The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-18
DRUG CLERKS DON'T WANT IT.
They Say the hill to Restrict Their Hours OF
Work IL Foolish.


The Drug Clerks bill, tho object of which 10
to reduce by law the hours of labor of clerks
employed in drug stores. hasn't the unanimous
support Of the drug clerks of New York, and
the druggists themselves are fighting 1t tooth
and nail. Tho principal argument used in sup
port of the measure Is that drug clerks make mis-
takes because they are overworked; that such
mistakes are always dangerous and are oft
times fatal, and that II clerks were permitted to
work only twelve hours e. day they would al
ways be fresh physically and mentally when on
duty, and there would be no excuse for mis-.
takes of any kind. A Sun reporter yesterday
talked with two drug clerks about this argu.
ment. One Of them said:
This law Is a bad law. and it should never
be passed. or course. drug clerks would like to
have shorter hours; 30 would everybody who
has to work. but no good drug clerk would ever
give as an excuse for a mistake he made the fact
that he was overworked. The first thing re-
Quired in a good drug clerk is carefulness. A
drug clerk, learns that when he starts in to
from the first day. and II he doesn't learn it in
a little time he had better get out OF the bust
t aasS, a tG pre csc rs %Gna''n So SynffRml'. show sxe ySa .' how NJ I
put up a prescription. and every good drug
clerk follows exactly this formula ! get the
prescription and read it carefully. Say there
are half a dozen things called for. After / have
read the prescription through I take the first
Dotlic anu lOph dl III llht lnlb.
HS took down n bottle and held IT with the
stSSe'P seSIes ss or in "h the ' eiass p04TE Then sne / m ioon az tb he
quantity "rdercd., and at the scales, and then
as put the bottle back in its place on tho
each bottle. Now. this is only ordinary care.
such rs every drug clerk should exercise. and II
be doesn't exercise 1t. he ought to get out of the
I'm this store I take a still further precau.
ton. When the prescription is filed / hand
the original to another clerk who hnIda H. xyhiIa
i call of from memory the medicines and the
amount Of each have used; This Is a precau:
course, it is not possible always to follow 1t in
small stores, because most OF the time there
Don't let anybody tell you that drug clerks
m TTs Ell m Vista I Sey because esatp Sc t., they are oyerworksd.
they s'i are su inc nG rss it's OF q Xxi %.S'G a @a are pn ntsaS;
up a prescription will often talk with tho Gus
toner It Is for or with a friend who happens TO
drug clerk. 4 mar cannot talk ard put up a
presentation at the same time. His mind Is
handling medicine he needs all his mind on his
T Ik II you look through the record OF drug
cases out of ten the clerk was talking With
But there is 1ne other thing about this
law it would mean the instant reduction OF pay
for drug clerks, for the simple reason that two
living from hand To mouth, and IL they are
compelled !, mith to III hirS additional help the money to
40 u win VIII nave 10 come from the help al
ready employed. There is no getting around
this. There are not more than hall dozen
druggists in this city to-day making money.
mean by that. making any more than n living.
cut to. pieces. They don't get half as much for
prescriptions as they did a few years ago and
there Is no longer any profit in handling patent
medicines. Well, doesn't IL stand to reason
that j. this IL the condition OF tho business
there can be no cut in the hours OF work of EN-
piooSeea unless there is also a cut in wagesi'
The second drug clerk who talked with the
reporter expressed almost precisely the same
sentiments. lie was particularly severe on the
statement; that mistakes by clerks were duo 10
ovcrwork. ho said: ANY careful man Is as iii
awake twenty hours MS when he has been AWAKE
ing else"