Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-10-05
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
The Drug Store Man Has a More
Intimate Acquaintance With the
People In His Neighborhood Than
Even the Preacher and -
the Doctor
by SARAH u. AOWRIE

TNITN.
physician. But not at all! He said the per-
son who had the msst points of contact
with the men, women, young persons and
little children in his neighborhood was the
drug store" man.
When there is an illness in the houses
of rich and poor he knows it, and from a
hot water bottle 10 n saline solution he Is
factor with the nurse and doctor in every
variation Of treatment Of the Case.--
When there il love affair or an emcr-
gcncy in the little houses of the poor nll
about him. he knows it. for his telephones
are used for the discussion of the most pri '
vate and vital affairs. II woman wants
aid to beauty for some end that she will
not acknowledge. oven to her nearest and
dearest. he knows it, whether it be scent
or rouge or lin stick or hair rcstorcr or
hair cradiCator or hair dye.
If the callow youth of the neighborhood
are beginning to admire girls he knows II
from the records Of his soda fountain If
from nothing else. If a child has an extra
penny or the windfal of n dollar. he knows
it by the depletion of his candy Jars. If
there is n letter 10 b. sent by some one to
whom the getting or the sending Of letters
is II rare event. he knows it. for he sup
plies both stationery, stamps and often the
bIottcr and pen. If his nCighbOrs are re-
mcmbcring their friends at Easter or VAL
cntinCs Day or Nmas or on birthdays he
knows it, for his stock Of such cmblcmatic
miSsivCs is handled by the entire clientele.
If servants break Il valuable piece of
glass or china and wish to put off the evil
day of the detection of the mishap. he knows
1t, for his advice Is asked as to durable
cements without n Qualm or subterfuge. If a
housewife is careful careless, he knows
It. for from CamphOr balls to roach powder,
his stock Is brcnthlCssly demanded. If there
is any skeleton hid behind respectable front
doors. he is apt to know it. for no matter
how strictly he keeps within the law as to
drugs or liquor traffic the furtivc attempts
or the brn2cn or desperate ones to brbe him
into compliance give him all the clues he
needs to the drunkards the drug addicts
and the Incorporate of all sorts among his
clientele
If there Is a fire. or a suicide or n BIRTH
or death, or an accident, the druggist
knows IT almost as soon as the family does
And it is in his shop the rendezvous is
made for ClandcStnc love affairs. for famly
cconclaves Of a Surreptitious sort. It is to
his safe keeping that the keys of the house
are temporarily left and to his kindly sym
pathy the plans for the outing are confdcd
He is often the librarian, the water pur-
vcyor and the gift shop agent of the dis
trict, aS well as the bulletin board. the pOst-
office and the stationer.
lie Is sometimes surly, sometimes slovenly
IL md sometimes unsCrupulous but he is
generally placidy kind exQuisitcly neat and
StCrnIy law abiding. He is the master of n
science where one C-twCntieth of a grain
counts for life or death. and in his position
of father ConfcssOr for his ncighborhood
has power of imparting common sense
and sympathy that n clergyman or teacher
or even doctor may we'll envy.
II is not a profession where those who
follow 1t honOrably are apt to get rich, and
the hours Of responsible work begin early
ana last till late in the evening. with sun
day vigilance included. The men who enter
it. therefore, must do it from n real anti.
tudc for its eXacting and skillful practice
ana Tor some quality of temper and mind
that makes the constant call on their pa
ticnce and hclpfulncss and kindly experience
Il congcnial and gracious task
WE OWE these men II great deal. both as
w nCighbOrS and citizens and nv first
impulse on reading the letter appended was
TO say so as publicly as could. And find
ing it was also my second and my final
impulse, | have done in this column
feeling sure that there are many like me,
also grateful and Hppreciative.
T FEEL sure the letter was never meant to
be printed, but it is. like many things
not meant to be printed worth printing.
And so / quote it here:
ITO the Evening Ledger:
"A careful reading Of your regular con-
tributionS has made me feel that I have the
right to address you on subject near and
dear to me.
Il am an old druggist. | have been in
business almost forty years, and within that
time have contributed my mite to pharma-
ceutical literature and taught many an ap-
prentice. While | know that we have here
and there black sheep in the family, I
also know that most of us are so minded
and so constituted that we constantly strive
for the physical and spiritual good of those
needing our services.
Now why all this palaver?
'Wcll, l want you to help build up a
healthy sentiment respecting the druggist
and his real work. The public featuring
of drug raids and the recovery of narcotics
illegally got seriously reflects on the honor
of druggists as n body. Thanking you for
any interest you may cvincc in the matter
and assuring you Of our willingness to CON
tinue by responsive exhibit of our real
worth, / am, yours sincerely,
IAN OLD DRUGGIsT."
T SUPPOSE no profession is subjected 70
i more attempts at bribing than that of n
retail druggist. The ones who succumb TO
the temptation are hardly apprcCiable COM
pared to the ones who are above it, Prob
ably every one of us has his price, but like
General "Baldy" Smith when he was hold
ing the cotton embargo line against the
Confederate planters in the Civil War, we
can telegraph to headquarters:
Please remove me, They are getting TOO
near my price" Which, after all, is Just
another form of saying
'Delivcr us from cvil'
| have been cudgcling my brains to re-
member If in litcr0tur" or art the druggist
has been adequately characterized.
There is ] remember, young German
American drug clclh in Cables Grand
issmcs," that Goorge Cable seemed TO
fondy love and expected the reader to ad.
mire but he was bore. And then there was
a good play in which one of the Barrymorcs
acted the part of the amateur drug pro-
nrietor that was on the whole a very salts
factory picture of that phase of American
village life But ! can recall no classic
portrayal of a follower Of the profession.
II would be rich and varied field
Senator King, Of Utah. says retailers