The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-24
NO PROFIT IN PAupER MEDICINES
Druggist Dukes Asks to BE Relieved
of His Contract.

Mr.. r. ]. Dukes who conducts a phar-
macy at the corner of West Broad and
Bryan streets, notified Mayor Me.drim in
writing yesterday of his desire to be re-
lieved of his contract with the city for
furnishing medicines to the poor under
the dispensary system.
This was somewhat of a surprise as these
city contracts have been considered good
things by the druggists and doubtless there
will be number of applications for the
vacancy caused by Mr.. Dukes withdrawal,
which is to take effect May l.
Another cause of surprise is that Mr..
Dukes did the largest business of any of
the nine druggists engaged in supplying
the city poor with medicines, his bill last
month with the city being S228. The drug
gists only get 20 cents a prescription I'M
der their contract with the city, but as
they usually get a large number and as a
rule the materials and composition are
simple, there is some money in it. Occa-
sionaIy a city physician makes one of the
dispensary druggists weary by issuing a
prescription requiring costly material to
fill, the cost of which may be several times
the amount received by him from the city
for the prescription. 1t may nave oeen
too much of this sort of thing which de-
cided Mr., Dukes to give some other drug
gist a showing at the city business.
The present system of supplying medi-
cines to the poor has proven very costly
to the city. When the old dispensary was
abandoned and the system of contract
drug stores resorted to, the cost was about
Sc, 500 to 81 GOO year. The cost has stead
lily increased with each year. Last month
the bills of the contract drug stores
amounted to 81, 100. At the same rate Tor
the remainder of the year the cost OF the
city of furnishing medicines to the poor
would exceed $4,000 for the present year.
Health Officer Drummer, in his last an
nual report, recommended that the pres
ent system should be done away with and
a return made to the city dispensary The
last council appropriated $500 for the
purpose of re-establishing the city dis
pensary Steps were taken in the early
part of the year to do this, and keeper
and assistant keeper of the dispensary
were elected by the sanitary board. Be
fore the re-establishment of the dlspen-
sary was complete, however, the present
administration took charge. One OF its
first acts was to repeal the ordinance re-
establishing the city dispensary. 1t was
understood at the time that this was done
to avoid accepting the appointees of the
previous administration and that ordi-
nance would be re-enacted shortly. The
contracts with the city drug stores expired
in March and have not been renewed, the
sanitary board being instructed to make
arrangements for supplying the INDECENT
poor with medicines pending further ac-
ton by council. The dispensary drug
stores have continued to supply drugs I'M
der the terms of their former contracts.
The ordinances regulating the supply of
medicines by the city to the INDECENT poor
permits any regular physician to issue
these dispensary prescriptions to patients
whom he prescribes for free of charge, and
whom he is satisfied are unable to pay
for their medicines, blanks being provid-
ed for this purpose. The patients name
is written on the blank.
Outside of the city physicians, it is said
with few exceptions, these pauper pre-
scriptons are rarely issued by the physi-
clans. The city physicians are called upon
to issue a great many, however, and it is
no uncommon thing for a city physician
to issue 30, rs and even 100, of these pre-
scriptions day. The lucky druggist with
a city contract and a city physician To-
Gated in his neighborhood, makes a good
thing OF 1t sometimes