The Daily Missoulian., 1909-06-07
POLICE WAR AGAINST
DRUG EVIL
DOCTORS URGE HIGH TARIFF
ON dope" AS PRoTEc-
TloN TO PEOPLE.

! New York, June 6.-For the first
time in its history the police depart
ment OF this city has organ
lied and begun a special crusade to
stamp out the alarming spread of the
cocaine habit, which is now recog-
niZed to be one of the most serious
sources of vice and crime throughout
The country Every effort is being
made to enforce the new state law
against the sale of excessive uantities
of this drug for the use of the dope
| fend" rather Than the doctor Fully
IS per cent of the cocaine that passes
through this city, the police admit,
finds it's way to the victims. of the
deadly drug through an underground
system of traffic which draws princi
paly from foreign sources.
With no duty on coca leaves, from
which Illicit purveyors extract a rough
form of cocaine for their drug crazed
customers, and only a low tariff i'm
posed upon the quantities of the drug
that are shipped here for secret
distribution throughout the country, it
| is recognized that the chances for
1 controlling the spreading cocaine curse
are today very slim, even under the
most strict state laws and police sur
veilance Urging the recent recon-
| mendation of the American Health
league for a "prohibitory tariff in
| ternal revenue tax and other means
which will restrict the use of cocaine
it's substitutes and derivatives, to
medical profession, welfare workers,
medicinal profession, welfare workers,
clcrgymen and the leading drug
houses are now looking to congress
to safeguard every community in the
country by thus shutting off this chief
source of the illegal supply of the
noxious drug. Though restrictive
laws can be and are being success
fully enforced by compelling the To-
cal manufacturers and wholesalers to
keep records of their cocaine sales, it
has been proven that unscrupulous re-
| tailers to whom the American houses
refuse to sell excessive quantities are
perfectly free to obtain limitless and
untraceable supply from abroad.
More cocaine is sold to drug VIC
Tins from one Of their supply stations
in a single night than an ordinary
drug store could sell for medicinal
purposes in a year, the police declare.
Medical men who are interesting
themselves in urging congress to give
the homes Of this country this high
y tariff protection from the ravages Of
the drug assert that the comparative-
| 1y small supply of cocaine necessary
for professional purposes will still be
readily available for their uses. With
a tariff Of $3.50 an ouncegput upon the
foreign cocaine supply and a duty Of
5 cents a, pound on coca leaves it
is proposed to decisively check the
cocaine plague and place it firmly un-
der government control by an internal
revenue tax.
No power but that of the people can
now induce the law makers at WASH
ineton to include in the Aldrich- Payne
bill this. necessary clause for the pro-
lection Of every American family. the
leaders of this movement declared TO-
day. If every phlanthropic, medical
and charitable organization through
out the land will recommend to its
members an immediate appeal to Sem
| ator Lodge. who is presenting this
matter. or to their representatives in
congress-. it is believed these efforts
to comhat the curse Of cocaine may
succeed.