The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-05-17
PREDICTS GREATER
SCARCITY OF DRUGS
CHEMIST OF NEW YORK DRUG
DEPARTMENT SAYS SITUATION
is BECOMING ALARMING.
NO CARBOLIC ACID ON HAND

Modern Warfare Utilizing Articles fOI
Explosives and Poisonous Gases
Hospitals Compelled to Resort to
All Kinds of Substitutes.
NEW YORK.-Modern warfare
utilizing cod liver oil as high eX-
nlosive and nerve sedatives as pois-
onous gases may not be described in
standard pharmacopoecia, but these
possibilities Illustrate the difficult
ties the European struggle is creating
for US in the drug market, explained
F. J. Kenney, chemist in charge Of
the general drug department Of
New York city, in telling Of a situa-
ton he believes will become more
acute before peace is signed.
AT the beginning of the war; Mr..
Kenney said, "a list of drugs it was
anticipated would become scarce was
sent to institutions urging the most
rigid economy in their use. Quanti-
ties we're purchased in advance when
prices warranted, and outstanding
orders were called in. Nevertheless
it has become necessary to do with
out some things entirely, such as We
ronal and saIvarsan, and the list of
scarce drugs grows longer daily
f'These include aspirin, mercury,
and bismuth salts; iodine and iodo-
form, antipyrene, ichthyol, opium
and carbolic and their derivatives;
chlorinated lime and boric acid used
as wet dressings by the belligerents,
and codeine and morphine, which
have been exported in quantities by
the allies. Quinine made from shale
deposits is becoming prohibitiye in
price; epson salts cannot be import
ed because of conditions in Greece,
and the manufacture of green soap
here is interfered with.
God liver oil now comes from
Newfoundland, not Norway. At one
time for a period of a few weeks not
an ounce could be procured in New
York. 1t has increased from $25 in
1914 to $3.50 a barrel. Glycerine has
nearly trebled in price since the out |
break of the war. For bromine, |
which generally costs sc cents a
pound, manufacturers of nerve soda |
tives in this country must now pay |
more than IS, which is the figure at
which practically all the pure bro !
mine in this country was bought up |
by the belligerents, each fearing the
other might use it in the manufacture
of gas.
I'VE have had to resort to all sorts
of substitutes Mr.. Kenney went on,
land now we are facing scarcity in
some of these. In place of carbolic
we have been using whenever posi- |
BILE a product of coal and gas tar,
which comes from England and Ger
many and is known as solution cresol
comp. To manufacture this now
costs double what it did in 1914. Ia
the latter part of that year in antici-
patton of this emergency, we pur-
chased about $4,000 pounds of car
bolic, which has been doled out like
gold. We still have enough to carry
us through this year when the situa-
ton may become serious, since it has
some uses for which no adequate SUD-
stitute has been discovered.
MANY circumstances have combin-
ed to bring about the present condi-
ton of the drug market-the en-
barge which prevents our importing,
the demands of the belligerents upon
our stock, reluctance of manufacture
ers to undertake expensive expert
ments on which they may not be able
to realize before peace is declared,
and the efforts of individuals to cor
ner the market for speculation.
Henry c. Wright, assistant COM
missioner of charities, in commenting
on the situation said:
Undoubtedly research is being
stimulated here, but we shall have to
get along with older and simpler rem
edies until satisfactory substitutes
are discovered for these scarce drugs
or until the war ends. In some in
stances, as in the case of salvarsan,
we are facing serious emergency
since the use of diarsenol and other
substitutes in the treatment of vene-
real diseases is still experimental.
The outlook is grave, and the pub
lie should know the facts"