COPYRIGHT, 1922 BY THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION PREFACE TO VOLUME 2 There were nine editions of the first volume of The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines. The ninth edition contained the most important reports of the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry and of the Chemical Laboratory. It contained also those articles from _The Journal of the American Medical Association_ (up to, and including, 1916) which dealt with the problems of proprietaryship in medicine and the furtherance of rational drug therapy. The present volume contains similar material covering the period from January, 1917, to April, 1922, inclusive. Like Volume 1, this volume is divided into four parts: Part I. THE COUNCIL ON PHARMACY AND CHEMISTRY: This section presents the principles and rules which govern the Council in the examination of medicaments, together with articles and reports bearing on the work of the Council, and the most important reports of the Council from 1917 to April, 1922, inclusive. Part II. THE A. M. A. CHEMICAL LABORATORY: This section, besides presenting the aims and objects of the Association’s Chemical Laboratory, also outlines some of the Laboratory’s work which is of particular interest to physicians. Part III. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE JOURNAL: Proprietary Products: This part contains articles on proprietary medicinal preparations and the methods by which they are exploited, which have appeared in _The Journal A. M. A._ Part IV. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE JOURNAL: MISCELLANY: In this section are articles dealing with matters of interest to the medical profession but not coming strictly under the classification of proprietary medicinal preparations. A comparison of the material that has appeared in Volume 1 of The Propaganda for Reform with that which appears in this volume will reveal the changing conditions in the proprietary medicine field. Many of the reports in the first volume brought out the fact that medicinal preparations were at that time foisted on the profession with false claims of composition; reports of this character are less conspicuous in the present volume. Many of the reports in Volume 2 deal with unwarranted therapeutic claims, especially those advanced for animal organ preparations, serums, vaccines, preparations for intravenous medication, etc. The present volume will also be found of interest in its portrayal of the changed conditions in the proprietary medicine business brought about by the World War.