The American Medical Association and the United States pharmacopoeia / a reprint of the pamphlets of H.C. Wood, Alfred B. Taylor, the Philadelphia County Medical Society, and the National College of Pharmacy ; with a rejoinder addressed to the professions of medicine and pharmacy of the United States, by Edward R. Squibb.

  • E. R. Squibb
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The American Medical Association and the United States pharmacopoeia / a reprint of the pamphlets of H.C. Wood, Alfred B. Taylor, the Philadelphia County Medical Society, and the National College of Pharmacy ; with a rejoinder addressed to the professions of medicine and pharmacy of the United States, by Edward R. Squibb. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    United States PharmacoiKL-ia, and the creation of a National Dis- pensatory. Tlien follow tiuolalions and arguments to suj>jiort this assumed view of the new plan. And then arguments to show its impracticability. This is an example of constructint; a tiimsy posi- tion, putting your adversary upon it, and then destroying them all togetiier. There is not a word in the new plan about abolishing the Pharmacopoeia, or of converting it into what would be a Dis- pensatory under the title of a pharmacopoeia, nor any description that will logically justify this assumption. Tlie jtroposition is simply to improve tlie INiarmacopa-ia in the same direction that the British and tlie m w (Tonuan Pharmacopoeias have been improved,— but improved farther tiiau either if possible,—so that it could, like them, or better than they, do without a Dispensatory or commentary of any kind. There was and is no intention to interfere with dis- pensatories, but simply to have a pharmaco])a'ia which would be more useful without a dispensatory. The pamphlet next quotes the Preamble and Resolutions by which the new plan proposes to take possession of the Pharmaco- poeia, and then goes on to say that this on paper leads to derision but if attempted in actual practice, to civil or criminal litigation. This seems to be a little threatening iu tone, and somewiial upon the previous line of argument based upon the permanent posses- sion of power by a few men as the highest proof of excellency, and ))erha|)s The Association siiould bow down before it. There has m vi r been any propositii>ii m.ulv to invade either the trust or the jiroperty of The Convention or its Committee in the copyright of the jji-cse/U revision, and the resolutions give no intlication of such proposition. Both the trust and the copyright are for the present revision, and The Association would uniler no circumstances want either. There is no other revision, nor any other Committee, nor can there be until a new Convention is calleil to make them ; and it is this new prospective Convention, not yet called, and which can- not be called until 1879, and which, when called, must be from the general profession as represented in this Association,—and not the old Convention of 1S70, nor its Committee, nor its Pliarmacopieia that the resolution aims at or has anything to do with. It simply aims at assuming work wliicii is not yet begun, that has hitherto been done by these decennial Conventions ; and at doing whatever is most just and generous in relieving the Conventions of the future from the work and responsibility and from a title to which they may have a moral, but no legal riglit of ownership, as far as a tiling can be owned which is not property,—by a Convention not yet in exist-