The age-herald., 1898-01-13
SOME STRAY JOINTS
 ~THAT DON'T PIT

q expect you have gone into a drug store many times," said a pharmacist, "pre- scented your prescription to the clerk, who would glance at 1t, and tell you it would be an hour or two before you could get 1t filled. The chances are in nine cases out of ten that the prescription clerk saw something wrong in it and put you off to gain time to communicate with the physi- elan. It is nothing short of miracle that so few people are killed by careless doc tors. The only way I account for it is the perfect training required of pharmacist and the laws governing him. A prescription clerk must be a graduate of a irst-class in- stitution He then has to stand a rigid ex- animation before the state pharmaceutical board to have his name registered, which Is required before he can secure a posi- tion. He must be able to tell at glance at a prescription whether anything is wrong. This requires him to be thoroughly versed on the effects of certain quantities of any drug. This, of course, Is nothing more than any druggist should know, but a doctor should be equally as well trained. It would astonish you to go to all the drug stores in Birmingham and ascertain the blunders made by physicians in writing pre- scriptions in a single day. Then it is not right that a prescription clerk should have to be able to figure out writing that should not be dignifed by that name. have seen prescriptions come in that very much re- semble a 'washee mans ticket. But we have to figure them out, and this is why customers are oftentimes kept waiting. There ought to be more restriction thrown around the doctor and then he would be more careful By the laws of Alabama a physician is not held responsible for such blunders should they prove fatal The phar- macist is responsible if the prescription is not filled correctly, no matter how bad the chirography If the doctor writes his pre- scription wrong, then the druggist is held responsible for not catching the error. I am of the opinion that the doctors also should be hedged in by law"
 'I will wager that town is badly gov erned," said a gentleman as the train pulled out of an Alabama city of 1000 inhabitants.
 Why" queried some one.
 "Because I asked a policeman to take drink and he beat me to the bar"
 The International Trading Stamp scheme seems to be a thorn in the flesh of the merchants of Atlanta. They are seeking to have the company run out of business by the exaction of an enormous license. This is something similar to the scheme which worked some Birmingham mer- chants up to fever heat.
 A young gentleman was in Birmingham yesterday who has just recently returned from Arizona He went there looking for
 nj for a job. He is a native of a northern border county of Alabama, and of an ad- venturous disposition.
 '"There was an old falzir," said he, "who told pretty story of a gold mine he had discovered in years past. We didn't think then he was a fakir, but we were very forcibly convinced afterwards. He said the mine was located in Arizona and he could point out the exact spot. He talked so glowingly that there was much excite ment stirred up and a lot of us decided to form a stock company We put up $50 a share and six of us were selected to go and find the mine We took the old man with us, paying all of his expenses. We reached the place and he took us up into a range of mountains. Armed with picks and camp parapharnalia we searched for days
 
 kept offering excuses for not finding the spot as quickly as he first represented to us. Finally we thought we had found vein of gold and we came very near dig ging the whole side of the mountain away. Then we gave up in disgust. If 1t had not been for one or two members of the party we would have Left that old man hanging to the limb of an Arizona tree. We found out that he merely wanted to go to Ari- zona and this was a scheme to get his expenses paid. We all came back home broke and the last one of the boys are looking for york;
 Why don't you go to the Klondike?"
 Not on your life. I am on the still hunt for a job and I am content to let gold min ing alone"
 OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES.