The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1912-11-21
], S, ARRESTS
MANY DOCTORS
Raids in Il Cities Involves
I73 Persons.
IN ALL SECTIONS OF COUNTRY
Federal Government Accuses Them
Of Using the Mails In Illegal Prae.
tice.


tice.
Washington, Nov. 21.-Acting under
the direction of Postmaster General
Hitchcock, postoffice inspectors and
United States marshals in seventy-two
cities and towns of the country began
simultaneous raids for the arrest OF
173 persons charged with using the
mails to promote illegal medical prac
tees or the sale of drugs and 1nstru-
ments for illegal purposes.
ALI Of the arrests are based upon
the alleged misuse of the mails to
further the illegal practice or bust
ness.
This concerted official action cover.
ed the United States from the Allan
tic to the Pacific and from the Lakes
to the Gulf. Many of the defendants
are prominent, commercially and SO
cially. Some are leading physicians;
others are influential business men;
yet others are men who live by their
wits, and one is Chinaman.
Strict enforcement of municipal and
state laws in the east is said by the
postal authorities to account for the
few arrests in the large eastern cities.
While it is declared violations of the
law are frequent in Boston, New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore, the &C
cused persons have been pursued
closely by the state and federal Off
Gals.
Postof11ce inspectors said that hot
bed Of this sort of criminality is in
the Pacific coast states. In San Fran
cisco it is asserted fictitious name
was used by several prominent physi-
clans, who employed woman to do
the necessary advertising and clerical
work.
approximately 20 per cent of those
arrested or to be arrested send to
their patients, either by mail or by
express, various compounds in the
form of pills or powders. A careful
analysis of these compounds is said to
have disclosed that some are wholly
innocuous, while others are dangerous
poisons. The sending of poisons In the
mails is expressly forbidden by law.
One of the men accused is said to
have been the secretary of his city's
board of health. He responded to
decoy letter on the stationery of the
board of health. Particular care was
taken by the inspectors in collecting
the evidence against business con.
cerns-drug houses and remedy COM
panies.
As showing the difficulties encoun-
tered, the following case Is cited by
those who have conducted the investi.
cation:
In Chicago an inspector called upon
1 physician, after having received a
response by mail to .decoy letter.
The doctor was cautious, and the In
spector was called upon to show the
letter he had received. It was in the
physicians own handwriting.
Evidently suspicious, he snatched
the letter from the inspectors hand,
tore it and threw 1t into the waste
basket. Subsequently the inspector re
turned to the Office in the absence OF
the doctor, obtained the torn letter as
an important link in the chain of evil
dence.
Four of the arrests made under MI.
Cortelyou's direction were made In
Pittsburgh, Pa, three of the prisoners
being women and the other China
man. They we're DR.. Marie Hill, DR..
J. Holt, DR.. Hill and DR.. jim Fuzzy
Moy. They were held under $4,000
bail each by United States Commits
sioner Lindsay for a further hearing
on Saturday.
Toe other arrest was that of DR.. D.
Frank Kline, Of Lancaster, Pa, who
was held under the same bail by
United States Commissioner Howell,
of that city.
In Newark, N. j., the inspectors ar
rested DR.. George E. Snowden, OF
East Orange, on charge of sending
improper literature through the mails.
He was held under $4,000 bail for a
further hearing on Dec. 2. DR.. Snow
den, according to the inspectors, went
under the aliases of Madame Desno"
and "Dr. Nedos."