New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-27
DRUGGISTS ~ BAD LUCK.
COMPRESSED TABLETS. DEPARTMENT
STORES, AND FINALLY THE RAINES LAW
DISCOURAGE TIEM
DEPARTMENT

DISCOURAGE THEM
Sixty per OF the retail drug stores OF brook'
Ign and New-York are for SALE
This startling assertion was made 10 a Tribune
reporter by former druggist who sold MS drus
store to take municipal office because Ms drus
store had ceased 10 be paying
There are three reasons why the drug business
which formerly made men wealthy or comfor'aoV
well of scarcely pays expenses. the hrs' re~'
son IS that ready made compressed tablets ha's
largely superseded prescriptions. The second Fa'
son IS that large department stores nave taAen
the notions and patent medicine business away TON
retail Druggists and the third reason is the Ran"
bill.
"J'he extent 10 which compressed tablets have sue
cesIed prescriptions In tho last five or ten wars
is no less surprising for being gradual chans'
Physicians instead OF taking out their DOCK IN"
and writing a prescription simply take our
bottle or box and handing the patient several A0.
lots teu hin, how often to use them. The pa'ieD'
NOT onv Is saved the trouble OF sending to have me
rsc.,,,,,, filled but pays nothing additional for
his medicine.
..N.,,,, all the standard prescriptions. those that
- ,.,,ouncei the best by medical colleges, are
row compressed into tablets by the big drug manu-
,o,or,es doctor gets these direct from the manu-
tal..,,r.,,s or wholesale dealers. and n such low
,,-cas that the cost OF the few he hands OUT 10
n,,,ent is but a hagatee. The poor druggist IS NOT
: Marry TO this pleasant arrangement and that 10
sunfers Is proved by the fact that SO many drug
stores are on the market II Is the old story o.
Labor saving machinery The tablei-cOmpresslns
machine is driving the prescription clerk INTO o''e'
lines as the linotype Is supersedng the composN"'
Tablets are prepared for almost all diseases
Asthma bronchitis. colds. Influenza Group gehe'A'
debility catarrh, pneumonia. rheumatism tons''''
dyspepsya cholera neuralgia. and the 'al7'u'
kinds OF headaches are but few OF the "e''
known troubles for each OF which there a
ono or more standard prescriptions "hioh Wv
doctor may carry dry and ready FOR ifs'@i'' -
There are caffeine. cathartic cocaine, hio'p''S
peps,n quinire strychnine and gold mixtures 20
every variety. There anti-ashmatic' a''..
ious anti-chi.l anti-consiipaton, ah"-u. ns ,n,o
anti-malaria and many other ants compress .,a
lozenges and only requiring a gulp OF ware ~ az.
them where they do most good A'uauy gse
all so cheap that young doctor ca" go s-reatly
fairly good outfit for 49, Yes. tao tablets OF the cd
Injured the drug trade AS the physlcNal,n 81 The
school carried his case of pills with mn. nm. ~ tab.
physician Of the new school carries HIS '''O
One Of the chief sources of income OF she soaps
store formerly was Snuses carry these ss
ksures the druggists cannot duplicate anu Ave cents
will spend ten cents carta wed buy her comb o.
her druggist It would be Of better Guah sy in such
patent medicines the big houses se H. them at prices
below what the druggist pays for sneh business from
dealers have stolen the sbst where friend q
mine in the business for instance I ,m mere than
IS day The candy stores have pe S. ;e' ths drug.
for giving ice-cream with soda-"a'er una" ""
gists. ,.,,o, hill drug
As a last straw came the Raines oil Dill liouor on
gist must have a SIS tax certitcate ,nrmerly sell
Il almost any way. Now he must pas.gh n pre-
prescription and ne cannot M an abe he new
scrlption a second time. but there mus sells By
prescription Ii he viola es the law a''
the bottle or pint he IS fined siN e, ~ the drug
II venture the estimate that me 8r S FACT is about
business has fallen off SO per cent me a. nortage
the only thing the druggist still sells "a can UNDER
stamp and he sells those because nooo0S ~s
cell him"