The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-05-12

tttt nHliu RAplplv fht AhulNa ire
CIRCLE or vtefihs.

fM aFl8FiNH ~ fsyfR iHffth WkfIi "a
wutntn IN New ynak h increasing III
~ alarming rate said 4 physician
~ ~ nst give tie ttTns ~ WA savp HI
sstfesle casee taf | believe W. doriof
are largely responsible tnf thr spfeagi
~ the evil II GEMS such an easy nef
rEfni thinH ~ relieve aente suffering hp
4 desc ~ morphine. anil II wuuti ~ ~
fiaht II the patients couldn't Rpt The
drug Themselves They rsu Rst ID
There tlia trouble.
~ vas ratiet ii see unu "a my IN
tsnnse lasi week. Che il i wealthy No
man She developed the morphine habit
two years aRn. whnn she had a serious
illness Since then she has had pnrioi
zeal spfses ' tih lnorphine. in spite If
all we could do q prevent her She vi
ways Gays that ihe dcplorshle state shr
gets into is due 10 other eausns. but
can tell, ~ sf,on as see her. whether
she has been taking morphine Last
week, when | went ~ see her. silp was
a neryniis wreck and said sbe had been
agonizinR with rheumatism Rhenma
tism ~ d handy thing A iioctor can 1
NNs"f INV y RBFbAHt HfFH ' EFt "
accused the woman ~ having ienn Du
u morphine spree. She denied H. ap
pealnj 81 liar husband Tie ~ arcilei hpr
bfreau and chiffpnier and found 3aB
morphine pills She had houghi them
all NJ one tine. blt wouldn't tnll who
sold them 10 her
''Df conrsn Their. u law against SCH
ing morphine except on prescription
but a morphine fiend can always get Ia
IL he IL persistent. and generally be IL
~. Any physician can tell "a habitual
morphine takpr gt d glance. 80 can h
druggist The latter reads the upmis
taxable signs IN y man y face and. III te
hasn't u conscience. viii sell the nlor.
plline victim whai he wants. The drug
gtsi knows that the purchaser will guard
the secret quite ~ closely rs he could.
Bnt, IL d person with 40 symptoms II
the morphine habit wants ~ buy the
drug. he viii probably have great din.
Guilty ia getting il, No pharmacist. even
IL not particularly reputable, wants 10
take the chances Ut being hauled mp for
q breach of the law.
~ am constantly running across
cafes Of the morphine habit, especially.
an ! said. among women, The lite they
lead when active socially Uses mp their
nerves. and they take morphine for Den-
Taigia until they cant get along with
out 1T, Usually they are ashamed vi the
hahit aud conceal IL carefully. but ON
times they are quite open about IL,
take tLsir morphine regularly and will
moi listen Ia Fgaaan Not "A naantl. usa
beautiful Young woman showed me n
new chatelaine ornament she had just
bought, IL was q remarkably handsome
gold case. studded with jewels, and look- |
ed like a yinaigrette, The top opened,
and inside were 4 tiny hypodermie
syringe and tube 0f morphine, said
something more forcibie than polite and
tried to make her see the insanity of
the thing, bnt she only laughed and
told me she carried morphine pills IN
her cbatelaine bopbonniere, so that she
would BIO all right IL she happened 10 DO
where she eonldn't use the "bypodermie.
which she preferred, threatened 10
tell her husband, but she said be knew
about II and didn't care, She didn't
bother him, and be didn I bother hen,
went to the husband, and he merely
shrugged his shoulders and said he neyr
or interfered with his wife, Then re-
lieyed my mind again am told him
what ! thought Of him and now there
10 one family less on my list of patients.
'That WAS an exceptional case, adr
nit. Usually relatives and friends 0f q
person who takes morphine do every
thing possible 10 break up the habit,
but a morphine iend II remarkable tor
.cleyerness, A great many women who
don't want any one 10 know that they
have the habit work tho physicians for
morphine, know women OF good fam
lily who never 20 more than two weeks
without terrible attacks OF neuralgia on
rheumatism or something else that
aHses eycrpciating agony, The doctor
IN called in and tries ~ relieve the wor
man, but nothing relieves her until he
tries morphine, " he ~ clever enough
to see through the thing and too con
scientioHs 10 help out the little farce,
he gives np the case, Another doctor ~
called IN and another, until one pro-
scribes what IL wanted, That's an old,
old game, Many n struggling young
doctor has thought his fortune made
because a wealthy woman in his neigh
borhood called him IN, but when she Is
seriously i'll she goes back 10 her old
doctor. She only wants the new one to
prescribe morphine for her neuralgia
'eThere's no excuse IN the world tor
a doctor acquiring the morphine habit
He knows better, Vet some of the DOG
tors do 1t, One famous old New York
DOCTOR used TO take his morphine ~
regularly as he took his breakfast, and,
Whenever no gave a hypodermie inieer
ton to 4 patient, no took one himself
while no had the syringe ont, inst tor
.spciahility, suppose, He never went
10 pieces under II, but presume he