No. 948.
Mr. Lothrop to Mr. Bayard.

No. 160.]

SIR: Your dispatch No. 109, of February 4, instant, was duly received to-day, and, without making any further inquiry, I am able to give the information asked for by Mr. J. K. Hood respecting the exclusion of the goods of Mr. John Linden.

In 1885 one of the largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical preparations in the United States sought to introduce his goods into Russia. [Page 1403] None of them were patent or secret medicines. They were excluded. At the request of the shippers I asked of the Imperial Government the reasons of this exclusion.

In February, 1886, I received from the foreign office a copy of the regulations on the subject.

It will be sufficient probably to say here that no medicaments or pharmaceutical preparations are permitted to come into Russia from abroad until they have been examined and approved by the medical board or council of the Empire.

The council, which seems to be an exceedingly conservative body, has entire control of this matter, and will not even proceed to consider any particular preparation unless it shall be first shown that it has been examined, tried, and approved by some foreign faculty of medicine, or by some institution clothed with like authority. This council also fixes the price of all such articles if admitted.

In the case which I have mentioned, formal application was made to the council for the admission of their goods about two years ago, but the application has not, I am informed, been yet disposed of.

How Mr. Linden’s previous shipments passed the custom-house, I of course do not know, but probably by some inadvertence.

Very truly, etc.,

Geo. V. N. Lothrop.