' the real, are many . demand and we produce the 1csult. ” CHEMICALS _ AND DRUGS. THE AVERAGE IMPORTATIONS OF LATE YEARS AMOUNTVTO ABOUT $40,000,000. ' ' .JflODlTIES—SPECULATIVE FEVER sonurmus ‘ SEIZES my: TRADE—BIG WHOLESALE ' ' AND MANUFACTURING HOUSES. .In the dark days of the Middle Ages chemists and those daring persons who trafficked in drugs were classed as sorcerers. Science had a long and wearisome struggle with- religious fanaticisrn, but finally won the decision, and the partment of drugs and chemicals have- been aInong_ the most pre-eminent 0f the century. The. dealers and manufacturers of drugs and chemicals in the process of a long and honorable career have lain themselves open to the charge 'of sorcery in only one particular, and that is in connection with marked success which has attended their efforts to make profits. It would almost appear that they possessed some hidden charm for conducting business on the highest plane of money—making efficiency. The major- ity of the leading drug manufacture1s, importers and wholesalers have been in the same locality for years and years. All of them have giown rich and all of them have maintained the same steady methods of business which have ob- tained since the business began, and which have been only slightly changed in all the advance— ment of the years that have followed. New-York contains within its limits over a thousand manufacturers, whose products in a general way form part of the drug trade. There are sixteen leading wholesale houses, and each of these has a manufacturing department, from which large profit is derived. This is made more plain when it is understood that about 60 per cent of tl.e goods handled are patent medi- cines, which yield on an average 10 per cent of profit. The 10 per cent part is good encugh in theory, but sales must be made to accomplish profits, and therefore the wholesaler looks more to the remaining 40 per cent of his business for. substantial, never-failing profit- pro- , dimer. . and jobbers have found 'that' it is more. to their advantage to run them, and that it puts more money in their pockets than to import the drugs. IN DAYS LONG GONE BY. Of the number of retail druggists in the United States supplied by the wholesale trade one hundred years agd there are no data. There are now nearly forty thousand. In the New- York City directory of1786 are given the names of five. In Queen-st, now a part of Pearl-st, there were two, Effingham Lawrence and Bes- ley & Goodwin. Hanover Square had three— Timothy Hurse, Oliver Hull and Francis Wain- wright. Two wholesale drug houses of the pres- ent day were founded about a century ago, but only One of these continues under the original name.- Quite a. number date back fifty or sixty years. The principal houses of that day were Thomas S. Clark, John and- William Penfold, Lawrence & Keese, Olcott & McKesson, Silas Garle, John M.- Bradhurst, John C. Morrison, lit-,8; S. Murray andJ. A. & W. B. Post. Of these firms one was the first to make and in- troduce gelatine-Icoated pills. Another firm, the oldest in the city, was responsible for the intro- duction into this country of aristol, phenacetine, trlonal and other valuable synthetic remedies of chemistry. In fact, the large whole- Illell Cl New-York have always made a strong _Q masses The illustration shows the patented straightline press manufactured by the Goss Prin In the first place, they occupy very little floor space. :1 press until ready for delivery, pass in a straight line; t :‘the principal newspaper offices in this country—a faét that demonstrates th the capacity of a straightline press, avoiding the necessity of purchasing a new machine. They are also built so that they will print several colors, thus maki of these machines is only limited by the quality of printing desired to be pruduced. No other pr ess- -builders have heretofore forged to the fron their plant two years ago, and are about making another largea ~ and now have the largest plant in the world used exclusively ' OPIUM AND QUININE THE LEADING STAPLE COM-- growth and deve10pment 0f the commercial de- 'healin'g'and curing powers. 1.3111 011-1106. 11 anufacturin The reason 0f so ma y m g--.there11111.8:110Inatenial11ixev:nge;in*izheqmrice situam '4 .-laboratories is simply because the 1mporters METRQPLITAN «211167165 - HOUBAY SUPPLEMENT , 1' THE GOSS STRAIGHTLINE PRESS. ‘ point of constantly enlarging the sphere of their. laboratory labors 1n order to meet the require-_ ments of fresh developments in therapeutics, and, as a result of those labors, new preparation ,after preparation has been introduced to the notice of the medical profession-.'- The compound . stearate‘s, for instance, which form a. remark- able series of pharmaceutical products of stearic acid in ‘combination with various appropriate bases, and which, as powders, impalpable, bland and unctuous to an extraordinary degree, are: recognized as being peculiarly applicable to the treatment of several distinct groups (if diseases, .were introduced by one of Ne w—York’s leading jabbing houses. The drug trade of the city of New-York from an historical standpoint has seen a. career ex- tending back to the beginning of the present century. It has witnessed many interesting periods, and has had the satisfaction of giving European competitms a strong, hard fight for supremacy. From dependency on importations the men behind the trade of this city have turned the tide .in the other direction until the exports of drugs and chemicals to foreign coun- tries represented a fair—sized account on the - balance sheets of' international commerce. 3’ In the realm of patent medicine the American has been a. power in all the great cities of the Old World There Was a. time when the herbs and roots of America held the foremost place in the‘ hearts of the sick and— aili~ng-<-Europeans, and I' the very fact that a roo‘t combination was made in this country was a guarantee of itsinfallible- As a result of this turn in the affairs of the drug trade shrewd :and: enterprising American 'business- men made many fortunes out of the foreign business. ,7 . .. TRADE WITH OTHER LANDS. Another epoch of drug history was clearly de- fined when certain Central and South American drugs, such as jalap, ipecac and. the balsams began coming into this port, from which in the course of business they were shipped to the European dealers. Opium and quinine are the two leading arti- cles in the drug trade, and they are watched with great interest the year around. Strange as it may seem, there is every now and then. a speculative fever in these th0 articles. This speculation is not ‘confined to the trade alone, but extends to hundreds of outsiders, who are in touch with these in. the business. It is re- called at the present moment that when war threatened .last spring it was considered by a small host of investors that there would be a large quantity of quinine required for the sick soldiers in Southern climates. The price at that time was in the neighborhood of 17 cents an ounce. The eager buying for speculation soon sent prices upward, and before the movement was over the quotation had reached 26 cents - After a short tirne,..dnri11g" which tion; a number ofrsmail masters; grown- timid- ‘andnn'xious from waiting, :‘gave orders to 'sell and then prices were knocked down, and as there was no demand the market became slight- ly unsettled, and the would-be speculators were obliged to retire with losses instead of profits. In a like manner opium has received no little attention during the year just closing, and the speculation has been on an extended scale. From about $2 75 a pound the price has been worked up to $3 75 a p:,1und from which there were slight recessions. It was the cry in the trade all through the summer that opium would. 'go to $4 a p0und. The speculation in this drug has been confined almost entirely to those in the trade who had received word from the Asiatic market that the Crop was short for the year. To return to quinine, one of the leaders, it may be said that it had its discovery in 1820- when a Frenchman named Pelletier began the manufacture of separate alka10id of c‘inIchona bark. Shortly afterward a quinine factory was started in America by John Farr of Philadel-‘ phia, and this plant was- the basis of the in-.- dustry so far as this country was. concerned. .Later Ion, John Currie built a factory in New-. York. This was practically the beginning of domestic quinine. To- day the world’s annual consumption of this all-impOrtant alkaloid is about 7,000,000 ounces, of which it is esti- mated that .half is used in the United States. For a certain period while the Government taxed foreign-made quinine the home man-u- They run. With Small horseépower,- here is no twisting or turning of thé webs. This advantage in at' there is great me1it in this class of machines. ng a combination machine, t as did the Goss Printing Press Company of Chicago, with than celebrated 5 addition to- their present facilities, as they are now running twenty-four hours every working day to keep up with their orders, ' for the manufacture of straightline and special rotary printing machinery of every description. Their motto is, “Create the Year Average ending value per June 1. Ounces. Values. ounce. »1886...........-......¢...~. 1.251.556 $887,599 710.. 1887 ..... . ..... ' ........... 2,180,157 1,098,547 50.0 888...................._. 1,603,936 647.654 40.5 1889..........-........... , -,008 917,322 '32.5 1890;. . . . 1...; . r.’ . u . .. . . .7, 2,990,239 886.430 29.7 - 9 805,821 26.1 542,540 20.2 550,782 _ 18.0 740,816 21.9 342,348 24.1 O ting Press Company,_ Sixteenth-st. and A'shlanwd -ave, Chicago, Ill. and _are operated in an economical manner. itself is of very great importance. They are so facturers’ were able to supply the domestic call. Since 1877 however,w when quinine was put on the free list, half of the supply needed by the United States is manfifactured by foreigners, although,- there are New-York jobbing houses which not only meet the price set on the Ger- man and English brands, but are eminently successful in producing that light and 'bulky salt which is looked upon with such high favor by physicians. The present year has be en an unusual one as regards quinine importations. It is away ahead 013 1896 and 1897, as will be seen from the fol- lowing figures taken from the reports of the Bureau of Statistics and corrected to October 1. For this) term of the present year there was imported‘ 9,811, 626 pounds of cinchona or other parks at a value of $215, 757-, as against 1,801 - 056 pounds or $111, 049, in the same period of 1897- and 1,929, 014 pounds, or $120, 285, for the same period in- 1896. The imports of sulphate of quinia, in ounces, for nine months ending Octo- ber 1', were as follows: Ounces. , . lu . 1898. . . . . . . . . . 2 718, 624' $089,334 1897 ...... 2.895, 8893' 426, 09 39 2.243, 521, 637 The following table of the 1mp01tat1ons of quinine from 1886 to 1895 will show better than anything else the conditions. under which the New-York wholesale drug trade has .to deal with quinine: . . From this it would appear that as regards values the present year is more nearly equal to that of 1892 than any of the others. QUANTITIES OF OPIUM. As a d-stributing centre for opium New-York stands unrivalled. There are firms' in thiscity that think nothing of receiving $100,000 con- signments of the drug at a time. The bulk of it. comes from Salonica, in Asia Minor. and from Turkey, in muffin like round cakes, the color of birch bark The imports for the ten years pre- ceding 1897 am as follows. Fiscal years Average ending value per June 30. Pounds. pound. 1887 ..... ...... 568,263 $2 35 1888 . "0 2 76 ." 2 O7 " 2 25) - 2 54 , 1 70 1 92 1894......... ..... . ..... 7716,883 236 1895 ..... . ..... .. 357,981 204 1896......1...'.... ..... ....... . 365,514 -—- For the sake of comparison the figures for the last three years are for “nine months Only, as Tithe ~rep'o‘rt of the Bureau of Statistics; from: are only 'cor-' which these values was taken, rected up to October. They are as follows: Crude opium. Prepared opium. Pounds. Value. Pounds. Value. 1898 . 237,825 $545,616 75,730 $432 651 1897......... ...... 757,384 1,527,455 110, 219 782. 049 1896. 370.816 697.242 75.963 566,053 The following list contains the most important imported chemicals: Acid, boracic. Acid, carbollc. Acid, oxalic. Alum, substitute, cake. Ammonia, carb. Ammonia, muriate. Annatto, seed and. ext. Argols, crude. Potash. Potash, nitrate, crude. Potash, prussiate, yellow. Quinlne. Roots, gentian. Roots, ginger. Roots, jalap. Roots, licorice. Arrowroot. Roots, orris. Arsenic. ' Roots. sarsaparilla. Cochineal. Seed, anise and star nnise. Cubebs. Seed, canary. Ergot. Seed, hemp. Glyéerine, crude. Seed, mustard. Glycerine, refined. , bicarb. or saleratus. Gum arable. Soda, caustic. Gum camphor, crude. . Soda, nitrate. Gum opium. Soap, castile and other.- Gum tragacanth. cassia. ‘ Indigo. . Spice, cloves. Licorice, paste and in stick. clove stems. ' Nux- vomlca. - ' ‘Spice, mace Oil, cocoanut. Spice, mustard, ground. Oil, olive.” ' Spice, nutmeg. Oil, sesame. Spice. pepper. Oil, citronella. Spice, pepper, cayenne. Oil, lemon Spice, pimento. Potash, chlorate. . The total value 'of chemicals and drugs. both avoiding extra heavy outlay where publishers desire to print extra colors. The advantages of these machines - All webs, from the time they enter the- .5 These machines are in use among constructed that publishers can always add to ' The speed) ' ' traightline presses The Goss Company doubled ' - '.u_4 free and dutiable, for the firSt nine months of the present year amounted to $28, 711, 331, which shows a decrease of about $2,000, 000 from the same period of 1896 and 1897. This count1y has exported during the same period $6,137, 041, as against “16.132192 in 1897, and $5,907,601 in 1896. The annual importation of drugs will average of late years about $40,,.000000 ___.__._.___——. PRINTIA G PRESSES. 1 A POTENT INFLUENCE IN CIVILTZATION— ITS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. - .2-: ' In a great reading community like that of this ward to and read by people of all classes, con-‘- ditions and ages, the impertance of; an indus- try which provides the means for supplying 1111111. demand need hardly be dwelt?“ '1;an "f‘l’i fie“ -:u printing press is to- day, as it. has been synceqigs, inception one of the most potent. influences. in»- American civilization and development and to this fact is largely due, perhaps the mud strides which have been made. by the 1ndustry within the last twenty-five years. ~ The press uSed by the earliest prmtersmzaa, merely a table, upon which the type forming; the pages were laid, being bound together by a framecalled a “form.” an inking- ball. or by running a. roller OYBE.1_K§ ,The process was necessarily~crude and slow: It was in 1790 that the idea of the cylinder press; was first broached, and a Saxon by the name of Frederick Kdnig built the first cylinder press run by. steam in 1814 for “The-LondonuTimesé'fi This style of press was introduced into the United States by Robert Hoe and Sereno New- ton in 1830. Mr. Hoe added improvements, and his son has still further improved it. Among the most important improvements in the cylin- der press may'be mentioned the introduction of a method for locking the type in a form, called a “turtle,” from its shape, and which is capable of being fitted to the surface of a large cylinder and made to revolve at any rate of speed without parting with its type. The paper is fed to the type by means of a series of smallg. er cylinders. An important feature of this style of press, “the angle- -bar combination, ” was pat- ented by the Hoes, and enabled them for many years to practically control the trade in presses that were able to develop more than a four or eight page paper. The invention of what is known as the web press by means of which the paper is fed to the cylinder in a st1aight line, was an improvement which in a measure revolutionized the manufact- ure of printing presses, ard incidentally the production of' great newspapers. The tape: mre woundirom three to ,fivemiles :of. paper. The paper goes to one roller and receives the im- on to another roller and is printed on' the oppo- site side; it then goes to the fly all ready to be delivered to the men who. carry the paper to the folding—room. 'The modern straight line press has resulted in a reduction of 50 per cent in the power required to run it, and has brought about a competition in the trade in printing presses which was formerly impossible, thereby reducing the price greatly. The decrease in cost enables many small dailies throughout the coun- try who formerly used flat bed presses to do their worl' 110w with presses capable of print-v ing four and eight pages. These small dailies can now equip themselves with web presses, stereotyping outfits, set up and ready for busi- ness, at a. smaller cost than was formerly re- quired for a press that printed only one side at a time and had to be folded by hand, necessi- tating much extra labor and expense. These small web presses will turn out 10, 000 papers per hour, printed and folded, and ready for the mails or carriers. They have made the daily newspaper a possibility in every community.“ —-—'—_——o——_—-_-«-I- , _ A TRIUMPH' 0F METAI’HOR. -. From The London Chronicle. A member of the Queensland Legislative Assem- bly, in the course of a speech recentlv (he is of Irish parentage), mad-e the following lucid observa- tion: ”They' ll keep cutting the wool off the sheep that lays the golden eggs until they pump it dry!" city, where the daily newspaper is looked" for- _ The paper was laid on; by hand, and the type was inked .bY meanswt;. ~.presented to the press is- froma roll upon which . pression from: one set. of: forms, ;and then passes _ 7 1 M M W ‘ “A ‘ AA AAM.“ AA-M‘AAALKXA‘ AAA‘“A-LAAA‘AAAAAA“wAmulu‘_‘A‘w-A.A-_AMM i . l
Norwalk Chronicler