clients in Europe. On its arrival it is sold 
to smelters which produce the metal there 
from. 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 travel 
ler in turn disposes of it to the wholesale chem 
ist 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 elimi 
nated, thereby reducing the cost of the article, 
provided the ore was brought direct to this 
country and the reduction made here. Fur 
thermore instead of going around the Horn to 
Europe, the freight through the Panama 
Canal to an American port would be much