The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1875-08-07
Communicated.
Editor "Natch;tocl.es Vindicator":

Editor "Natch;tocles Vindicator':
Dear Sir:-I notice, in your paper
Of the gath inst. an article headed,
''Druggist e. Merchants War; - in
which you invite tho views Of the
leading lawyers upon the custom as
we'll as the law in the case, concorn-
ing the license.
Before l give you my legal opinion,
I have to apologize to You for parti-
cipating in a controversy where | an
not invited, for am not a "lcaling
lawyer" but only a common sense
lawyer and not likely to be employed
by either apothecary or merchants in
the present case, so l am free to OK.
press my opinion in the matter:
LIST. "The act of 1872, No. IL; Sec.
II; says: For each apothecary or
druggist $50 that no druggist shall
be licensed except lie shall have II
diploma from some medical or pllar.
maceutical society,""
I'd. What constitutes al ApOtlleca-
ry? One who practices pharmacy f;
one who prepares drugs for medical
use, and keep them for sale. "Webs
ter's Dictionary
Sd. Now for the law and its dcfini-
ton tie apothecary or druggist pays
his license for his principal business
and his exclusive privilege as such,
namely to compound medicine, such
as to dissolve opium in alcohol and
sell it for laudanum ;:or mix opium,
benzoic acid, oil of anise, camphor,
honey and alcllohol and make of it
paregoric; also mixes rhubarb, cal
omcl and honey, forms pills, and calls
them cathartic pin i; after these COM
pounds are made and mixed and
ready for market, he sells same to a
person for individual use or to mer-
chants for sale to his customers; in
fact, after the composition is mixed
prepared, &C., it becomes a merchan'
disc but the merchant has not the
privilege to compound medicine fol
this belongs to the apothecary or drug.
gist for which he pays his license as
merchandise like calomel, castor oil
nux vomica, cream tartar, soda, cam.
phor, turpentine, peppermint, sui
phur, asafGtida, &C., and these be.
long as much to the medical as well
as the mercantile line and of course
can lie sold under either license.
18th. As for tho custom 10 this case,
will give You my experience for the
last thirty years in this and sur
rounding parishes One druggist in
Natchitoches sold under his apotheca'
ry license, paints, window-glasses
guns, pistols, cutlery, diamond rings
plated rings, looking glasses, frames
and pictures, cigars and cigarettes
and Il full assortment Of stationary.
! Another druggist sokl,. tobacco,
cigars, garden seeds, backing ane
paint brushes, combs, sc. a thirt
sold hats, jcwelry, satchels, valices
stationary, &c. In fact, the apotheca
ries kept any and every thing in tn
line Of merchandise for sale to tn
extent Of their cash and credit ant
the merchants, with one or two ex
captions, kept medicines and drug
for sale under their license witbOu
let CT hind.ance from DO one
5th. 70 force this extra license IN
der the pretended shadow Of claw,
is entirely impracticahle and oppres
sive, and can only have barbarou
effect on A'e majority Of the couDtr
people for instance, take any poiu
outside Of NatchitoclIes, there is n
drug store and very seldom q physl
clan who has half u supply Of medi
cine f; country persons have been &C
cust0me,l to take fifty cents t" e
AL-:- ""r;nns madeleine ~ reMedlt
tor various diseases ; for instance IL
"rattle snake bite" teaspoonfal {
iodine is a sure cure, by taking
every fifteen minutes and applyin
, same to the wound now, if he has
go to Natchitoclles for it, say fro1
"Grarps Bluff he might as we
send for the undertaken for q coffii
at once, because the patient will /
!, dead by the time the medicine is llat
= to say nothing about doctors advice
and services from four to ten dollar
mileage.
OF course a country merchant cal
not afford to pay a $50 license, whe
I his sales of medicines probably wo,
: amount to $50 u year. My opinion is
Auditor Clinton is wrong in maxim
this demand on our tax collector, an
. 1 don't think he advised with Att.
General Field about making such de
3 mand, for it is neither law nor com
3 mon sense and without a spark
reason. l look upon it as a carpet
bagger's ingenuity to Cypress an
harrass the people even tho belple'
poor aud sick, until the screw vi
break again and burst up the patcl'e
up machinery. "a ,iierie
Yours truly, a'''' TO-.
I JACOB. A. WOLFsON.
Grappp's Bluff, July %, 1878.