Evening star., 1933-05-14

In 1854 the Pennsylvania Hospital
appointed the first apOthecary OF which
there Is record In American history.
thereby establishing q business which
has grown to be one OF the most I'M
portant in the country. In earlier times
doctors were their own apOthecar1eS,
compounding their own prescriptions.
There were no drug stores IN ths erdio 6no
nary sense. Today there are $4,000
registered pharmacists and so 900 drug
stores+56, 900 Of which are tndepend-
ent and 1000 chain units.
The compounding of drugs Is one OF
the oldest arts known to man, but only
in modern times has 1t taken on the
aspects of q manufacturing business.
The old time herbalist now Is Curl
osity. There still are some country
doctors who gather herbs and simples
and there are many old women who
make home-brewed draughts, but the
overwhelming bulk Of the business Is IN
the hands of large corporations.
In 1881, the last year for which CEN
sus figures have been compiled, there
were in the United States 1858 estab-
lishments engaged In the manufacture
of druggists preparations and patent or
pronietary medicines and compounds.
The value of these products was $780,
44O,O78. The demand for drugs OF
remedial nature Is practically universal
and for that reason the industry has
resisted the effects Of the depression
better than most. Nevertheless. there
has been q shrinkage due, In part, to
lessened sales and, in part, to the lower
ing of prices Prices in the drug indus
try, though, are more stable and less
susceptible to variation than among
most other commodities. Exact stand
t1v, arS4 nf q
ownership Of patents make for steadl-
ness.
The top year In the industry was
1929. when value of products was S443,-
685,4l5 There then were 1851 eStap-
lishments in business. The reduction
in the number of establishments Is due
partly to failure in business, but also TO
absorption and merging. As the busl-
ness has grown 1t has attracted large
capital and the usual trend toward con-
solidation into large units has resulted.
Safeguards Become Necessary.
The Committee on the Cost Of Med
ical Care estimates that the average
family spends between $50 and $25
year for drug and medical compounds.
This does not include the huge quantity
Of cosmetics and similar preparations
usually SOlQ III OIuB otOlCo dA0 Slo3oCo
generally with drugs, but only the
medicinal drugs.
The industry has grown steadily since
1854. BY the close Of the Revolutionary
War there were about 100 drug stores IN
all the colonies. but the pharmacists
who operated them made their own
preparations for the most part. Now
and then some enterprising pharmacist
would concoct a draught or prepare
certain type of pill and distribute 1t
widely. For example. the Federal Ga
zette published in Frederick, Md, in
1899, prints paid advertising matter an
nouncing the availability Of Hamilton's
Celebrated Worm Destroying Lozenges.
Testimonials of satisfied users are
printed, including the statement that
children are very fond of the nostrum.
A sovereign ointment for the itch also
is advertised as well as Churchill's
cough drops and Hahn's Anti-Bilious
Pills and Fever Drops.
But only the more gullible patroniZed
these nostrums. For one thing. they
were highly unreliable. Physicians did