LIQUOR  SELUNG   IN   DRUG  Sl'ORES.  313

That  there  are  some  who  believe  this  evil  may  be  weeded  out  by  wise
legislation,  and  the  drug  store  again  assume  its  proper  position,  is  apparent
from  the  comments  of  the  press  in  Massachusetts  where  an  attempt  has
been  made.     I  quote  the  following :

(Boston  Journal,  April,  1896.)

DRAM-SELLING  DRUGGISTS.
"  The  House  made  a  mistake  which  we  hope  to  see  corrected  in  refusing  to  reject  the
bill  which  proposes  to  repeal  the  Act  of  1894  requiring  a  certificate  from  the  State  Board
of  Pharmacy  as  a  condition  to  the  issue  of  a  sixth  class  liquor  license.  The  committee
had  reported  against  the  bill,  but  the  House,  by  a  vote  of  61  to  82,  refused  to  reject  it,
and  substituted  it  for  the  committee's  report.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  vote  was  taken
in  a  thin  House,  and  that  the  majority  included  only  about  one-third  of  the  entire  mem-
bership.
"  It  would  be  a  mischevious  thing  to  repeal  the  Act  of  1894.  The  purpose  of  that  act
was  to  weed  out  some  of  the  drug  stores  which  have  sprung  up,  chiefly  in  communities
which  vote  against  the  licensing  of  saloons,  for  the  carrying  on  of  a  disguised  liquor
business.  The  measure  was  designed  not  less  for  the  protection  of  reputable  pharma-
cists than  for  the  good  of  the  community,  for  the  dram -selling  druggist  is  a  disgrace  to
an  honorable  vocation  and  brings  it  into  disrepute.  The  board  of  pharmacy  has  admin-
istered the  law  with  prudence  and  impartiality,  but  also  with  fearlessness,  and  a  number
of  drug  stores  which  have  been  doing  a  thriving  liquor  business  have  been  refused  a  cer-
tificate by  the  board.
