularly well attended and the discussions, as usual, participated in by a large number of members.

The social features, now general throughout the country at state meetings, originated as the Missouri Idea at Sweet Springs, more than a quarter of a century ago. It has now reached the point where those who appear at a meeting for the first

time usually give as an excuse the statement that their wives wanted to come.

The Missouri Pharmaceutical Travelers' Association, organized by Ed G. Orear, twenty-four years ago, was a departure made advisable when the Mo. Ph. A. restricted its membership to registered pharmacists. The plan of a separate organization for the traveling men is now so general that it is no longer referred to as the Missouri Idea.

Meetings at a summer resort constitute a ruling passion among Missouri pharmacists. This is evidenced by the fact that out of thirty-five meetings, the only ones held in cities were:

Sedalia, 1; Moberly, 1; Kansas City, 2; St. Louis, 2; Jefferson City, 1; Joplin, 1; Maryville, 1; Cape Girardeau, 1.

The association is ready to go to Hannibal any time the pharmacists of that city give evidence that a meeting will be well attended and materially increase the membership in the surrounding territory. Outside the Hannibal proposition, every one seems to favor a continuation of the summer resort custom. While the personnel of the attendance at the Missouri meetings has changed from year to year, still the period of a human generation is still spanned by some who took part in the organization and continue active up to date. The retiring honor