The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-08-29
GROWTH OF THE DRUG
EVIL IN JEFFERSON
Pitiable Scenes at County and
City Jails
HOW THE HABIT SPREADS
Victims Are Glad to Initiate Others
But VIII Never Reveal Name of
Person Who Supplied Them
with the dope"
by EDWIN TORGERsON

BY EDWIN TORGERsON
The newly aroused activity of the city
police department and the sherif's force
in attempting to put a stop to the wanton
sale of cocaine, morphine and other drugs
which claim their victims among the
so-called dope fiiends." brings the at
tentlon of the public to one of the most
interesting, If one of the most repelent
of social problems.
There can be little doubt that the sale
and use of these drugs which wreck so
many lives are decidedly on the Increase
in Jefferson county and Birmingham. Not
only are the cases which are brought to
the notice of the city and county au-
thorities increasing in number. The
broken vagabonds who are arrested on
charges of vagrancy represent only the
dope fiends in the most advanced stages
of moral and physical decrepitude. 1t
is sworn by these very Migrants that
hundreds of people use the drugs who
are so careful to guard their secret that
even their most intimate friends are
unaware of 1t, and that the people who
are classed as dope fends because of the
visible signs of the habit are far in the
minority.
Every dope fiend who has ever been
held at the city Jail or tho county Jail
on a charge of vagrancy has declared
that his first experience with cocaine or
morphine the two drugs principally In
use, was occasioned by some surgical
ho+ of ha q
was prescribed by some physician. 1t
seems to be the aim of every find to lay
the blame for his miserable condition on
some one other than himself, and the
medical profession comes in for a great
part of It, But no slave Of the drugs is
ever heard to say that he regrets hav-
ing started the use of them. On the
contrary, the average fiend will whisper
confldentially to the layman that life is
not worth living without dope" and
that the sweetest pleasures of existence
await him who is yet to be ushered
into its joys
A Spreading EVIL
1t is, in fact, the eagerness of the dope
fiend to induce others to try the magic
syringe as a remedy for their troubles
that causes the spread of the habit. and
the arrest and conviction of every known
1end on a charge OF vagrancy is the only
method by which the authorities hope
to curb 1t.
Possibly the most pitiable sight that
can be gained by the observer on visit
to the county or city Jail Is that of one
of the dope fiends who has been sep
arated from his paradise OF the hypo-
dermic syringe and dope" The tortures
of the damned seem to be the lot of the
unfortunate creature during the first night
of his stay in jail Perhaps he Is In
the worst stage OF delirium when the
huddled In some dark corner of an al
ley Perhaps he has eaten nothing for
DAYS, but has eked out his existence on
frequent plunges of his syringe. Placed
in a cell, with iron bars and stone walls
between him and the secret of his only
happiness" he resorts first to pleading
with the warden, wailing in an unearthly
tone for his drugs, praying, cursing. grow
cling on the stone floor He Is told to
be quiet, and II his shrieking continues
he is placed in the dark ROOM" or the
sweat box" where he Is left to the
tender mercies of his imaginary snakes.
SCORPIONS lizards, dragons and the rest.
An enforced stay of 90 days In jail or
at hard labor in the mines, however, is
an effectual thong only temporary cure
for the drug slave. Victims of the habit
have been known to actually gain flesh
and color from confinement in the county
jail after length Of time, which state
of affairs seems to be limited. however,
to dope fiends, as the contrary is usually
the case with prisoners who enter the
county bastile In good health.
1t does not seem to be generally known
that dope fends make use of other drugs
na-
sides these drugs so commonly in use,
the inveterate fend learns to make use
Of an endless variety of other prepara-
tions, from distilled cigar stumps to nitro
glycerine. Nitro-glyerine, preposterous as
1t may seem, is widely used by the
flends Injected into the blood in COM
pound with morphine sulphate or other
drugs, It serves as much-needed slim
ulant to the heart. said by the fiends to
be much superior to strychnine.
From castaway cigar and <cigarette
stumps found on the sidewalks and in
the cutters an excellent variety of dope
NAV be obtained by the ski1lful fend
The refuse tobacco is soaked for day
or more In water, the solution is boiled
and quantity of pure nicotine Is dis
titled. This, injected into the blood like
the other drugs, has much the same eff
feet.
A Knotty Problem
The readiness of the dope fiend to let
others into his secret makes the habit
all the more pernicious, and the problem
to be dealt with by the police authori-
ties all the more battling. No fiend hesi-
tates to initiate the layman into his
PLEASURES, but iehtre will he breathe on
pain OF death the name IF the greedy
druggist who dispenses the ware In de-
fiance of the law.
60 urgent has the necessity for action
become In this county that the grand
Jury is expected to give especial atten-
ton to the problem. Judge Fort, in his
charge to the grand jury at its session
In September will probably advise imme-
date action. and developments will be
awaited with interest.
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