The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-08-17
THE DEVIL HIS DUE

while ago this column had a recipe for
 anemia-one ounce of iron-and-ammenium-
 spoonful of this to be taken after food three
 times day for two or three months.
 Hundreds of readers wrote in to ask wheth.
 CT it meant an ounce of iron and an ounce of
 ammonium citrate or what. Many others took
 the article on anemia as cue to tell me the
 history of their sick lives and to ask whether
 The net result of all this was that I broke out la piece of an expensive ;nlay-oh, I'm not com
 plaining about the dentists job or his fee, for both were entirely satisfactory.
 What did get under my skin was the humber of reports from people who tried to get the me-
 dicine from the drug store, ready to take. had assumed that anyone who can read can put ounce of iron and ammonium citrate
 (the hyphens do not belong in the name) in a
 bottle and fill the bottle up With water. It IS should hesitate to '"compound prescriptions.
 But astonshed. at the sheer ineptitude of so many druggists who muffed the test. Some | of them blurted out that they had never heard of" iron and ammonium citrate. Others complained that they couldn't fill the pre- l how much ammonium citrate was ordered. Still others attempted to make the customer think there something fishy about it, and urged some nostrum as a more effective remedy Tor whatever ailed the customer Finally had to sarcasticate bit about 1t and in that vein answered one ofthes e com plants here, opining that the pharmacist who couldn't figure out whether I meant an ounce of iron and an ounce of ammonium citrate or
 half an ounce of each and therefore used tine ture of iron chloride instead could probably Icompound an excellent cheese sandwich. | And that's moderate statement or the
 truth, number of pharmacists nave written oi, the other hand number of other pharnlacists havedepored this sarcasm which they think de-
 mind me that pharmacists cover up many mis- takes that physicians make, and so 1t would seem more charitable of me to overlook such l shortcomings on the part of pharmacists That is not so easy to laugh off. In fact 1t bricks my conscience, for I know somethtng or the sorrows of the drug store man. Even if he doesn't sell cheese sandwiches. dry goods and hardware, but devotes his professional or ex- pert attention strictly to the legitimate field oi ldrugs chemicals. sanitary and sickroom sup l plies, there is much shenanigan to intrigue and lure away his proper patrons sucn as bootleg drugs, humbug nostrums and trick
 merchandise designed to appeal to the unin. m formed and the unwary, that the life or the bona fide pharmacist who endeavors to run a real drug store is hard He's as happy as a slave if not quite so free.
 I haven't much doubt that the bird whose
 unfamiliarity with the pEarmacopoeia (legal standard formulary for all drug stores) 1n- spired my cheap crack about cheese sandwich es is one of the trick druggists who have lately
 muscled in on what was once straight busi- | ness. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS They Deserve Long Sentences You have no frmer admirer than I, or one
 who believes more steadfastly in your profes- sionaT integrity. have one big criticism--your sentences are too long and too mixed in struc- ture. (R W.
 Answer-In extenuation plead necessity. If | had only the scientific truth, public welfare and the libel law to consider. could be toler- ably terse.
 Bad Example
 Last term we used your daily articles for col lateral reading i'm our English department, but we fear you are injecting too much slang and questionable humor. (L. D. H.)
 Answer-Why not let the class edit and cor | rect an article or two, and send me the result? Sulphur for Hair
 Having learned from experience that sulphur and lard will make . dogs hair grow in . short time, have been using this on my own hair, and believe my hair is getting thicker | but friends say my hair lacks luster and life Does sulphur harm the hair in any way? (B E)
 | Answer-No. it is one of the best remediei | for seborrhsa, dandruff. and if anything 4 ltends to favor the growth of the hair.