Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1877-10-15
The Dispcngcr Of Medicine.

The Dispenser Of Medicine.
10 tic e5;itoT Of the Alexandria Gazette:
Seeing that tho City Council and lh> commu
nifty generally are exercised upon the sui 4ct OF
dispenser and tbs dispensrg of medicines to the
poor and aims house, and IS it seems to be a
chronic difficulty in our hiitcry, permit me to
use your columns that I may ventilate the mat
| ter and suggest remedy.
| I shall endesvor to be as brief and concise in
| my statements and suggestions as possible. and
hope your readers will give them careful atten-
ton. On the first day of September, l642, en-
| tered the drug store Of Peter Williamson, IL
| Philadelphia, and during the five years OF my
apprenticeship IN that :tablishment-Wa held
tie position Cf dispenser in what WAS call sd the
| Southern Dispenssry' of that cty-tho recipes
were registered, and at intervals the said recipes
were tested and charged ut the regular square
charges of the shor, and thirty.three anu one
per centum deducted from the face OF the Dill.
This arrangement was held by the apotnecarles
| to be thu legitimate modus operandl, beng just
to the dispenser, to the city, and TO the beneh-
cisries-for one reason, that the fair margin Gas
| shsll presently show 10 the dispenser would
restrain him from attempting TO cover any loss
he might otherwise sustain by overcharge IN
| recipes.
: When I came to Alex sndria, in August, 1e47,
to commence business, found different state
of things existing in our medical economy. The
Office of dispenser was elective by The City Coun-
Gill and compensation attached, supposed to
cover the amount no might dispense. 1t is
probable at that time this compensation may
have been remuneratvc, but as the population
increased pau. ,crism advanced in like a.io, and
from time 10 Time the observation-disclosures
| found il inadequate. SO proper representations
| Wo, @ made to the City Council and tho amount
was slightly increased, and 90 much so and so
grsdingly that nearly every apothccary in the
city gave it up in disgust after trying i! yoar At
| ter year. l had been Offered tho posiLlon, but
refused it, because it was simply working in the
| dark. here will dgress and give an example,
During tho recess of the City Council cf 1876
my bill, not, WAS SIT 74-lM recipes prepared
| while during the recess Of this yo&r my bill was
net $l55 Sl-5bS prescriptions prepared--With
| the increased prlce Ct many drugs-noarly
double what they were in 1876. In 1850 WAS
urged TO take the position, for no one o!se would
| havo it, and consented. l kopta careful &C.
count Of tho ccst OF drugs dispensed, and found,
| rs expected, that tho compensation WAS not
| re nune1a!ivo, ard thai the system was an un-
| just one.
l, however, held tho position until November,
| 1851, when the famous order Of Gen. Mcclellan
was promulgated requiring all the then city oil
GERS of trust or profit to take the ironclad oath
or vactto. TIE let or l surely did, and now
| remember With amusement tho Iemsrk made by
one OF the loyal, ms II no had his way he
would put hue behind bars"
Accordingly the Common Council al tina!
| time, during the war and for some years after,
elected their dispenser, allowing him TO charge
wha. he pleased and furnish whstever he liked,
| or what was prescribed, until April, 1870, whea
Messrs. Ston, Shirley and Harmon, Committee
| on the Poor, called upon mo and urged mo to
resume my position as dispenser. representing
that j. was costing the city $500 por Nnnum, and
| that they could stand it no longer. l Consentod,
but upon my own terms. They requested ne
to Offer my conditions. give them in bricf::-
To flrnish all legitimate medicines for tho city
poor and the Aims house at thu fair and square
prices Ct the shop, to send in my accounts
monthly, made up from carefully Kept regis.
ter, and deduct from the face of the bill 80! per
centum, giving forfeit if at any tlmo should
charge moro than the legitimate prices to lose
| the whole bill. The terms were accepted, ard
| the amount was reduced to $500 the first year.
| sition on these terms Of contract At this time q
new contract was ordered, and finding that sonlo
underground work wal being organized against
me by parties who were neither competent or
fit to occupy the position, contracted upon Inc
| same terms with the exception Of taking off so
per centunn from the face of the bill, instead OF
| 80 per cent. Although this WAS al unWlse pro-
ceding on my part, yet ives satisfied That the
interests Of the poor Wero at stake. ard so held
it at this reduction until D0cem Der 8, 1878, when
l wrote to VIA. a. Moore, esq.,, Chairman Com
mittee on tho Poor that I would be obliged TO
throw up the contract from the fact that l mad
| steadily lost money during the time, i. o. from
December ISL, to December, 1873: A new
contract was ordered, and l, upon Offering for
| the same terms with rs per cent direct from the
| face Of the bill rendered, again assumed tho po-
sition, and have held it since upon these terms,
until SEPT; a, 1877, now contract being ordered
I offered the same terms with 334 per centum
discount, with forfeit attached, and 80 Tho mat
| tor now stands
| As I ssid above 1 would presently show that
| this 395 per ccntum discount will slow fair
margin to the dispenser, will tske threo classes
| Of recipes which came to my store.
TIE first, ordinary recipes, which Will y!c.d q
profit of 10 cents !ach after de1ucling the dis
| count The second, which will yUld to : t. 5
cents profit. For example, Two recipes came to
my store day or two ago. The price charged
! the city YVES rs cents each, amounting to 81 cts
Deduct ona third from tier face (53a cents tho
| net charge TO the CITY. Those two r0clpes coat
me 80 cents profit 81 cents for BOTH The aver
age of this class will be the amount stated above.
The third class are thoso Of the moro oxpen-
sive recipes containing quinine, conchonidia,
vaeriata quininc, iodido potassium, Sharp Z
Dohme's elixirs, and such like, Ito profit upon
which ut ono third eli will just bo enough to
pay for the labor CT catering said recipes upon
| the register.
| Now l would suggest to Tho City Council. if
thoy still propose to make this al elective olico,
to franc an act which will do away with al
complications in tao future. placing oach appl-
cant upon the Same BASIS of aprl;cst alton and ap-
pontm ent, and propose plan, found below,
for their guidance, for | am satisfied from the
| long experience l have hsd in this matter that
can offer the only true solution for tho difficulty.
| l. Eloct dispenser Of medicines when the
annusl election for other city officers aro made.
| g Make him bonded clli3er for tho strict
| narfnrroo nCe Of his duty
3. Place tho compensation 33a per cont dis
| count from the face of the rendered bills.
| 4. require him TO keep Il faithful rcgiser Of
| the date, number of rec pc, namo OF physician,
name CT person, color Of person. price Of o'Hh
recipe
| 4. Place said register under tho scrutiny OF
| the Committee on tho Poor, and if they ut any
time suspect any overcharge upon the r'gu lar
charges of the shop. TO employ two regular
apothecarics, one chosen by the commute, and
one by the dispenser, these two to choose athird
who shall duly examine said register. and il
1 a, I,,n. fhn Itct,a llSD