clients  in  Europe.  On  its  arrival  it  is  sold
to  smelters  which  produce  the  metal  therefrom. ­
  Manufacturing  chemists  purchase  this
and  convert  it  into  the  bismuth  subnitrate  used
so  extensively  by  the  physician  of  to-day.  This
product  is  imported  by  the  American  drug
broker  who  sells  it  to  the  jobber,  whose  traveller ­
  in  turn  disposes  of  it  to  the  wholesale  chemist ­
  through  whom  it  reaches  the  local  druggist
and  finally  the  consumer.  It  is  safe  to  say
that  fully  30  per  cent,  of  the  prescriptions,
written  by  the  doctor  and  compounded  by  the
apothecary  call  for  this  drug.  If  the  metal  is
to  be  used  in  the  arts  it  goes  through  as  many
hands  before  reaching  the  ultimate  user.  It
is  not  difficult  therefore  to  see  that  from  the
mine  to  the  consumer  there  are  six  or  seven
profits  made,  several  of  which  might  be  eliminated, ­
  thereby  reducing  the  cost  of  the  article,
provided  the  ore  was  brought  direct  to  this
country  and  the  reduction  made  here.  Furthermore ­
  instead  of  going  around  the  Horn  to
Europe,  the  freight  through  the  Panama
Canal  to  an  American  port  would  be  much