New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-05-03
Passage by Assembly To-day
Assured and Governor Stands
Ready Thereon to Sign
Measure.
ONLY 6 AGAINST, 41 FOR
Prospective Legislation Result
of The Tribune's Expose
Even Scho Dol Children
Endangered by Wide
ly Used Drug.
rBy Telegraph to The Tribune. J

Albany, May with only six votes
in opposition. the Senate tonight
passed Assemblyman Walkers bill 70
limit the Illicit sale Of cocaine The
measure was drafted because of The
Tribune's exposure of the alarming eX-
tent of the drug habit in New York
city. The bill viii have to be re-
passed in the Assembly, but that will
be done tomorrow. Governor Suffers
approval is assured
The vote was II to g. those voting
against the bill being:
Frank w. Godfrey. Of Olean.
Seth G. Heacock, OF lion.
Charles j. Hewitt, Of Locke.
John :. Murtaush, sof EImra.
J. Henry Walters. of Syracuse.
Clayton L. Wheeler, Of Hancock.
Senator Wende. of Buffalo. fought
the bill viciOusly, but did not vote
against It, Senator Walters. Of SYRIA
cuse, demanded an explanation of the
bill and voted for amendments in the
interest Of the asthma cure proprietors.
Senators Wagner and Cullen ad-
vocated the bill. Senator Wagner said
the cocaine habit was wrecking hum
dreds of lives annually. Senator Nc
Clelland declared the officers Of GRIM
inal courts and the prosecuting authori-
ties i'm New York had collaborated on
the bill.
The Walker anti-cocaine bill, intro
duced by the Assemblyman from the
9TH Assembly District. Manhattan
was brought forth in response to the
exposure. made 10y The Tribune on De
cember >. 1872 of the openly fragrant
selling Of cocaine on the streets of New
York and Brooklyn.
Acting on information tending to
show that the anti-cOcaine laws were
being continually violated. and sup
ported by judges and prosecutors who
admitted that as the previous laws
we're worded it was an almost impos-
sible task TO get convictions TN more
than half the cases that came before
them. The Tribunes investigators set
out to learn whether actual purchases
of the deadly drug could be made with
the ease that the reports described.
Even Near SchooIhouses.
An investigation OF less than a week
disclosed that the reports Of the open
sale Of cocaine on the street corners OF
the city. not only in big and little
Tenderloin sections but on street cor
ners adjoining schoolhouses in quiet
residential sections and other unex-
pected places. were far from being eX-
aggerated. and that. as a matter Of
TACT. neither police prosecutors nor
courts had reached anything more
than the mere surface Of the evil.
The law forbidding the sale Of CO.
caine was found to be almost dead
letter because salesman, by admit
ting that he was drug victim could
escape prosecution for the felony Of
selling 10y taking the misdemeanor
penalty for having the drug in his
possession.
on a half dozen street corners in
each Of the citys Tenderloin sections,
as we'll as on many quieter street cor
ners in more orderly localities, an in
vestigator found street sellers who
appeared to have not the slightest fear
Of detection or prosecution. 1t was
found that in some sections cocaine
sellers were deliberately enticing school
children into the habit OF using the
Continued on fourth page. second coiu""'