The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-11-21
From Coast to Coast
Victims Are Caught
in Drag Net.
IN SCORE OF CITIES
ARRESTS AREMADE
Post Office Department Charges
Use of Mails to Promote Illegal
Medical Practices-Many Of
Those in Laws Tolls Are
Prominent Socially and
in Business.

Washington. Novendbe. ga nation
wide raid. involving the practicaily-s'-
r,ul,aneous arrests of l73 persons IN
The principal cities OF the country
WAS made to-day by post ONCE inspec-
,ors and United States MArshals upon
doctors and drug concerns. charged
with misuse OF the malls 10 soIcit
criminal medical practice or to dis
u,ne OF medicines and instruments con-
nected with such practice.
The raid--the most extensive ana
far-reach!ng ever made BY any DE-
uartment Of the government-was
under the personal direction OF post
master General Hitchcock and lnspec-
Tor Robert e. Sharp. OF the Post once
Department So carefully had Its de-
,ai!s been guarded that until the first
Of the arrests were made at Indian
spolis early In the day. practically
nothing was known OF the govern
Yneut's contemplated action. working
with clock.like precision. the inspec-
tion force spread over twenty-five
states carried out the prearrangeo
plans. and. at an early hour. Tonight.
the Post Once Department had re-
oeiyed word that nearly all OF the
des.g mated persons had been arrested
The results OF the crusade are still
being received tonight BY the inspec-
tors division OF the post-ofnce In the
form Of dozens OF te!esra from vari-
ous divisional headquarters. In iso-
Lated instances II was found for vari-
OILS reasons to be impracticable to ef-
feet the arrests. but the suspected per-
sons against whom warrants have been
i,.ued are under surveillance and PROB
ably are unable to escape.
Chief Inspector Sharp and a large
mart OF bis force OF 3so inspectors had
been engaged for several months under
The orders Of the Postnsster-tieneral
in working up the scores OF individual
cases in which arrests were made tor
day. Many Of those taken Into CUSTODY
were members OF prominent wholesale
and retail drug concerns. The govern
ment will prosecute the cases vigor-
ousiy, according to q statement oy
Postmaster General Hitchcock to night
The work OF the post-ohce inspec-
tors to-day il the elimination OF the
crusade instituted more than two years
ago against the fraudulent and IN
lawful use OF the mails said MI
Hitchcock In that comparatively
bries time We have wiped out Of exist
ence concerns which have mulcted the
people Of this country on, OF more than
400, 100000 by frauds perpetrateS
through the use OF the mails, and the
courts have sent many of the promot-
ers o. the fraudulent schemes 20 the
p.n!,.ntiary. where they are now serv-
ing time. The wide publicity given
80 the arrests made to-day will do
more to put an end TO this particular
sort OF criminality than any number Of
practically unknown prosecutions Of
widely separated cases"
Cst5es where RaSAs Are AsAA
The number of arrests made or to be
made in the respective cities follows:
New york, 2; Buffalo. 8: Pittsburgh. .:
indianapolis. 5; Chicago. .; ST. Paul. s;
Fort Worth. 4: St Louis. 3: Omaha, 4;
Oklahoma City, 5; Portland, Ore, 3;
Denver. s; Seattle, 8; Spokane. 5; San
Frauoisco. Z: Oakland. CaI-, .: Los An
xeles. 3: San Jose. .: Mobile. ;; Aartet-
a, o., .; Dallas. 4
Two each tn Albany, Washington.
Memphis, Birmingham Cleveland. Steu-
henvtlle. o.: Duluth. Winona, MINI:
San Antonio. Houston. New Orleans.
Kansas City, Topeka. Alameda Cal
One each In Atlanta, Cincinnnti, To-
ledo. Minneapolis. Galveston. salt Lake
City, ithaca and Elmira, n. T.: East
Orange, y. j.: Lancaster and Pine
Bank, Pa: Cumberland. Nd: Charles
ton and Columbia. 8 c: Jacksonville.
Fla: Columbus. Springfield. Mount
Vernon. Dayton and Convoy. o.: Fort
Wayne and Terre Haute. Ind: Peoria.
Ill: Kalamazoo and Iron River. Mich:
Holden. Mo-: Muskogee. Okla: Wichita.
Kan: Council Bluffs. Iowa: Besling-
ham. Crescent and Tacoma, Wash: Sa-
cramcuto. Petaiuma. Fresno and Glen
dale. Cal
EstSre Csootry Covered.
This concerted omctal action covered
the United States from che Atlantic TO
the Pacific and from the lakes to the
gulf. Many OF the persons arrested
sre prominent, commercially and So
cially. In their communities. Some are
leading physicians. others are rich and
influential business men: Yet others
are men who Nve ~ their w!ts and
are comparattvely little known without
their own snsll eoserie or associates.
and one ID Chinaman. who Is alleged
Co have pracsiced hts calling upon
women Of his own race and upon those
Of the lower strata Of society.
All Of the arrests are Tor aIIeSed
violation Of section iii Of the Penal
Code Of the United States. winch rars
from the mails vile or obscene matter,
whether sealed OF unscalcd any ad-
versisemens. letter or circular propos-
Eng o, suggesting criminal practices.
or any packet containing any SUBJ
stance. drug o. thing inscnae6 Go be
used 10: snmoraI OF unlawful pur-
Ocses.
approximately ninety Of the persons
arrested sircady have been indicted By
Cnised states grand yuP9es IN various
asrss q ~ 0ouUeSy: and sAe cases Of
Che Others viii be presented to grand
1uri~s nov sitting - rapidly - may
be feasible.
strict enforcement Of municipal AMI
State laws IN the East h said BY the
Dossal authorities 60 account TOR the
Oompsrstiveiy few arrests IN ehe large
SContinued on Ninth fsGa)