The morning call., 1892-10-18

The majority Of the members of the Re-
tail Association at once complied with the
order, and in the snOw-windows stacks of
bottles containing the various preparations
now appear with signs announcing the cut
in prices Many OF the druggists have taken
a humorous view Of the war, and signs
reading Now Is the Time TO Get Sick If
You Want to Save Money; I'VE Are In
1t: Patent Medicines AT Cost; Ii I GU Are
Not Sex Get Sick etc, adOrn the win
dows. But others have taken very seri-
Gus view of the trouble, anu refuse TO sell
at a loss.
1T is not the druggists who will suffer-"
said DIR. RottanZi yesterday afternoon, but
the people. ConmOn-seDse teaches us all
that no man is going to sell goods for less
than cost If he can help Ii, and when he
does 1t for IN advertisement then his CUSTOM
ers had better look out. In the drug bust
ness il is very easy matter to palm off on
the customer spurious article for the gen.
uine, and that is what is going to be done,
for men who have been making bare liv-
ing out of their business with prices allow
ing affair profit are not going 10 the wall
without a struggle.
In addition to the injury that will result
from the substitution OF inferior goods, there
will also be substitutIons Of cheap drugs
for pure drugs in making up prescriptions,
and in this matter the customer is entirely
at the druggists mercy. For instance, sup
pose prescription comes into druggist
who is losing SIS or SO Cay selling patent
medicines below cost and he finds one Of
the ingredients is iodine. II grains. Now,
he knows that cOdine is costly drug and
that the quantity called for costs him abou:
"a cents. He also knows that the visible
effects Of iodine and morphine are the same.
What does he DC? Inst all giving the
patron u grains Of iodine he substitutes
grains of morphine. which cost him less
than 2 cents and makes % cents pro1t.
Take another instance-and / might 90 on
bromide of strontium at 60 cents an ounce
is called for In prescription. and he SUBJ
stluJes bromide of potassium at cents an
ounce. The patient will never know il and
the unscrupul0us druggist makes 81 cents
by his dishonesty.
This war is all nonsense, and many of
the druggists, myself among the number.
do not propose to obey the mandate of the
Retail Druggists Association and sell goods
below cost. What we intend to do is to
keep up prices on standard articles and
supply cheaper to those who want them, but
the customers will buy the cheaper articles
with their eyes wide open. We believe this
TO be the honest way OF doing business. In
a very short time the manufacturers Of the
patent medicines, which are being cut in
price. will refuse to sell to druggists who
are engaged in the war, and then substitu-
ton will have to be resorted to in order to
supply the demand. / tell you, sir that it
will be the people who will suffer and not
the druggists"
1t was found that large number of drug
gists held the same views as Dr. Rottanz,
and it is probable that trouble in the ranks
of the Retail Association may result from
the war.
wellkDown wholesale druggist said. in
speaking OF the matter: IF this war of
prices is con tinued very long there Will be
more than one failure in the retail drug
business in this city. The wholesalers will
not sell to the offending Market-stree; store
direct, but that concern can get all the
goods it wants by having other parties buy
for them. We are doing all we can to stop
the cutting, ana if the people only knew it
they are paying dearly for this kind Of al
vertisiDg"
Where the trouble will end no one can
tell, but the Retail Association has an
nounced its determination to meet any cut,
even to the extent OF giving medicine away.