Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-09-06
THE DRUG CLERKS DUE.

THE DRUG CLERKS DUE.
The Times Republicans demand that
more caution be exercised in handing
u % rifle or else the dangerous weapon
be coniiscated, has elected reply from
a druggist at Eldora, who says:
Eldora, Iowa, Sept. ;, 1906
Editor Times Republican,:
Il read with much interest your edit
| torlal of today, "Contiscate the R',,e
! and entirely agree With the sentiment,
rs probably will nine out of ten who
read it. Blu; being druggist myself
| i dislike the comparison: Neither
does the drug clerk mean to when he
mikes a deadly poison with some sm-
| pie remedy
| | have been associated intimately
with the drug business for seventeen
years and have not observed that the
drug clerk has murdered people enough
TO warran, hts being compared in that
Icapacity with the gun
The T.-R today reports three or four
gun accidents, one fatality by light
ming one by razor" but none thru
The carelessness of a drug clerk. SO
| long as the hardware store dispenses
muriatic acid and the grocery store
sells wood alcohol and Lewis I've, the
peddling wagon. the house to house
canvasser and the mail order concerns
vend dope prepared by one knows not
whom, but recommended for internal
or external Ills. 1t is untimely and un-
fair 10 invariably parade the drug clerk
OF tested ability as the only abomfnable
killing machine aside from the % rifle.
One should be as fair with the drug
clerk as he would be with the devil, at
least. and give him "his due
Yours truly,
l. w. CLEMENTS.
Mr. Clements has presented a criti-
cism which includes point very we'll
taken 1t was not the intention of the
editor to hold up the drug clerk as the
acme Of all killing agencies. vet when
attention is called to the language used
ii must be admitted that the editorial
stopped short of making clear the pur-
pose of the reference TO the drug clerk.
The facts are that editorials which
must be confined to third of a column
in length In order to get people to read
them must of necessity have such a
singleness of purpose as to often omit
points which would naturally follow
from any discussion Of the subject in
hand. The intention was to show that
neither does the drug clerk mean to Kill
ia ct Ike n
prescription, but that this does not ex-
cuse him. He is held to the grand jury
for manslaughter because he is sup
posed to know better than make such
mistake, while the small boy does not
even know the danger in the rifle he
uses.
If the editor could have had more
space he would have elaborated upon
that reference to the drug clerk. He
that the state requires full grown men
TO pass rigid examinations to prove
their competency TO handle deadly
drugs while any small boy possessed
of an jndulgent father can go about the
streets shooting % rifle He would
have mentioned the great numbers Of
people who are buying poisonous drugs
every day and the very small per cent
of accidents which occur from mis-,
takes in prescriptions because of the
examination and registry Of pharma-
cists. The contrast would then have
been apparent that we We're allowing
small boys to play with a killing ma,
chine more deadly even than a poison.
Even drug clerks supposed to be train
ed and experienced in the use of drugs
do not mean to kill a man when they
mix poisons with simple remedies by
mistake: but such accidents do occur.
How much more dangerous, then, is Il
to allow a boy wholly unconscious Of
the dangerous character of 20 rifle,
to go around town shooting sparrows
and killing the neighbors' children.
1t is we'll that Mr. Clements has
raised this point. 1t was not the in
tention of the editor to deny the devil
or the drug clerk his due, but rather
to point out the caution we exercise
in the case of the full grown man and
our. utter recklessness in the case Of
the small boy and the .22 rifle.