St Louis College of Pharmacy - Prescripto Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

Page 108 text:

Z---Li D IQ If 5 cf. ID I lf? to rc--i-1 ti1ne, two hundred and fifty thousand organic compounds are now known, whereas only twenty-five thousand inorganic compounds are known. Almost all of our synthetic organic compounds are obtained either from petro- leum or coal. The number of products obtained from coal far exceeds the number obtained from petroleum, although, next to steel, petroleum is the world's largest manufacturing industry. Coal tar was probably first used in the production of lamp black. The most volatile products were first drawn off and collected and then lamp black was de- posited on the walls of the vessel. The light volatile liquid was found to be useful for lamps and as a solvent for rubber, and creosote, a less volatile liquid, was found to resist decay of wood. The residue was used for roofing. In 1845 the first coal tar dye was produced by VVilliam Perkin as a result of the oxidation of aniline with chromic acid. Alizarin and indigo, two natural occur- ring dyestuffs, were synthesized twelve years later. Perfumes, explosions, and medicinals were also synthesized. In the perfume industry, all synthetic products have been made to imitate the odors of roses and flowers, but blending the products is as important as their synthesis. In the ex- plosive industry we find use for dyestuff intermediates, nitro compounds, which are set off by the shock of detonator caps, such as mercury fulminate. In the synthesis of medicines, we find that many of our drug principles, which were very expensive to extract from plants and animals, are now synthesized at a much lower cost. In the synthesis of medicinals, many new compounds have been found which are very useful in combating diseases. The structural formulae of local anesthetics have also been altered to yield products which have lower toxicities. And so chemistry goes on. New methods are constantly developed for lower- ing-tlie cost of manufacture of a product and at the same time to make a better product. Chemists have become specialists. They may specialize in the manu- facture of dyes, perfumes, explosives, anesthetics, petroleum, and many other things. Some chemists are experts in the detection of poisons in the body, and are called toxicologists. Others may be experts in the detection of food adulterants, or they may work only with structural formulae of compounds. The field of Chemistry enters into almost all kinds of manufacturing enterprises, and science will advance only with the advance of Chemistry. ,-X ,N ff tp Page One Hundred Two

Page 107 text:

my Dmssmu mimlhh 1 L P72 Cie!-A AQ E QQ E E A TQNSQ ,J P age One Hundv

Page 109 text:

IDIQESCIQIIDTO The Pharmacy Student ofthe Eighties min The life of the Pharmacy student in the early eighties, was like most every- thing else, considerably different from that of today. Then almost all students who could obtain employment, worked in the drug store during the day, and attended the lectures which were given at the school of Pharmacy, in the evenings. The school laboratory work was not compulsory then, but it must necessarily be so today, since little of that work is done in the average drug store of today, whereas the student and apprentice of those earlier days received quite a little experience in the drug store laboratory, and it must be said of the employers that they gave a young man such insruction as they could, and every opportunity to learn. The salary of the young drug clerk was the large sum of ten to fifteen dollars per month for beginners, and after two years' experience, twenty to twenty-f1ve dollars. Board could be had for three dollars a week, which, of course, left nothing for anything else, much less any money to be spent for amusement or entertain- ment of any sort. It was unfortunate if one had to pay for a place to sleep, but this was usually furnished by the employer in the way of a cot behind the prescrip- tion counter, or some other out-of-the-way place. I-Iowever, there were places where one was not even provided with a cot, for I knew two clerks whose beds were long drawers under the counters, and which were drawn out at night. COne of these clerks was later prominently associated with our school of Pharmacyj XV e who succeeded them in their positions, refused to use these bunks, and were given cots to sleep upon. Frequently the proprietor furnished the board also, with less pay, to keep down his overhead. If, in such cases, the employer's family happened to be a large and growing one, with ravenous appetites, it surely was a misfortune for the clerk even if his appetite was only a moderate one, for his meals were likely to be mightly lean. I had such an experience once, but for a short time only. As I said before, the salary of the young druggist of the eighties leaving him nothing with which to indulge in amusements or entertainments, nevertheless he frequently had some in connection with the business. For instance, I distinctly recall the incident of the editor of a comic paper- who was also the delivery boy-calling at the store with a load of papers under his arm and one of brew under his belt, stopping to rest on a keg of insect powder displayed just inside the front door, the keg was almost empty, and he a corpulent fellow, so that when he slumped down into the keg, he became tightly wedged in, his legs sticking up, his arms hanging over the sides, and until we extricated him, it was a sight which created much amusement for us, for some passersby who knew him, and also for himself, since it provided the idea for a story and cartoon in the next issue of his paper. ' Often drug clerks were asked to contribute a dime for a night's lodging to some weary individual, and if the clerk showed any signs of familiarity he would ,., ...1 1 3 Q L.., .A 1 r Page One Hundred Three