GROCERS AND CHEMISTS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 December 1937, Page 12

GROCERS AND CHEMISTS.

[TO THE EDITOR.] . Si r> —i noticed a letter on tins subject from a correspondent signed, L>. Livingstone, Blaketown. Is this the person who sells so-called remedtes all over the Coast district? If so it is not any surprise that this gentlema is interested in the Governments proposed plan to reorganise the P har industry as there is a proviso to lim the extent of hawkers operations the selling of medicine etc. are now manufactured by unqualified persons. The formulas of the remedies are not disclosed. These large concerns have selling agents ng throughout the Dominion on a house to house basis. They do not pay shop rents or assist the town and district in any way. It is quite time that then operations were placed under ’ They have had a long uninterrupted run and should consider themselves very lucky. They have taken the bread and butter from the mouths, as it were, of legitimate, Q uallfi e d trad ® r do not blame the agents of these firms but condemn the system. It is the intention of the Government in sponsoring the plan to give retailers a fair deal with’special protection. Your correspondent carefully avoids mentioning the proposal re hawkers’ operations, and endeavours to side-track the matter by appealing to the grocers in, advising them to enter a protest against the proposed plan in the regulations of the. sales of certain patent medicines etc. I think the majority of the grocers are well aware that the time is opportune whereby the Government, in the plan, have decided that certain patents especially those containing poisons and deleterious drugs should be confined to registered qualified chemists at a fixed price and under special’ control as to quantities allowable etc., It is not the intention to take away the sale of ordinary household medicines and drugs from the grocers. Department' stores and drapers have also been selling certain poisonous medicines, medicated tablets and chemicals. These persons not being registered nor qualified, are to be placed under Government control also. The Government’s plan is to, in course of time, keep all retailers in all classes of trades, strictly to their own class fo business at fixed price according to localities, landed costs of goods, overhead expenses and turnovers. .The plan is proposed with the intention of giving qualified chemists in business a chancb of making a living with the necessary limited protection. For the protection and special licenses, all chemists in business will be levied by the Government on the payment of an annual fee of the sum of £lO/10/-. Seeing that there are nearly 700 chemists in business in the Dominion, a large number of the smaller country retailers are strongly objecting to the amount of the levy, as apart from |he large collective amount which the Government will collect in the controlling of the scheme, the small country chemists will find that the so-called protection will not nearly recompense them in being placed under the Government’s socialistic scheme in the public control of their industry. In Tasmania, chemists in business have full protection as regards the stocking and sales of all medical supplies and medicines at a levy by the Labour Government of the sum of £3/3/- per annum. Not any dealer whatsoever is allowed to stock or sell any article concerning medical supplies etc., within a two mile radius of any registered chemist in business. This gives chemists a cliance of making a decent living. To carry out the plan of reorganising the chemists’ industry in New Zealand, a committee of a bureau of industry, comprising three representatives of the Pharmacy Board, Government, Friendly Societies aand Chemists’ Assistants with a director of pharmacy, is to be formed. This committee will be under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Industries and Commerce. It is to be hoped that the plan will prove a success and eventually prove a benefit to the chemists, prescribing medical profession and the public at large. There are 99 other clauses in the proposed plan which can only be interpreted correctly by those concerned. If Mr. Livingstone would like further information on the matter I will be pleased to enlighten him as he knows that a little knowledge proves often to be a dangerous matter in dealing with public affairs. There is an important aspect of the proposed plan which will be put into operation by the elected committee in Wellington to-morrow, after all objections to various clauses have been discussed. It seems to me that there is great scope left open for the “bears” and “sharks” to take advantage of the small retailers in using the so-called protection plan to force the not-wanted opposition out of business. It will prove eventually to become a survival of the fittest with the Socialistic Government holding all the trump cards. I am etc., YE OLDE APOTHECARY. [to the editok.l Sir,—ln fairness to chemists, I would like to answer Mr Livingston’s letter in laslt night’s “Star.” “The provisional plan for the reorganisation of the pharmacy industry,” to which he refers has been compiled after many months of exhaustive enquiry, by the Bureau of Industry. Although the general principles are m favour of chemists, the plan leaves much to be desired, especially the clause relating to chain store pharmacy. No definite assurance has been given by the Government that chain store chemists’ such as 1 Boot’s will* be prohibited in New Zealand. Now to come to Mr Livingston’s’ particular objection, it is evident that he lias nob studied! the plan in detail, otherwise he would have seen a long list of exemptions which allows grocers, wholesale and retail to sell a host of other things besides aspirins, in fact all the drugsi and patent medicines which are sold by grocers today. From the chemists 1 ’ point of view, many of the drugs in the exemption list should be confined to chemists only. Isn’t it only fair that drugs: should be ’sold l by druggists who have spent years studying their drugs, to enable them to advise the public in these matters? Would there not be a hue and cry if chemists started selling sugar and flour, etc. Now I think Mr Livingston’s objection to the plan is not anything he has said in hisi letter, but to the clause which relates to This clause states “That no hawkers’ license will be issued unless it is associated with or supported by the name of a substantial firm, having a permanent place of business.” Is it right that drugs, patent medicines and groceries’ packed by American firms’ should be hawked round: by unqualified l persons? Perhaps “Moonlight” could be reached by our efficient' postal authorities, but it would be a far better thing for

Greymouth. and every other town in New 1 Zealand, if Sandy McTaviah had to come to town to spend his “saxpence” or we hope his “bob.” I am etc. PILL-ROLLER, Greymouth, December, 10.