Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-07-12
free Quinine.

w ASh1NGNON, j u4y line cfeU-
il of placing quinine on the free list
belongs almost entirely to Mr.. VIII
liam r.. Morrison. 1t was he WHO
began the agitation of the subject
ard called attention to the injustice
OF the prohibitory tariff Oh the drug.
In the forty-f0urth Congress lie
made the first attempt 10 have it
placed on the free list in his tariff
bill. In the forty-fifth Congress he
introduced another bill, such as
that passed to-day, but in company
with other important measures it
was sm0thered in the Ways aad
Means committee through the
Vaccinations of the chairman, MIR.
Wood. During this session the agi-
tation became 50 general, through
Mr.. Morrison's persistent efforts in
this direction, that thirty bills we're
introduced, and he retired from me
field, seeing fiat a sufficient NUM-
Der of champions had been assured
in its behalf.
\ GREAT BOON TO TILE HOSPITALS.
New York Evening Post: at
Bellevue hospital it was said this
morning that the news that Con-
gress had placed quinine on tie free
list was hailed with joy. QIinine,
it was added, had always been a
large item of expense in the h9Spi-
tai, and it had always been necc5-
say for the authorities to restrict
the use OF it on account of tlie great
cost. Gases were continually brought
into the hospital which could be
treated with nothing but quinine =
such as malaria ana diseases pr.du-
cling high temperature of the body
and for these and many other cases
the use of quinidia and cincho3idia
could not beSubstituted for quiuine.
All hospitals use unbieached qui-
nine. Bellevue, together with the
other hospitals Of the city, has been
compelled to pay two dollars and
forty cents an ounce for unb!eact"d
quinine, and its average monthly
consumption has been sixty Ounces.
About fourteen per centum of the
entire monthly expense bill for the
drugs OF the hospital has been for
quinine. The tendency Of the doe
tors practising in the hospital has
been for quinine. and Fl an time 10
time the medical board has, III cod
sequence of the large expense,
charged the doctors to Use rs little
of the drug as possibl The adolf
tion Of the duty Oh foreign quinine
lessons the price Of it in America
forty cents. and will lessen the price
! of unbiCache1 quinine a littie more.
This reduction means incalculable
! benefit to many an unfortunate suf-
/ ferer."
WHAT THE AONOPOLISTS SAY.
New York Evening Post: Mr..
Farr, Of the firm of Powers &
/ Weightnan, late quinine mOa0pO-
lists, thinks that the withdrawal OF
twenty per ccntum al cuiOre,n from
| suiDhatc Of qUinine viii not cheap
en- the price for consumers, because
retail druggists, who already get
several hundred per centum profit
will not feel constrained to lower
their charge. On the contrary, we
believe one of the prime benefits
will be that the agitation of this
| subject and the resulting victory fOl
| the'cOnsumers win direct attention
/ to the large profits of retailers of the
drug, so that even the apothecaries
who charge fancy prices will soon.
er or later be forced to reduce them
! Among the many minor classes OIL
apothecaries, who are not burdened
with the high rents of luxurious
drug palaces, with their marble
counters and resplendent gilt work,
| competition will alone be enough
to make the reduction of the whole
sale price appear, and appear soon.
! But even if Mr.. Earr's eXtraOrdi-
nary economic proposition that the
! large reduction of the wholesale
price of an article will not tell in
| the retail price of the article was
| true it would have narrow appli-
cation in this case. 1t would not
apply to use of the drug in hospitals
where managers buy 1t In bulk and
where they have been forced of late
by the high price to seek less potent
substitutes. 1t will not apply to
the malaria-smitten South, where
the planters buy quinine by the
| quantity and keep it on hand Tor
| constant use. In the army, in the
navy, and Ia every organization, in
| CiuuilS l0IStT lOuSGIlOIuS WHERE
the sick are to be cured or threat
ened sickness averted, this benef-
cent act of Congress will inevitably
carry its blessing. If charity that
is private and individual 'covereth
a multitude of SINS how many
more sins of an erring and partizan
Congress will be covered by char
ity that is wide, public and na-
tional.n
We reprint the above from the
Washington correspondence of the
Memphis Appeal. Cordially recog-
nizing the great services of Mr..
Morrison in keeping this matter SO
long before the attention of Con
gress, we cannot admit that such
recognition detracts an iota from the
credit due TO Mr.. Mckenzie for his
address and Yigor in pushing it
through the house without the usu-
al aid from the committee, and in-
deed against the active opposition
Of the committee on Ways and
Means, We stick to our eXclama-
ton, "Bravo, McKenzie!"