Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-12
DUES ARE OPPOSED
PharmacopeiaI Convention
Votes Against Assessments.
RECOMMENDATIONS MADE
Suggestion That Maximum Safe
Doses of Drugs Be Published
Is Voted Down.

The nited States PharmacopOeial Con-
vention i'm ninth decennial session at
the New Willard Hotel, refused today,
after considerable debate. to place a.
regular assessment. amounting to dues,
upon the various organizations that make
I'D the membership of the convention. 1t
was held by opponents of the assessment
that many of the medical and pharma-
ceuticaI organizations, state institutions
and colleges that now send delegates to
the convention would not understand the
need for the assessment or would not
Choose 10 pay it. and that when the next
convention met. ten years from now, Its
ranks would be sadly depleted. 1t was
declared that the convention, whose duty
II is TO revise the United States Phar-
macopoeia. should have the benefit Of
the learning of all these institutions.
Those delegates who favored the pro-
posed amendment TO the bylaws of the
convention providing for the assessment
argued that funds were always badly
needed the first year after each conven-
ton. when the revision of the pharna-
coTCia was In course or prepa ration and
before there were any returns from the
publication. They said that the members
of the committee on revision were. In
consequence. compelled to spend hundreds
of dollars .Of their own in order to at
tend the meetings of the committee and
In carry out the work intrusted them.
This, they said. was not fair. They pro-
posed dues of so for every fen-year De-
Rod and an initiation fee OF 800 for
each new organization joining the con-
Vention
The convention authorized the board
OF trustees TO increase the price of the
pharmacopeia and to raise the prices
charged other publications for using part
OF the text of the pharmacopeia in or
der TO meet all the expenses Of the pub
LEGATION Of the standard work including
the expenses OF the revision committee
twenty-five Changes Proposed.
A snrmber Of Recommendations to the
revision committee were submitted by
the delegates. one OF them coming. from
Ur. Reid Hunt of this city. on behalf of
the American Chronological Association,
which has recently been in session here.
These recommendations were for the
most part referred To the committee On
revision.
Consideration OF the revision OF the
pharmacopeia occupied the attention Of
the convention at its session, yesterday
afternoon Twenty-Five changes looking
TO the improvement OF the book were
adopted Admission TO the pharmacopeia
was denied those substances whose COM
position or manufacture is kept secret. or
are controlled by unlimited proprietary
OF patent rights.
d suggestion was made that the max
i4ium dose of each drug which may he
gwen with safety to d pa tent be pub
lished III the pharmacopeia. This maxi
NOM hose was to he specified by the
druggist putting up the prescription
calling for the drug. The purpose was
10. fix upon the. physicians the RESPONSE
bifty for the size of the doses they or
dered This brought about Il heated
discussion The physicians held that
no revision committee could possibly
determine upon "A maximum dose of any
drug. - nee what might be maximum
dose for one man would not be for an
other~-@ After long controversy the
suggestion was voted down.