Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-05
$4,000 ENSLAVED BY DOPE
HABIT IN PHILADELPHIA

Continued from Page One
the drugs concealed in Philadelphia today.
Safe deposit boxes in this city hold nearly
100000 worth Of the stun.
NOTED MEN IN INQUIRY.
These facts were revealed by the inves-
tigatlon Of internal revenue officers, leading
physicians and social workers Francis
Fisher Kane, United States Attorney for
the Philadelphia district, became 50 alarmed
by the rapidly plllng UP evidence of the in
crease in narcotic drug usage as shown by
the records Of his office that in the fail Of
1915 he organized a committee of promi-
tent citizens to consider the situation and
seek a remedy. This committee included
Edward Box, chairman; Pierce Archer, Jr.,
former chief deputy OF the internal rev.
enue service in this city; Samuel T. Bodine,
Or. Elmer II. Funk, DIR. Francis r. Pack
ard Or. John H. w. Rhein, Dr. Horatio C.
Wood, Dr. Charles w. Burr, Henry LaBarre
Jayne. c. II. Ludington and Otto T. Mall
lsry.
This committee investigated the causes
Of more than 100 drug addicts and dlscov-
cred a condition calculated TO alarm the
most conservative citizen. 1t found that no
class Of society. no nationality and no grade
of workers was escaping the scourge.
A widely.known lawyer has won some of
his most important cases while under the
influence of cocaine. In one or two cases
surgeons have performed operations at hos.
pitfalls while under the influence OF the drug,
although such cases are lnfreuuent owing
to the vigilance of other physicians A
Philadelphia man OF letters has written
some Of his best articles under the spur
of the hypodermc needle.
The writer has found the drug blight in
nearly every industrial plant In the city
where more than 200 employees were en-
gagged. Where speeding up" was required
of men or girls the inevitable percentage
kept Its level one to the hundred--some-
times two to the hundred-small In itself II
sporadic symptom, but menacing when 1t
was found to be the rule and not the ex.
ception. Menaoing in that where one work.
ing man or working girl had the habit, the
chances were 10 to 1 that Intimate friends
OF the victim would ''have q try" at the
insldlous vice
DR.. Horatio c. Wood Jr., 1905 Chestnut
street. said that the average life Of drug ad.
diets was 10 years. In explaining the &C.
moralizing effects of habit-forming drugs
he said:
Among the earliest signs OF mental de.
terioration are failure Of memory. The vic
tim is constantly breaking engagements. His
promises, freely made. are rarely kept
Usually he becomes extremely egotistic Az
the same time his judgment is greatly d.
minished. Drugs lead the business man to
the most extravagant schemes, taken up
with enthusiasm, but quickly abandoned,
not because of lost confidence but because
OF tagging interest
There may be blurring of vision or fall
ure OF hearing, especially in noting DIS
tinctions in musical notes.
MORAL NATURE IMPAIRED
1.-THE mendacity of the drug victim is no.
torious and very commonly there are out
breaks of criminal tendencies. The uneN-
planned kleptomania of respectable women
Is very commonly due to the secret use OF
drugs.
Sooner or later physical degeneration
occurs first usually in the digestive organs.
The appetite fails or sometimes there are
periods of excessive eating. alternating with
almost complete abstinence from food. Ihe
blood becomes impoverished and there Is
loss OF weight and strength. The typlcaI
morphine aend Is sallow. emaciatea, weak
and listless individual Frequently also
there are affections Of the kidney ana
dropsy is not uncommon in the later stages
USE OF THE "HYPo"
"a great deal of drug addiction is due
TO careless physicians and nurses, particu-
larly to physicians who carry on 5O-cent
practice in the poorer sections. These ply
scians deal with ignorant people, and 1t Is
easier and cheaper for them to stop pain
by giving drugs than II would be to em-
ploy slower and safer methods.
"a man who has been drinking is ex-
tremely nervous following debauch. A
physician. instead of using milder drugs
may resort TO morphine. The effect Is
instantaneous and in succeeding debauches
the man will demand hypodermic imne-
diately.
persons who suffer from violent neu-
ralgias or other excruciating pains soon
find that hypodermlc is almost magical
in its effect. 1t is not long before those
who depend upon hypodermics for relief
find themselves manufacturing excuses or
symptoms to obtain the effects OF the drug.
Then some day the expected hypodermic
Is refused and 1t is not long before vic
Tins are trying to give themselves hypo-
dermics."
or the morphine users treated by Doc
tors McIver and Price at the Philadelphia
Hospital 2S learned of the drug through
injections by physicians Seven resorted