Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-13
NAVY YARD OFFICIALS
HOLD CONFERENCE ON
CTTY'S dope" DIVES
Captains and Other Au-
thorities Meet to Obtain
Information From
Agents Of Department of
Internal Revenue.

CAPTAINS Of the various war vessels at
League Island. together with officials of
the marine corps. attended conference
in the once OF the commandant. Captain
J. ]. Knapp today, for the purpose Of
learning from a deputy In the Federal
| Department OF Internal Revenue the dan
| gers TO which seamen on leave are sub
\ iected in the drug peddling resorts OF the
| Tenderloin.
The conference. which was held this
| morning. ls the outcome Of visit paid TO
the oficials by the deputies Of the Inter-
nal Revenue Department during an In
vestigation made following the death of
James A. Burns seaman Of the battleship
Illinois. who succumbed Monday night to
the effects of drugs after dining in ten
derloin restaurant known as the "Subma-
rine" Evidence given at a hearing Of a
man and a woman accused OF furnishing
the sailor with heroln indicated that a
drug was placed in the seaman's drink.
The visit Of a deputy. investigating the
death for the Internal Revenue Depart
ment. disclosed to the commandant that
there are a number OF resorts in the Ten
derloln In which drugs are dispensed and
that Tenderloin characters who may be
found in these place are largely given to
the practice Of sailor rolling" which is |
the Tenderloln expression for drugging |
and robbing While the officials at the |
Navy Yard suspected the existence OF
these notorious resorts, they were not in /
a position to learn of their exact where
abouts and could not warn the men to
avoid them.
At the conference today the exact loca-
ton Of each Of the places at which drugs
are peddled and In which II is generally
unsafe for a sailor with money to remain
Tor any length of time was given to the
navy oficials by the Internal Revenue
Department. The department is in pos
jession Of facts concerning the Tenderloln
md its dangerous resorts that are not
Inown to others. Following the passage
" the Harrison drug act, investigators
rom the department learned the where
bouts Of every dive in which habit-forn-
ng drugs are offered for sale This infor- [
nation was laid in great detail before the
avy officials today.
The purpose Of learning the location of ,
rug selling dives is simply to put the ,
avy yard officials in a position to warn 4
he men of the United States service
that locations to avoid. The wild rumor (
hat a large number of sailors and ma :
ines were addicted to drugs has been set ,
rest by the commandant himself /
THE men Of the service" he said, ARE.
the worst only as bad as the same 7
lumber Of men outside are bad. We are u
II human, and whether we serve the h
overnment or serve only ourselves there :
re some OF us who will go bad in spite q
all that can be done to prevent it. On
ie whole, do not believe the men Of the =
avy yard here are quite as wild as an
lual number of men chosen at random, i
the city. The reason for this
that we arc more strongly disciplined
IRE than outside, and 1t is always pos
BILE to check an infraction before II
aches n serious stage.
The conference today does not Indicate G
at we believe a large number Of our
en- are drug users. Quite the contrarv
the case, We want to be In a position
tell them when they are given leave
st whero the danger turks and assist
EN-. in SO far as 1t is possible. to avoid
That is all"