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ENFORCEMENT OF THE PHARMACY LAW.

The statutes provide that as a prerequisite to obtaining a sixth-class license the applicant must obtain from our Board a certificate of fitness, stating that in our opinion he is a fit person to have the same, and that the public good will be promoted by granting such a license; and in connection with the granting of these certificates an unusual amount of work has devolved on our Board this year. In consequence of investigations made by the police authorities in some of the cities and towns of this State, a large amount of evidence was turned over to us, showing beyond a doubt that some druggists, under the guise of a sixth-class license, which gives them the privilege of selling liquor for medicinal, mechanical and chemical purposes only, had been doing a liquor traffic which would place them in the class of liquor dealers rather than pharmacists, and in all such cases we have refused to grant a new certificate. The pharmacists of this State should understand that a sixthclass license does not give them the right to sell all kinds of liquor at all times, in large or small quantities, to any person who may wish to purchase the same, even though they may certify in writing that they wish it for medicinal, mechanical or chemical purposes. A pharmacist has no right to sell to a person he has good reason to believe will use it for a beverage, and when his liquor sales are greater than his drug business he cannot possibly plead as an excuse that he sold only for medicinal purposes. The greatest foe the legitimate, lawabiding pharmacist of to-day has to meet is the man who, under the disguise of a druggist, runs a liquor store. Without any regard for the ethics of our profession he is usually a trade demoralizer, and the honest pharmacist has to meet his unfair competition. He defrauds the State by doing a first-class liquor business under a sixth-class license. A drug store that cannot live without a liquor license has no excuse for being, and should be abolished. In no State of our Union is the pharmacist granted so great a privilege as the druggist of Massachusetts enjoys under the sixth-class license granted him by our laws. The Commonwealth says to him: "It is necessary there should be a place in every community where liquors can

be purchased for medicinal use, and, relying on your character as a man and your standing as a pharmacist, we grant you this privilege to be used for the good of the public." A large majority of the pharmacists of our State are striving to do an honest and legitimate business, and they should insist that the laws regulating the sixth-class license be lived up to.

When the State created the Board of Registration in Pharmacy, it also enacted certain laws for the purpose of regulating the practice of pharmacy, and it is the business of our Board to see that these laws are enforced, and we should be false to our trust if we did not assume the responsibility of seeing that they are obeyed. It is for the best interest of the public and the legitimate pharmacists that the laws should be respected, and the only reply we have to make to those persons who, during the past year, have criticised our official actions and have sought to prevent our doing our duty, is that it is the purpose of this Board to continue as we have done in the past, to enforce the laws under our jurisdiction without fear, prejudice or partiality, and we think in pursuing this course we shall have the sympathy and support of a large proportion of our brother pharmacists in this Commonwealth.

In January of this year a circular letter was sent to every drug store in the State calling attention to violations of the pharmacy law in leaving stores in charge of unregistered men. We recognize that in many of the smaller stores, that are owned and managed in person by the proprietor, who is a registered pharmacist, the amount of business does not admit of hiring a registered clerk at all times of the year; but when the proprietor is away for days and weeks at a time, transacting other business, or on a vacation, such a condition is an unqualified violation of the law and should not be permitted. When such cases have been brought to our attention, we have, through our agent, investigated them and reported the facts to the proper prosecuting officer. Our agent has, in the discharge of his duties, visited all parts of the State, and every complaint that has come to our office has been investigated.

Many requests having been made to our Board to publish, as a part of our annual report, a list of the registered pharmacists engaged in business in this State, we decided to do so

this year, and had a complete list prepared, but the State Board of Publication refused to allow the same to be printed, on the ground that such a list was uncalled-for and an unnecessary expense to the State.

Respectfully submitted,

BOSTON, MASS., Oct. 1, 1904.

GEO. M. HOYT, President.
C. F. NIXON, Secretary.

HENRY ADAMS.
WM. F. SAWYER.
FRED A. HUBBARD.

It is with sorrow and regret that we part with the services of our colleague, Prof. Charles F. Nixon of Leominster, whose term of office expires October 1 of this year. In this instance, at least, the law which forbids a re-appointment on our Board will work a distinct injury to the cause of true pharmacy in our State, for it will be hardly possible to find a man so eminently fitted to perform the duties which he has so faithfully discharged during the years he has served on our Board. A man of scholarly attainments, a leader in his chosen profession, we have been accustomed to look to him for guidance and counsel. He has given himself generously to the service of the State, serving with earnestness in every duty to which he has been called. During his term of five years he has filled the office of both president and secretary. By reason of his retirement from this Board we part with a true and honored friend and the State loses the services of a faithful officer.

GEO. M. HOYT.

HENRY ADAMS.

FRED A. HUBBARD.

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SECRETARY'S REPORT.

EXAMINATION ACCOUNT.

Meetings for examinations have been held on dates and with

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Rejected.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT FROM OCT. 1, 1903, тo Ocт. 1, 1904.

Examinations.

Fees received for the year ending Sept. 30, 1904:

For examinations, 257 at $3, .

For examinations, 141 at $5,

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For duplicate certificates, 5 at $1, .

Paid State Treasurer,

Certificates of Fitness.

$771 00

705 00

5 00

$1,481 00

$1,481 00

Amount received from Oct. 1, 1903, to March 1, 1904, for certifi

cates of fitness to expire April 30, 1904 ($1 each),
Cash paid State Treasurer, certificates having
been granted,

Fees returned, applications having been rejected
or withdrawn,

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Amount transferred to new account, applications
continued for action by the Board,

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$62 00

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2 00

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Amount received from March 1, 1904, to Oct. 1, 1904, for certifi-
cates of fitness to expire April 30, 1905 ($1 each),
Cash paid to State Treasurer, certificates having
been granted,

Fees returned, applications having been rejected
or withdrawn,

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Amount transferred to new account, applications

continued for action by the Board,

. $1,161 00

115 00

200

Annual Appropriation for the Board for Year ending Dec. 31, 1904.

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Stenographer, witness fees, incidental and contingent expenses,

including printing of annual report, .

1,500 00

$7,775 00

NOTE.-The financial year of the State ends December 31, while the financial year of the Board ends September 30.

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