The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-07

practice OF prescribing remedies sither afser the
regular manner OF doctors, or BY recommending
patent medicines. The appearance b that
although the physicians do not say "a. the pro-
prietary medicine business is what they really
wish to fight. This is no worse in Brooklyn than
anywhere else, probably, but it must bs seri-
Gus matter to tho profession throughout the
United States. Every ailment known to human
ity is mated with specific of more or less cheap
ness and palatabiity; and these are warranted
to cure unfailinely which is rather more than the
doctors will promise. The Brooklyn druggists,
moreover, are underselling one another with such
enterprise and recklessness that bottles labeled
a dollar offered at sixty or seventy cents.
The subject was discussed by the County Medi-
cal Society, and it was decided TO be entirely
professional, under the circumstances, to per-
sonally provide the remedies prescribed though
separate charges for the medicines were discoun-
tenanced. Many of the most prosperous of the
physicians have now actively begun the war.
If you call one of them he brings from his car
riage into your house morocco case, or hand
bag, after the manner of the homeopaths, and.
instead of writing out heroglyphic prescrip-
ton, he opens his stock of drugs and mixes the
required draught. There, he is apt to say,
''that will save you the trouble Of sending cut to
some swindling apothecary, who will be quite as
likely to give you wrong worthless stuff to
poison you as not 1t will also save seventy five
cents or dollar for shall not charge anything
extra. The average prescription does not cost
more than FIVE or ten cents to compound
The druggists retort upon the doctors that
-. ~ al oh
and that, in order to postpone the inevitable re-
duetion, they have resorted to the device of
throwing in the medicines gratis. The accusa-
ton is Also made that the aliopafhs are being
crowded by the homeopaths and are adopting, in
a craven manner, the very methods ofthe school
which they affect to alespiss The threat is
made that the subject shall be submitted to the
State Medical Society. which viii be asked to
forbid the doctors to supply medicines except
through prescriptions.
'Thc druggists prices for prescriptions have
always been rdculously HIGH" says a
leading doctor Their profits on this
branch of their business has been
estimated at two to three hundred per
cent, even when rent and clerk hire are sub
tracted. They advertise their stores by selling
patent medicines at cost, and then make their
money on the compromising of prescriptions.
The best practitioners Of Brooklyn have now
agreed to carry their own drugs The use of
concentrated remedies favors the movement.
We expect that the custom will become general
in fact, that we shall Tevolutionize the bust
ness; for after people have once got accustomed
to taking their medicines directly from their
doctors they will never return to the old way of
buying at the druggists" The druggists will
ask the manufacturers aud wholesalers of drugs
to refuse to sell to other than dealers, and a
paper to that effect is already in circulation for
signatures