The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-03-12
COCAINE LAWS
AUTHOR Tells
DRUGS DANGERS
Clement j. DriscOll, Who Conf
batted Evil in New York, Tells
of the Habits Horrors.
FIRST DOSE is HAND
OF DEATH" HE SAYS
Greater New York Had 100000
Victims-WiII Champion
EVENING STARS Bill.


Clement j. Driscoll. of New York,
president of the East Side Pure Milk
League and author of the anti-eocaine
bill which is now law in New York,
will discuss the drug evil before the
judiciary committee of the House at
Trenton next Monday, in the hearing
on THE EVENING STARS anti-co-
caine bill.
Mr.. priscoll made the following
statement to THE EVENING STAR
today:
Remember that the first dose Of CO.
caine is the very hand of death itself,
and its grip is stronger than steel; its
use is always rewarded by insanity or
death This is the warning sounded
by Professor Kerr, a noted specialist of
England in his writings on cocaine.
This. too, supported by startling revela-
tons in the course of a four months
campaign against the sale of this drug,
was the keynote of the campaign in the
State of New York conducted by my
self and the Rev. Father Curry. of st.
James's parish, for a law making the
sale of the drug without a doctors pre-
scription a felony.
THE Rev. Father Curry came to me
some months ago and asked my aid
and the aid of our organization in sup
pressing this vice. which was growing
stronger and stronger Zach day.
IAN investigation was Immediately
started and detectives were engaged to
make the fight. Believe me, when / say
that the revelations brought to light
by that investigation were more than
Notwithstanding. Hardly had we begun
to advertise our fight. when we were
approached by hundreds of heart
broken mothers, who sought our aid in
saving the life of a dear son or daugh-
ter who were victims of the drug. In
Greater New York we found one hun
bred thousand victims. We unearthed
thirty-two dens where the fiends as
sembled nightly. We discovered drug
gists in great numbers who made it a
business to sell this drug to the unfor-
tunate victims. and far more horrify-
ing than anything else, we found that
the drug held in its grasp thousands
upon thousands of little children. As
the campaign went on we received
thousands of letters, many of them
from unfortunate victims themselves.
The fends said to us: Help usl Save
us from the clutches of cocaine. Stop
the sale of it, and you will rescue
thousands in this city,
Drugs Dangerous Exh%iInratiOn.
Cocaine in it's action on the human
being differs from morphine, in that 1t
acts as a stimulant rather than a mar
cotic. The young man takes his first
dose and finds it highly exhilarating.
He feels relieved from a depressed con-
dition. and has Illusions of grandeur,
usually believing himself very wealthy
and everything for the time being
around him is brightness, and that
which was dark g%litters. But this feel
ing lasts only as long as the dose of
the drug is passing through the blood
corpuseles. Suddenly in the midst OF
this feeling a reaction comes. which
makes him depressed, nauseated and
dull.
1.-THE reaction is horrible. 1t is death
and darkness itself. said a dying CO
eaine fiend to me. When this fit Of de-.
preston strikes the hend he must have
more cocaine. Usually the second dose
IS stronge than the first, and each
dose afterward stronger, until the UNI
fortunate victim Is unable to pass an
hour without his drug The drug is