A look at the huge changes industrialization, monopolies, World War One, and prohibition had on the pharmacist.

‘The Proletarianization of a Profession’ by Charles P. Fletcher from the Communist. Vol. 6 No. 5. July, 1927.

ONCE upon a time (about 60 years ago) pharmacists were dignified professional men. Now, due to the rapid monopolization by giant trusts, they are fast becoming proletarianized. In those bygone days there was no practical line of demarcation between the apothecary and the doctor. Both called upon patients and treated them. Both sold medicines with or without diagnosis. Gradually they settled on one form or the other of doing business.

Great changes have occurred since. The practice of medicine has become a highly developed, specialized and commercialized profession. Pharmacy has become an ordinary retail business, invaded by concentrated capital. Competition has forced many druggists out of business. Many of those remaining in the cities are holding out by dint of 14 hours or more labor each day, in spite of the fact that 85% are aided by legal and illegal liquor business. A study of the effects of “free competition,” that darling of the petty bourgeoisie, upon the mass of druggists and mass of people will show it following the historical path of capitalism; and, since it is semi-professional, forecasts a like development among the professions, notably medicine.

About thirty years ago the big department stores began special sales on well known patent medicines. The sole purpose was to draw the mass of people into the store where they would buy other things as well. People get the false impression that everything else in the store is sold at correspondingly low prices. The nine chain stores that existed in 1900 charged full prices and druggists in general were not affected by cut price competition.

The war, as it hastened all tendencies inherent to capitalism, likewise forced the cycle thru which the drug trade began. Concentrations of capital invaded the drug trade as a safe and profitable investment. Existing chains of drug stores entered a huge campaign of buying up old stores and establishing new stores. Owners of one store, backed by additional capital, branched out with many more.     

Excess capital of other chain store corporations has accumulated to the extent that it has slopped over into the drug trade. United Cigars began its chain in New Jersey and Virginia and now has about 70 stores. It owns the United Chemists Mfg. Co. and is allied with Happiness Candy. Schulte has entered thru the manufacturing end by controlling the American Druggists Syndicate, owns V. Vivadou and Djer Kiss perfumes, Park & Tilford, Huyler’s Candy and is now negotiating for the purchase of the big Owl Drug Stores chain on the Pacific Coast. The recent United-Schulte merger foreshadows greater activity in the drug business. When the corporation becomes a formidable rival of the Liggett chain a merger between them will be inevitable.

To compete with these chains in different parts of the country individual druggists formed corporations for cooperative buying. Later they manufactured and packed standard products under the corporation name. Then advertising was carried on cooperatively, putting special emphasis on corporation brands. Thus new chains were born.

Prohibition brought a large number of saloon keepers and liquor dealers into the drug trade. They tried hard to justify the little ditty:

Hush little drug store, don’t you cry;
You’ll be a barroom bye and bye.

In order to retain their liquor permits these new drug store owners had to do a large business on all other merchandise. When their “prescription” liquor business was all out of proportion to their general business, their liquor permits were revoked unless the inspectors were bribed. Since that became a very costly process, they resorted to cut prices. Certain popular items were actually sold below cost. Other private stores and chains followed suit and went one better. A general scramble for business brought increased trade, required more labor and resulted in less profits.

Drugless drug stores, selling everything but strong poison and prescriptions, invaded the trade in individual stores and chains. Groceries also have copied the merchandising principles of the variety store and almost all are selling popular patent medicines.

There is no reasonable doubt that the present trend will continue with increasing momentum. Liggets now have over 665 stores in this country and 750 stores in England. Other chains bring the total to approximately 2,500 here. While they own only 5% of the drug stores yet these do 20% of the business, totaling $250,000,000 annually. This does not count “drugless” drug stores, mail order, grocery and department store competition.

The workers pay in several ways. The savings made by large scale buying and manufacturing are not passed on to them. Cut prices are countered by overcharge on “blind” merchandise. Years ago when druggists were consulted by workers in minor ailments a mixture was prepared for the specific case. Now the clerk dumps upon them patent medicines upon which he gets an extra commission. Even in small privately owned store time is an important factor. The pharmacist might sell two or three watches, pocket knives or wallets and profit $3 to $5 while he is filling one prescription profiting 60c or 80c. So the professional man is more interested in wallets or knives.

A profession becomes completely commercialized and now becoming monopolized by giant trusts, pharmacists are rapidly becoming a permanently hired class. Already there are 5,000 hired as managers and assistant managers of chain stores. Taken together with other employed pharmacists they probably number about 15,000. This amounts to 4% of the registered pharmacists in the country. The chain stores departmentalize their stores and employ druggists only in the prescription department, and find a body of clerks competing with them. Despite restrictions to becoming pharmacists the output of Pharmacy Colleges have increased. Proletarianization proceeds apace and the mass of pharmacists will inevitably be drawn into the vortex of class struggle irrespective of their will.

The only hope of the mass of hired pharmacists is to organize as an integral part of the labor movement and use their united strength to better their conditions of work and wages.

There are a number of journals with this name in the history of the movement. This ‘Communist’ was the main theoretical journal of the Communist Party from 1927 until 1944. Its origins lie with the folding of The Liberator, Soviet Russia Pictorial, and Labor Herald together into Workers Monthly as the new unified Communist Party’s official cultural and discussion magazine in November, 1924. Workers Monthly became The Communist in March ,1927 and was also published monthly. The Communist contains the most thorough archive of the Communist Party’s positions and thinking during its run. The New Masses became the main cultural vehicle for the CP and the Communist, though it began with with more vibrancy and discussion, became increasingly an organ of Comintern and CP program. Over its run the tagline went from “A Theoretical Magazine for the Discussion of Revolutionary Problems” to “A Magazine of the Theory and Practice of Marxism-Leninism” to “A Marxist Magazine Devoted to Advancement of Democratic Thought and Action.” The aesthetic of the journal also changed dramatically over its years. Editors included Earl Browder, Alex Bittelman, Max Bedacht, and Bertram D. Wolfe.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/communist/v06n05-jul-1927-communist.pdf