New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-01
500 DRUG USERS
FACE ARREST TODAY
Wholesale Raids Planned
for First Days Life of
BOylan Act.
MISS DAVIS PLANS
TO HOUSE PRISONERS
Author of Law Tells GIynn of
Scheme to Use Life Building
Annex as Hospital.

Five hundred arrests under the new
drug law, which went into effect last
night at II o'clock. will be the toll for
! the first twenty-four hours OF the life
of the measure, according 10 the eXpee-
tations expressed last night by Senator
John J. Boylan. author OF the bill.
I Senator Boyian was in Albany yester-
day comforting with Governor Glynn on
I the enforcement Of the law.
Mr.. Boysn informed the Governor
of the preparations being made Dy
+ Katharine b. Davis. Commissioner OF
! Correction, for handling the expected
influx OF prisoners. She plans to turn
the New York Life Building annex,
, near to which is the Tombs, into
/ hospital for taking care Of the drug
victims. II was one Of the buildings
bought by the city to make room for
/ the new courthouse.
Wholesale Raids Planned.
Elaborate preparations were made
yesterday by the police for wholesale
raids, beginning Immediately after mid
night, TO round up Tiolators OF the
law. The special drug squads are TO
| be sent into the haunts Of the drug
users and sellers, to arrest every one
! found with drugs in mis- possession, in
case it could not be shown that the drug
had been obtained in accordance with
the new law.
Doubt was expressed yesterday az
the Department Of Health OF the pos
sibility of enforcing the law to-day,
owing to the non-arrival from Albany
/ up to the time of closing OF the serially
numbered order and prescription
+ blanks, called for under the new act
for use of druggists and doctors, ia
prescribing and dispensing habit-form-
ing drugs.
/ Word came last night from Albany.
however, that enough Of the books OF
blanks for immediate use will be in
/ the hands of the health officers to-day
and that more will be furnished as
needed.
IN discussing the confusion arising
! from the uncertainty as TO when the
blanks would be available. Assistant
/ District Attorney Floyd Wilmot, who
/ is IN charge of drug prosecutions, said
yesterday:
/ "The law goes into effect at mid
/ night. There is no doubt about that.
Any one prescribing or giving out any
Of the prohibited drugs otherwise than
/ in accordance with the law will be
guilty CT violation. However, | sup
pose the magistrates will use lenieDce
! in the case of reputable physicians who
prescribe drugs on ordinary prescrip-
| tion blanks in necessary cases, al
though, Of course, the lack of the new
forms will not be tolerated as an eX-
cuse where it is plain that drugs are
given for improper purposes
Ready to House Prisoners.
Commissioner Davis told yesterday
of the makeshift plans she was max
/ ing for handling prisoners under the
| law, which provides that they must be
( kept separate from other prisoners for
treatment.
/ 1--WE have provided for the situation
in the workhouse," she said, "by set
ting aside what is popularity called the
buns room for drug prisoners. This
room has been used heretofore during
the day by about seventy old women
who are too feeble to do anything but
/ sit around. We will place these
women in the chapel and make the
empty room into a special ward for the
/ drug cases.
"Then at the penitentiary on Black
Wells Island we will turn a big room
we have there, accommodating about
thirty. into drug ward. The chief
difficulty will be at the Tombs, where
I there is absolutely no room. One plan
now before the Board of Estimate is to
have hospital there in the dormtory
section.
+ 81 have also suggested that tempo
rarily we be permitted TO use the an
mex to the New York Life Building.
, which is to be torn down TO make way
for the new courthouse. II Is not nee
essary TO tear it down at once, and 1t
would cost the city nothing to use 1t
for this purpose.
! The penal institutions are not the
only ones which will feel the effect Of
the law. which provides for two classes
of commitments. The first is to prisons
/ for persons violating the law in giving
| the prohibited drugs to others, or haV-
/ ing them in possession, without using
the serially numbered blanks.
The second class applies 20 habltual
drug users, who may be committed by
a magistrate for treatment to hospitals
or insane asylums until they have been
cured. As has already been pointed out
/ by Charities Commissioner kingsbury
| and BY the officials in charge of Belle
vue. the wards in the institutions are
already disgracefully overcrowded, SO
that no adequate provision can be made
for a sudden increase OF patients I'M
( der the new law.